Senate Version of SCHIP Authorizes Grants To Faith-Based Groups

The White House has posted on its website for comment the Senate-approved version of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (SCHIP). It says that this version of the bill is expected to pass the House in the coming week. Section 201 of the bill provides for "grants to eligible entities ... to conduct outreach and enrollment efforts." The section goes on [at Sec. 2113 (f)(1)(F)] to define "eligible entities" as including "a faith-based organization or consortia, to the extent that a grant awarded to such an entity is consistent with the requirements of ... 42 U.S.C. 300x–65 relating to a grant award to nongovernmental entities."

Darwin Day Poster Placed In Key Cities

Darwin Day is Feb. 12. This year it marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and the 150th anniversary of the release of his seminal book on evolution, Origin of Species. Freedom from Religion Foundation announced yesterday that to mark the occasion, it has placed billboards praising Darwin in Dayton, Tennessee and Dover, Pennsylvania. Dayton was the site of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. Dover is the town where the school board's insistence on reading a disclaimer in science classes led to a 2005 federal court decision barring the teaching of intelligent design. (See prior posting.) Last month FFRF put up a similar billboard near the University of Wisconsin. (Press release.) FFRF is working to also put up the billboard in Whitehall, Ohio, where the mayor has called America a Christin nation, has left up a nativity scene at city hall and has opposed a Darwin Day resolution in city council. (See prior posting.)

Indian Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge To Appointment of Temple Manager

India's national newspaper, The Hindu, today reports on an interesting religious freedom decision handed down Monday by the Madras High Court . The Lord Nataraja Temple in the town of Chidambaram is an important religious pilgrimage site. The Temple is operated by some 300 families know as Podhu Dikshidars. After alleged mismanagement in accounting for funds and offerings by the Dikshidars, the Tamil Nadu state government in 1982 appointed an Executive Officer to take over management of the Temple and of the offerings made there. The Dikshidars sued claiming that the order violated their religious rights protected by India's Constitution.

In Sri Sabanayagar Temple,Chidambaram v. State of Tamil Nadu, (Madras High Ct., Feb. 2, 2009), the High Court first focused on Article 26 of the Constitution that protects the right of every "religious denomination" to maintain its own religious institutions and manage its own religious affairs. The court ruled that the Dikshidars were not a religious denomination, so any claim they had fell under Section 25 of the Constitution that protects "freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion." The section goes on, however, to provide that this does not prevent the government from "regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice." The court ruled that management of the Temple and Temple offerings are not an integral part of religion or religious practice. Therefore they are not protected by Section 25.

UPDATE: The Feb. 6 Times of India reports that the Podhu Dikshidhars have filed an appeal of the High Court's decision, claiming that the court was wrong in concluding that funds had not been properly accounted for. The appeal also argues that any mismanagement charges should be adjudicated only by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment commissioner, and that Temple administration should not be vested in someone not belonging to the Dikshidhars.

Church Loses RLUIPA Challenge To Denial of Use Permit

In Centro Familiar Cristiano Buenas Nuevas v. City of Yuma, (D AZ, Jan. 30, 2009), an Arizona federal district court rejected claims by a church that Yuma, Arizona's denial to it of a conditional use permit violated its rights under RLUIPA, the 1st and 14th Amendments, and the Arizona Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The church acquired property in Yuma's Old Town District and then sought permission to use it for religious practices. The city's Planning and Zoning Commission denied a permit, finding that this use was inconsistent with city plans to turn the area into a tourism, entertainment and retail corridor. The court concluded that this did not impose a substantial burden on the church's religious practice in violation of RLUIPA. Other properties that would meet the church's needs are available in Yuma. The court also held that the denial did not violate RLUIPA's equal terms provision even though some secular membership organizations were permitted to locate in the area without a special use permit. The distinctions were based on compatibility with the planned use of the area. Yesterday's Yuma Sun reported on the decision. (See prior related posting.)

Private Baccalaureate Plans Satisfy All Sides In Florida School District

Yesterday's NWF Daily News reported on the aftermath of a court decision preliminarily enjoining various religious activities-- including religious baccalaureate services-- that in the past have been sponsored by the Santa Rosa County (FL) School district. (See prior posting.) Rev. Joey Rogers has worked with Pace High School students to create a Baccalaureate Board that will enlist local churches to sponsor this year's baccalaureate ceremony. Pace High School teachers and administrators can attend, but cannot be involved in the planning, nor can they speak at the ceremony. The ceremony will be held May 29 at Pace Assembly Ministries. The ACLU, which brought the lawsuit challenging prior school practices, is pleased with the new plans. Meanwhile the ACLU and the school district are working to draft an agreed-upon permanent injunction.

Building on this experience, Rev. Rogers is beginning a nationwide grassroots campaign called "Got Your Bacc." A new website describes plans to enlist churches to sponsor baccalaureate ceremonies for local high schools. The site includes resources for those planning ceremonies.

Bolivian President Says Catholic Church Is Enemy Of His Reforms

After Bolivians last week approved a new Constitution that eliminated special protection for the Catholic Church (see prior posting), Bolivia's President Evo Morales lashed out at the Church in remarks at the World Social Forum in Brazil. Catholic News Agency reports on Morales' remarks made last Thursday that accuse the Catholic Church in Bolivia of being the "main enemy" of his proposed reforms. During remarks at the Forum, Morales said: "In Bolivia new enemies have appeared, not only now in the right-wing media but also in groups from the Catholic Church, the leaders of the Catholic Church who are the enemies of peaceful transformation.... I want to say to you what we hear shouted all the time: 'Another world is possible.' I want to tell you another faith, another religion, another church is also possible, brothers and sisters."

5th Circuit Hears Arguments In Parochial School Bid To Join Sports League

Yesterday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral arguments in Cornerstone Christian Schools v. University Interscholastic League. (Recording of full arguments.) Last April a Texas federal district court upheld the rejection of Cornerstone Christian's application for membership in the state's interscholastic athletic league for public schools. (See prior posting.) Reporting on the oral arguments, AP says the school maintains that its exclusion injures its reputation and attractiveness to parents. Texas assistant attorney general Jim Todd argued that the league's rules do not require anyone to give up their religion to join. Cornerstone was excluded because it was eligible to join TAPPS, a separate league for private and parochial schools. However Cornerstone's membership in TAPPS was terminated, allegedly because of recruiting violations. Cornerstone is affiliated with the megachurch founded by controversial televangelist John Hagee.

Kirill Installed; Russia's President Stresses Church-State Separation

In Moscow on Sunday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended the three-and-a-half-hour service installing the newly-elected Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill I. Yesterday Ekklesia and ITAR/TASS both reported on the ceremony at which Kirill stressed the importance of Church unity in the face of suggestions by Ukraine's president that the Ukrainian Orthodox church to break away. (See prior posting.) At a reception, President Medvedev spoke of church-state relations, saying in part: "In the renewed Russia relations between the state and the Church are built according to the constitutional principles of the freedom of conscience and belief, non-interference of state bodies in the activities of religious organizations." Kirill responded that there should be a "symphony" in the relationship between the Church and public power.

Justice Department Will Likely Focus on Race Instead of Religious Discrimination

Today's New York Times reports on the dramatic changes that are expected at the Department of Justice under new attorney general Eric Holder. The Senate is expected to confirm Holder today and he plans to be sworn in this evening in order to get a quick start. In the Civil Rights Division, it is expected that the Department will return to its traditional role of mainly focusing on racial and ethnic discrimination. In the Bush administration, the Division had shifted away from these areas in order to focus on religious discrimination cases. (See prior related posting.)

UPDATE: CNN reports that Eric Holder was confirmed by the Senate Monday night by a vote of 75-21.

Botswana Proposal To Force Sale of Non-Halal Meat Stirs Controversy

Gaborone's Sunday Standard reports today that Botswana's attorney general began in October to draft legislation to compel major food retailers to provide a section of their stores in which non-halal food is sold. At issue is the difficulty that small farmers in majority-Christian Botswana are having in selling their poultry to retail outlets. Many of those food stores are owned by Muslims and the Qur'an forbids Muslims making profits through selling non-halal products. Requiring them to do so would pose substantial problems under Botswana's Constitution (Sec. 11) that protects freedom of religion. The Botswana Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) says that the real problem is that many small farmers observe deficient hygiene standards and are unable to assue a consistent supply. Some retailers are using halal as an excuse not to purchase from them rather than dealing with the underlying issues. BOCCIM suggests government aid to small farmers to improve production reliability and to set up slaughtering facilities nearby.

Conversion To "Prison Islam" Is Popular

An article in Sunday's Everett, Washington Herald discusses the growth of conversion to Islam in U.S. prisons. Vassar professor Lawrence Mamiya estimates that 10% of all prison inmates have converted, though only 20% of those continue in the faith after they are released. Most of the converts are African-Americans. Originally conversion efforts were undertaken by Nation of Islam, but now most converts are Sunni. Some experts say that "Prison Islam" is more like a "prison gang" that gives members some special privileges, though prison chaplains say that the converts are serious. There is a shortage of trained federally approved imams, so that many prison congregations are led by inmates. One Muslim inmate said that conversion changed everything for him. Another, commenting on the attraction of Islam, said: "In Christianity, Jesus Christ died for sins. But in Islam, there's no scapegoat. I can't say that the devil made me do it."

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Frances Raday, Traditionalist Religious and Cultural Challengers - International and Constitutional Human Rights Responses, (Israel Law Review, Vol. 41, pp. 596-634, 2008).


• Joel A. Nichols, Evangelicals and Human Rights: The Continuing Ambivalence of Evangelical Christians' Support for Human Rights, (Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 7, 2009).


• Elizabeth Rose Schlitz, Learning from Mary: The Feminine Vocation and American Law, (Ave Maria Law Review, Vol. 8, 2009).


• Christopher C. Lund, Legislative Prayer and the Secret Costs of Religious Endorsements,(January 31, 2009).


• Neil W. Hamilton, Faculty Professionalism: An Opportunity for Catholic Higher Education to Vitalize the Academic Profession's Social Contract, (Current Issues in Catholic Higher Education, Vol. 25, p. 177, 2008).


• Josh Blackman, This Lemon Comes as a Lemon: The Lemon Test, Legislative History, and the Pursuit of a Statute's Secular Purpose, (January 17, 2009).
  

From SmartCILP:

• Francis J. Beckwith, The Courts, Natural Rights, and Religious Claims as Knowledge, 49 Santa Clara Law Review 429-458 (2009).


• David Crump, Natural Selection, Irreducible Complexity, and the Bacterial Fagellum: A Contrarian Approach to the Intelligent Design Debate, 36 Pepperdine Law Review 1-57 (2008).


• Nantiya Ruan, Accommodating Respectful Religious Expression in the Workplace, 92 Marquette Law Review 1-32 (2008).

Indonesian Police Hold Sect Leader, Preliminarily Charged With Blasphemy

Indonesian police have charged Agus Noro, head of the Satria Piningit Weteng Buwono sect, with blasphemy after a female sect member called Kartiningsih charged that Noro proclaimed himself to be God and held bizarre sex rituals. Other charges could follow. Noro allegedly forced Kartiningsih to have sex with him while her husband and other followers watched. Noro's followers call him Agus Imam Solihin or "leader of the faithful." Reuters reported yesterday that Noro has surrendered to police after a raid on the sect's headquarters. AFP reported last week that the leader gave religious sermons wearing only his underpants and told his disciples they would be taught Kamasutra sex techniques to use in the afterlife.

Court Orders Amish Couples To Comply With Building Code Or Vacate Homes

The Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat reported on Friday that a state trial court judge has issued a preliminary injunction against two Amish couples who have refused to comply with county sewage and building code regulations in the houses they are constructing. The court ordered that the two couples, members of the conservative Swartzentruber Amish sect, must either comply with all regulations within 60 days, or else vacate their homes. The order was issued by Judge Norman Krumenacker after he unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a compromise in the dispute by meeting with Amish elders and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

British Court Convicts Father For Encouraging Son In Ashura Rite

BBC News reported Friday that a British court has convicted a Muslim father of cruelty for encouraging his 10-year old son to take part in a Shia religious ceremony that involves self-flagellation with an instrument made up of chains and blades. Police began an investigation after the boy's mother complained. Huntingdon Crown Court imposed a 6-month suspended sentence on the father for allowing his son to take part in zanjeer matam, a ceremony practiced by some for Ashura that commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. The father was also sentenced to 180 hours of community service and required to pay costs of £500. Another father was convicted in a similar case last September. (See prior posting.)

Two Cases Result In Victory For Religious Accommodation In Employment

Last week brought one verdict and one settlement for individuals seeking dress and appearance code accommodations from employers. In Trenton, New Jersey, a federal jury awarded $10,000 in damages against United Parcel Service for failing to create an exception to its grooming guidelines to accommodate a Rastafarian employment applicant. The Newark Star-Ledger reported yesterday that the lawsuit, brought by the EEOC, charged that UPS would not hire Roniss Mason for a job involving direct customer contact unless he shaved his beard. UPS says it will appeal. (See prior related posting.)

Meanwhile AP reported yesterday that the Las Vegas, Nevada police department has settled a suit brought against it by an Orthodox Jewish detective who, under departmental dress rules, was prohibited from wearing a beard and head covering. Detective Steve Riback won an initial victory in an August federal district court ruling. (See prior posting.) Under the settlement, Riback will be allowed to wear a neatly trimmed beard and a baseball cap without a logo or with the departmental logo. In addition, the police department will pay $350,000 in damages. Under the settlement, Riback agreed not to apply for a promotion or transfer for two years, and will need to file a new accommodation request if in the future he is transferred out of his current plain-clothes unit.

Fiji Village Chief Bans Sunday Travel Except For Church

In the South Pacific nation of Fiji, village chief Isei Vosadrau has banned residents of his village on the island of Vanua Levu from traveling anywhere on Sundays except to church services. Fiji Times reported yesterday that the step was taken because villagers had been walking out of church services to catch the boat to the island's largest town, Labasa. The Citizens Constitutional Forum says that the chief's order is unconstitutional under various provisions in the bill of rights of Fiji's constitution. FijiLive reports that the country's Methodist Church also disagrees with the scope of the ban.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Singson v. v. Norris, (8th Cir., Jan. 27, 2009), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Arkansas Department of Corrections policy that requires Wiccan inmates to check out tarot cards from a chaplain and prohibits keeping of the cards in the inmate’s cell. Plaintiff had claimed that the policy violated his rights under RLUIPA.

In White v. Sherrod, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5767 (SD IL, Jan. 28, 2009), and Illinois federal district court dismissed a federal prisoner’s claim that he was prevented from speaking at a religious service after he was disciplined for encouraging a group demonstration at a previous Rastafarian religious service.

In Hyde v. Fisher, (ID App., Jan. 28, 2009), an Idaho Court of Appeals upheld a state maximum security prison’s ban on sweat lodge ceremonies and its restrictions on possession of religious property brought by an inmate who practices Odinism and Native American religion. Plaintiff claimed that these policies violated RLUIPA and Idaho’s Free Exercise of Religion Protected Act. The court concluded, however, that the state had not shown that a total ban on smudging ceremonies is the least restrictive means of furthering the compelling interest in safety and security.

In Mitchell v. New York State Department of Correctional Services, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5157 (WD NY, Jan. 26, 2009),a New York federal district court rejected a prisoner’s claim that the prison’s Religious Alternative Meals did not adequately accommodate his Nation of Islam dietary requirements.

In Ashanti v. Tilton, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4767 (ED CA, Jan. 23, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge permitted a Muslim prisoner to proceed with his claims that he was not being provided a halal diet and that the prison does not provide an interfaith chapel suitable for Muslim prisoners to use.

In Warren v. Kolender, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4817 (SD CA, Jan. 22, 2009), a California federal district court rejected a challenge by plaintiff to the lack of religious services for detainees, as opposed to prisoners, in the San Diego County jail. Plaintiff was held there for a period of time during hearings on whether he should be classified as a sexually violent predator. The court found that it was religious volunteers themselves, not jail officials, who decided to offer more religious services to prisoners than to detainees. UPDATE: The magistrate judge's recommendation, which was rejected by the court, is at 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106905 (May 23, 2008).

In Reischauer v. Jones, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6358 (WD MI, Jan. 29, 2009), a Michigan federal district court rejected 1st Amendment and RLUIPA challenges by an inmate who claimed that authorities denied his requests for Islamic weekly Jum'ah services and for religious books from the Muslim Brotherhood Religious Library. The court also rejected claims that plaintiff was removed from the monthly Ramadan fast list without his consent and was wrongly denied a bag meal for breaking the fast at the Eid celebration.

In Hall v. Cole, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6412 (D NJ, Jan. 28, 2009), a New Jersey federal district court permitted an inmate to proceed with his claim that his 1st Amendment rights were violated when he was denied access to religious services because he was in administrative segregation for protection as a witness in a high profile case.

In Goods v. Pylant, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106800 (WD LA, Dec. 16, 2008), a Louisiana federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of a plaintiff's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when, because of his confinement in lock-down, he was prohibited from attending church services.

In Brown v. Unfried, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6436 (SD IL, Jan. 29, 2009), an Illinois federal district judge permitted a prisoner to proceed with his claim that authorities refused to accommodate his observance of the Ramadan fast.

In State v. Bain, (VT Sup. Ct., Jan. 14, 2009), the Vermont Supreme Court rejected a prisoner's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when he was ordered to submit a DNA sample for the state's DNA data base.

In Iswed v. Caruso, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6347 (WD MI, Jan. 29, 2009), a prisoner complained he was not allowed to make overseas phone calls to his family. A Michigan federal district court rejected plaintiff's free execise challenge to this for lack of factual allegations supporting the claim.

Moderate Elected Somali President; Wants To Correct Radical Interpretation of Islam

Reuters reported yesterday that Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a moderate, has been elected president of Somalia. The election took place in an all-night session of Somalia's parliament meeting in neighbouring Djibouti because of military control of Baidoa by the Islamic terrorist group, al Shabaab. (See prior posting.) Ahmed says he will try to correct the misinterpretation of Islam by some insurgents. He wants to create a new national security force.

Videos Show Questioning Process In Immunization Waiver Application

In New York state, a child can obtain a waiver of immunizations normally required before entering school if the child's parents hold "genuine and sincere religious beliefs" that oppose immunization. Public Health Law, Sec. 2164(9). Three videos posted on Age of Autism yesterday show the meeting during which a school attorney questions a parent about her religious beliefs on the issue. The mother's posting accompanying the videos is extremely critical of the process.