Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Minnesota Officials Uncertain About Muslim Charter School
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
State Court Says RLUIPA Permits Church To Build
Property of Break-Away Presbyterian Church Belongs To Parent Body
Court Upholds Teacher's Classroom Banners With Religious-Patriotic Messages
Applying mainly cases involving student speech rights, the court held that, based on allegations in the complaint, the school district had created a limited public forum in which teachers could exercise free speech in their classrooms. The school engaged in viewpoint discrimination since it had permitted other teachers to post Buddhist messages, Islamic messages and a Tibetan prayer flag on their classroom walls. This favoritism of some religious messages over others was also seen by the court as an Establishment Clause violation.
Rejecting the school's argument that it was concerned about future Establishment Clause litigation because of Johnson's banners, the court said: "That God places prominently in our Nation’s history does not create an Establishment Clause problem requiring curettage and disinfectant of Johnson’s classroom walls." The court concluded:
Public schools play an important role educating and guiding our youth through the marketplace of ideas and instilling national values. One method used by the Poway Unified School District to accomplish this task is to permit students to be exposed to the rich diversity of backgrounds and opinions held by high school faculty. In this way, the school district goes beyond the cramped view of selecting curriculum and hiring teacher speech to simply deliver the approved content of scholastic orthodoxy.... By squelching only Johnson’s patriotic expression, the school district does a disservice to the students of Westview High School and the federal and state constitutions do not permit such one-sided censorship.Today's San Diego Union Tribune reports on the decision, noting that the Poway school district has been involved in other free speech litigation as well. (See prior posting.) Thomas More Law Center which represented Johnson also issued a release on the decision.
MN Appellate Court Refuses Temporary Injunction To Muslim Cabbies
Netherlands Plans To Ban Burkas in Schools
3rd Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In Title VII Muslim Police Officer Case
Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese Makes Financial Arrangements For Split-Off
Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases
In Hughes v. Banks, (8th Cir., Sept. 3, 2008), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a free exercise claim by a prisoner who alleged that when he refused to comply with staff-precaution procedures, he was not given meals. This caused him to miss meals during Ramadan.
In Baker v. Schriro, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66284 (D AZ, Aug. 20, 2008), an Arizona federal district court refused to dismiss a prisoner's claim that prison authorities destroyed his religious materials without any legitimate penological objective.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Palin and Jews For Jesus Speaker Both Clarify Their Views
Colorado Company Faces Dispute Over Ramadan Accommodation For Workers
8th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Religious Challenge To Controlled Substances Acts
Biden's Remarks On "Life" Trigger Bishops' Response
Catholic News Agency yesterday reported on responses to Biden's remarks by Madison, (WI) Bishop Robert C. Morlino and Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput. Bishop Morlino discarded his prepared Sunday homily in order to make impromptu remarks on Biden. He said that Biden does not understand the difference between "religious faith and natural law." He explained: "Any human being -- regardless of his faith, his religious practice or having no faith -- any human being can reason to the fact that human life from conception unto natural death is sacred."I'd say, "Look, I know when it begins for me." It's a personal and private issue. For me, as a Roman Catholic, I'm prepared to accept the teachings of my church. But let me tell you. There are an awful lot of people of great confessional faiths--Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others--who have a different view. They believe in God as strongly as I do. They're intensely as religious as I am religious. They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views...
I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment. For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society....
MR. BROKAW: But if you, you believe that life begins at conception, and you've also voted for abortion rights...
SEN. BIDEN: No ... I voted against telling everyone else in the country that they have to accept my religiously based view that it's a moment of conception. There is a debate in our church, as Cardinal Egan would acknowledge, that's existed.... [W]hen Thomas Aquinas wrote "Summa Theologia," he said ... it didn't occur until quickening, 40 days after conception....
Denver's Archbishop Charles J. Chaput and auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley issued a statement similarly criticizing Biden, saying that while there may be a debate over when "personhood" begins, there is no doubt that human life begins at conception. They argued that: "Resistance to abortion is a matter of human rights, not religious opinion."
Dutch Court Creates Controversy In Accomodating Beliefs of Muslim Lawyer
City Says RLUIPA Limits Its Response To Distracting Church Sign
British Unions Call For Removal of Anti-Gay Equality Commissioner
Scientology Faces Charges In France; Takes Offensive Against YouTube
Meanwhile, the Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that in 12 hours last week (between Thursday and Friday), American Rights Counsel sent out over 4000 DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, all claiming copyright infringement by posted videos that were critical of the Church of Scientology. Many YouTube users responed with DMCA counter-notices.