Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Protest Against Court Decision on License Plates Includes State Officials
1st Amendment Suit Against Ohio Library Settled For Attorneys' Fees
Lawyers In RLUIPA Case Spar Over "Daily Show" Clip As Evidence
UPDATE: On January 22, the court ruled the jury will not be able to view the video clip, but that the court might reach a different conclusion if an unedited version of the entire interview (without a laugh track) were to become available. (Uniontown (PA) Herald Standard, 1/24/09).
Canadian Arrests Are Likely Challenge To Canada's Polygamy Laws
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
New Orleans Police Evict Protesters From Closed Catholic Churches
Vietnam Issues New Directive On Land For Religious Uses
Federal Lawsuit By Amish Challenges Building Code Enforcement
UPDATE: On Friday, a New York state trial judge ruled that two Amish families in Hammond (NY) can remain in their homes that were constructed without building permits while the federal challenge against Morristown is pending. The judge also ruled, however, that the town of Hammond cannot be liable for any death or injury involving the two families. (Watertown Daily Times, Jan. 10; WNYTV News, Jan. 9).
First 2009 Foray At Evolution Teaching Introduced In Oklahoma
educational authorities in this state shall ... endeavor to assist teachers to find more effective ways to present the science curriculum where it addresses scientific controversies. Toward this end, teachers shall be permitted to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories pertinent to the course being taught....It also provides that:
Students may be evaluated based upon their understanding of course materials, but no student in any public school or institution shall be penalized in any way because the student may subscribe to a particular position on scientific theories.
This act only protects the teaching of scientific information, and this act shall not be construed to promote any religious or non-religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs or non-beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or non-religion.
School Board Sued Over Religious Harassment of School Library Employee
Suit By Former IRS Agent Says Bar On Kirpan Was Religious Discrimination
Kawaljeet Tagore, a Sikh American, ... claims that the IRS discriminated against her by prohibiting her from wearing a kirpan, a mandatory article of faith, on her job as a revenue agent at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in downtown Houston.... Tagore was fired in July 2006 because she refused to remove her kirpan.... The kirpan commonly resembles a sword, and is intended as a constant reminder to its bearer of a Sikh's solemn duty to protect the weak and promote justice for all....The full text of the complaint in Tagore v. United States, (SD TX, filed 1/6/2009) seeks a declaratory judgment, injunction, reinstatement and back pay. The suit was filed by the Becket Fund and the Sikh Coalition.
The lawsuit claims that the IRS's termination of Tagore violates both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and Title VII religious employment discrimination rules. It alleges that the IRS banned the kirpan as a so-called "dangerous weapon," even though the government allows hundreds of sharp knives and box cutters in the Leland Building. The edge of Tagore's kirpan is three inches long and is not sharp.
Petitions For Cert. Filed In Two 9th Circuit Cases
AP reports that several Indian tribes are seeking Supreme Court review in Navajo Nation v. United States Forest Service. In an 8-3 en banc decision in the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not bar the Forest Service from approving the use of recycled waste water to make artificial snow at Arizona's Snowbowl ski resort, which operates on federal land that the tribes consider sacred. (See prior posting). [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]
School Board Says Clergy Cannot Minister To Students At Lunch
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
California Church Loses Challenge To Rezoning Denial
In the absence of a showing that the City acted arbitrarily in ways suggesting actual discrimination, the fact that there may be no other properties available to which the Church can expand its operations in the specific way it wants does not mean that the City's zoning code imposes a substantial burden on the Church. Moreover, the evidence provided by ICFG to support its claim that no other suitable properties exist is not sufficient to create a triable issue as to substantial burden.The court rejected the church's claim that RLUIPA's "equal terms" provision was violated by the zoning code's differentiation between "assembly uses" and uses for commercial recreation and entertainment activities, saying: "ICFG cites to nothing in the legislative history indicating the intent of Congress that the legislation abrogate all local zoning regulations that distinguish between private or nonprofit assemblies and institutions, and commercial or for-profit gatherings of multiple persons." The court also concluded that: "ICFG cannot maintain a claim under the 'total exclusion' provision [of RLUIPA] based simply on the fact that the Church has decided that the only property that will suit it is one that the City will not zone for assembly use." (See prior related posting.)
Hearing Set For January 15 In Challenges To Inauguration Ceremony
Labor Department Issues Guidance On RFRA Exemption For Grantees
In Nepal, Clergy Challenge Government's Power To Appoint Hindu Priests
Cert. Petition Filed In Case Challenging Jurors' Use of Bible
Repressive Religion Law Signed By President of Nagorno-Karabakh
Yesterday Forum 18 reported that on December 24, President Bako Sahakyan of the unrecognised Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus (between Armenia and Azerbaijan) signed a "repressive" new Religion Law. The statute, many of whose provisions were taken from Armenia's Religion Law, will go into effect ten days after its official publication later this month. Forum 18 says:
The main restrictions in Karabakh's new Law are: an apparent ban on unregistered religious activity; state censorship of religious literature; the requirement for 100 adult citizens to register a religious community; an undefined "monopoly" given to the Armenian Apostolic Church over preaching and spreading its faith while restricting other faiths to similarly undefined "rallying their own faithful"; and the vague formulation of restrictions....
Although the Law does not specifically ban unregistered religious activity, Article 25 requires all religious organisations to register or re-register within six months of the new Law coming into force.
Monday, January 05, 2009
California Supreme Court Says Episcopal Church Owns Property of Break-Away Parish
The court determined that the following test should be used in church property disputes under California law:
if resolution of a property dispute involves a point of [religious] doctrine, the court must defer to the position of the highest ecclesiastical authority that has decided the point. But to the extent the court can resolve a property dispute without reference to church doctrine, it should apply neutral principles of law. The court should consider sources such as the deeds to the property in dispute, the local church’s articles of incorporation, the general church’s constitution, canons, and rules, and relevant statutes, including statutes specifically concerning religious property, such as Corporations Code section 9142 [which provides that the governing instruments of a general church may impress a trust on property of a local church].The court also concluded that the suit was not subject to an anti-SLAPP motion to strike under California law. A partial concurrence by Justice Kennard argued that Corporations Code sec. 9142 vests the property with the Episcopal Church because it imposes the principle that civil courts must accept decisions of the highest authority in an hierarchical church. She argues that the statute does not reflect a "neutral principles" approach, because it imposes a special rule on religious organizations that would not apply under general property law. The statute allowed imposition of a trust on church property without the congregation's agreement by a resolution adopted after it owned the property. [Thanks to John B. Chilton for the lead.]