Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Cert. Filed In Mojave Desert War Memorial Cross Case
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the petition for certiorari, thanks to Inverse Condemnation blog.
Death Sentence For Journalism Student Reduced to 20 Years By Afghan Court
CNN Interviews Muslim-Americans On Upcoming Election
Court Says Loyalist Members of Episcopal Parish Are Proper Board of Governors
Monday, October 20, 2008
Iowa Christian Group Wants Information On Judges' Worldview
Taliban In Afghanistan Kill Aid Worker, Charging Christian Proselytizing
Rector's Suit Against Bishop Opens In Pennsylvania Today
Meanwhile Bennison himself is facing possible removal on charges that 30 years ago he failed to take action and concealed information when his older brother John--then a youth minister-- sexually abused a teenage girl in his parish. [Thanks to James Maule via Religionlaw for the lead.]
UPDATE: As the trial reached its third day on Wednesday, Bennison's lawyers asked the court to dismiss the case on First Amendment grounds. Judge Joseph Smyth who is presiding at trial said that perhaps the case does not belong in civil court, but decided that he should honor the rulings to the contrary by Judge Thomas Branca and complete the trial. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Smyth said he anticipated important appellate issues would be raised.
Muslim Lawsuits Speed Up Processing of Citizenship Applications
British and Moroccan Agencies Impose Religious Tests On Adoptive Parents
Recent Articles and Books of Interest
- Saadiah Mohamad, Islamic Hedging: Gambling or Risk Management?, (August 27, 2008).
- Penelope Andrews, Who's Afraid of Polygamy? Exploring the Boundaries of Family, Equality and Custom in South Africa, (Utah Law Review, 2009).
- Joseph Vining, Is There an Implicit Theology in the Practice of Ordinary Law?, (Mercer Law Review Vol. 53, No. 3, Oct. 2008).
- Kenneth L. Marcus, Privileging and Protecting Schoolhouse Religion, (Journal of Law and Education, 2008).
- Rod Dixon, Pledging to God While Getting a Public Education: Why a Wall of Separation Divides Ceremonial Celebration from Religious Indoctrination: Elk Grove Unified School District V. Newdow and the Right of Parental Privacy, (October 13, 2008).
- Ann Piccard, Faith-Based and Community Initiatives: Unconstitutional Delegations of Executive Power, (Oct. 13, 2008).
From SmartCILP:
- Steven Wilf, The Ten Commandments Cases: A View from Within, (40 Connecticut Law Review 1329-1345, 2008).
- 25th Anniversary Issue. Islamic Law in a Globalized World: Implications for Contemporary Finance Law. Introduction by Faiza Soniya Yunus; articles by Mahmoud A. El-Gamal, Scheherazade S. Rehman, Mohammad H. Fadel, Michael J. T. McMillen, Hikmahanto Juwana, Yeni Salma Barlinti, Yetty Komalasari Dewi and Walid Hegazy. (25 Wisconsin International Law Journal 605-835 (2008)).
Recent Books:
- Mark A. Noll, God and Race in American Politics: A Short History, (Princeton Univ. Press, 2008), reviewed in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
- Michael Bachelard, Behind the Exclusive Brethren, (Scribe Publications, Oct. 2008), reviewed by GayNZ.com.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Times Reports On China's Increasing Restrictions On Muslim Uighurs
Official versions of the Koran are the only legal ones. Imams may not teach the Koran in private, and studying Arabic is allowed only at special government schools.... Students and government workers are compelled to eat during Ramadan, and the passports of Uighurs have been confiscated across Xinjiang to force them to join government-run hajj tours rather than travel illegally to Mecca on their own. Government workers are not permitted to practice Islam, which means the slightest sign of devotion, a head scarf on a woman, for example, could lead to a firing.The government justifies the particularly strict regulation as an attempt to prevent destabilization of the region by forces of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism. Other media have previously published similar reports. (See prior posting.)
Michigan Court Upholds Social Security Number Requirement For Drivers License
In an interesting footnote, however ,the court rejected the state's alternative argument that it has a compelling interest in obtaining the federal funding that is available only if it complies with CSEPA. The court said: "It would indeed be troubling to conclude that Michigan can, without state constitutional ramifications, effectively burden a citizen's free exercise of religion, or any constitutional right, if sufficient monies are thrown in its direction by the federal government."
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Vann v. Hernandez, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80272 (ED CA, Oct. 6, 2008), a California federal magistrate judge recommended that an inmate be permitted to proceed with his claims that correctional officers used excessive force against him and trashed his cell at least in part because he is Jewish, and that they retaliated against him based on his religion. However the court found no allegations supporting a free exercise claim.
In Torres v. Snyder, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80749 (ED CA, Sept. 23, 2008), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed for lack of supporting factual allegations a free exercise claim brought by a prisoner who complained that correctional staff refused to believe that he is white.
In Moro v. Winsor, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71705 (SD IL, Sept. 22, 2008), an Illinois federal district court accepted in part and rejected in part a magistrate's recommendations (2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82525, Aug. 5, 2008) in a case brought by a Gnostic Catholic prisoner. Plaintiff alleged delays in receiving religious materials, denial of the opportunity to gather in the chapel or on religious feast days, and prohibition of certain religious items, as well as other violations. The court found that issues of fact remain for determination in plaintiff's free exercise and RLUIPA claims against certain of the defendants, and that some claims for injunctive relief are not moot even though he has been moved to a different facility.
Complaints Aired Over Ban on Teachers At "See You At the Pole"
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Alabama School Board Seeks To Fend Off Litigious Preacher
California's Proposition 8 Pushed By Religious Groups, Especially Mormons
Proposition 8 has exploded into the most expensive, extensive gay-marriage battle ever. The forces pushing it include all the Mormons who've made individual campaign donations totaling more than $9 million (more than 40 percent of the war chest...). Conservative Catholics, including the Knights of Columbus, have kicked in more than $1 million. Other notable backers include Dobson's Focus on the Family (about $500,000), a wealthy board member of that group ($450,000), an Orthodox Jewish group based in New York City, evangelical groups from all over, miscellaneous Baptists and Muslims and Sikhs, the National Organization for Marriage (about $950,000), the American Family Association ($500,000), a couple of right-wing foundations ($1.5 million), and countless Republicans who don't necessarily belong to any of the other groups.
Louisiana Governor Criticized For State Travel To Worship In Various Churches
Justice Department 2007 Memo Says RFRA Trumps Non-Discrimination Law
In the memo, OLC concluded that requiring World Vision to comply with the JJDPA nondiscrimination provision would substantially burden its religious exercise, and enforcing the religious nondiscrimination provision would not further a compelling governmental interest. Some civil rights groups took strong exception to the newly released memo. ACLU senior legislative counsel Christopher E. Anders called it "the church-state equivalent of the torture memos."
Vietnam Official Wants Hanoi Archbishop Ousted
Vatican Issues Commentary on Religion and Government
[This] means: "Give to Caesar what God himself wants to be given to Caesar." ... We are not divided between two loyalties; we are not forced to serve "two masters." The Christian is free to obey the state, but he is also free to resist the state when it goes against God and his law.... [Y]ou must first obey God and your own conscience....
Paying appropriately levied taxes is for the Christian ... a duty of justice and therefore an obligation of conscience.... The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" reminds us that tax evasion, when it reaches certain proportions, is a mortal sin.... It is stealing ... from the community, that is, from everyone. Naturally, this supposes that the state is just and equitable in imposing taxes.
Christian cooperation in building a just and peaceful society does not stop at paying taxes; it must also extend itself to the promotion of common values such as the family, the defense of life, solidarity with the poor, peace. There is also another sphere in which Christians must make a contribution to politics.... Christians must help to remove the poison from the climate of contentiousness in politics, bring back greater respect, composure and dignity to relationships between parties....