Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Durban II Draft Revised To Remove "Defamation of Religion" Language
Attempts over the past several years by the Organization of the Islamic Conference to enshrine "defamation of religion" as an offense under international law have generated substantial controversy. (See prior posting.) The group UN Watch (affiliated with the American Jewish Committee) still has some problems with the Durban II draft. Language referring to sexual orientation discrimination has been removed. Also, the draft still takes the position that religions themselves — not just religious believers — should be protected under human rights law. Western diplomats had no immediate comment on the changes, other than to say they were moving in the right direction. (See prior related posting.)
U.S. Muslim Groups May Cut Outreach Efforts With FBI
Pope, On Plane To Africa, Says Condoms Are Not The Way To Fight AIDS
Canadian Science Minister's Beliefs On Evolution Create Controversy
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Israel's High Court Reaffirms Required Religious Accommodation For Fencing Championships
Suit Against Monastery May Proceed Over 1st Amendment Objections
In this decision, a New York federal district court rejected the monastery's First Amendment defense that adjudicating the claim would involve the court in interpreting religious doctrine. While leaving open the possibility that the defense could be raised again later, the court concluded that for now it appeared that it was merely being asked to determine the neutral fact of whether the Monastery was affiliated with the recognized Order of St. Benedict, and not a religious dispute of whether defendants can be "Benedictines" without being affiliated with the recognized order.
5th Circuit Upholds Texas Moment of Silence Law
the Amendments are constitutional and satisfy all three prongs of the Lemon analysis. There is no excessive entanglement, and the primary effect of the Amendments is not to advance religion. The most difficult prong—for this and for moment of silence statutes generally—is legislative purpose. But our review of legislative history is deferential, and such deference leads to an adequate secular purpose in this case.... Here, that intent was to promote patriotism and allow for a moment of quiet contemplation.The San Angelo Standard Times reported on the decision yesterday. (See prior related posting.)
Reconversion Out of Islam Continues As Issue In Muslim Countries
Meanwhile, in Egypt a lawyer has filed suit against the Minister of Interior seeking to make it easier for Christian converts to Islam to reconvert to Christianity. Currently Egyptian law requires a court to approve the reconversion. According to Monday's Christian Today, the lawsuit seeks to require the government to recognize a certificate of conversion from the Coptic Patriarchate as sufficient, just as a decree from Al-Azhar is sufficient for conversion into Islam.
Cardinal Says International Law Precludes Sale of Vatican Art for African Food
Egyptian High Court Says Baha'is Can Get ID Cards Without Religion Listed
UPDATE: Human Rights Watch reported in an April 15 article that the Court's decision has been implemented. On March 19 Interior Minister General Habib al-Adly signed a decree (full text in Arabic) instructing officials in the Civil Status Department of the ministry to place a dash before the line reserved for religion in the official identification documents of Egyptian citizens who demonstrate that they or their ancestors were followers of a non-recognized religion. The decree was published in the Official Gazette on April 14 and entered into force on April 15.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Romanian Tribunals Uphold Biometric Passports Over Religious Objections
Resolution Proposed To Display Lincoln-Obama Bible At Capitol Visitor Center
Whereas the Holy Bible is God's Word;
Whereas each President, after taking the oath of office, has repeated President Washington’s petition prayer seeking divine help by saying, "So help me God";...
Whereas in Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, he referred to God 14 times, to verses in the Holy Bible 4 times, and invoked prayer 3 times in 701 words; ...
Resolved ... That Congress calls upon the Capitol Preservation Commission ... to place the Lincoln-Obama Bible on permanent display ... at the Capitol Visitor Center for the benefit of all its visitors to fully understand and appreciate America's history and Godly heritage.
Pakistan and Egypt Move In UN On Resolutions Against Anti-Muslim Speech
Recent Articles and New Book of Interest
From SSRN:
- Edward H. Sisson, A Proposal for State Legislatures to Pursue Impartial Audits of the Scientific Basis for Evolution as the State Teaches it in its High Schools, Colleges, and Universities, (March 10, 2009).
- Enyinna S. Nwauche, Law Religion and Human Rights in Nigeria, (African Human Rights Law Journal, Vol. 2, 2008).
- Mark Strasser, Religion in the Schools: On Prayer, Neutrality and Sectarian Perspectives, (Akron Law Review, Vol. 42, pp. 185-241, 2009).
- Mark Strasser, State Funding of Devotional Studies: A Failed Jurisprudence that Has Lost its Moorings, (Journal of Law and Family Studies, Vol. 11, pp. 1-34, 2008).
From Bepress:
- Farrokh B. Sekaleshfar, Abortion Perspectives of Shiah Islam, (Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology: Vol. 2 : Iss. 3, Article 4).
- Farid Sufian Shuaib, Review of "Islamic Law in Contemporary Indonesia: Ideas and Institutions", (Asian Journal of Comparative Law: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1, Article 11, 2008).
- Josie F. Brown, Representative Tension: Student Religious Speech and the Public School's Institutional Mission, 38 Journal of Law & Education 1-82 (2009).
- Ofrit Liviatan, The Impact of Alternative Constitutional Regimes on Religious Freedom in Canada and England [scroll to pg. 45], 32 Boston College International & Comparative Law Review 45-82 (2009).
- Jay Wexler, Holy Hullabaloos: A Road Trip to the Battlegrounds of the Church-State War, (Beacon Press, June 2009), [book's website], author interview in Religion Dispatches.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
DC Circuit Says Religious College Is Exempt From NLRB Jurisdiction
Obama Connects With 5 Pastors For Prayer and Discussion
British MP Proposes Ban On Demonstrations Against Uniformed Military
Saudi Religious Enforcers Battle Sorcery
Lots of New Prisoner Free Exercise Cases Available This Week
In Garner v. Morales, (5th Cir., March 6, 2009), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a portion of the district court’s summary judgment against defendant and remanded the case for the court to reconsider whether counsel should be appointed, and then to reconsider its rejection of plaintiff's RLUIPA challenge to the Texas prisons grooming policy. Plaintiff, a Muslim, wants to wear a quarter-inch beard. The court however affirmed the trial court's dismissal of plaintiff's First Amendment and Equal Protection claims and of the lower court's holding that sovereign immunity barred damage actions against defendants in their official capacities.
In Adekoya v. Chertoff, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16980 (D NJ, March 4, 2009), a New Jersey federal district court refused to permit an immigration detainee to challenge the absence of Halal food at the Bergen County jail unless in an amended complaint plaintiff is able to detail facts distinguishing this from an earlier 3rd Circuit case that denied a similar claim.
In Prentiss v. Clark, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16951 (ED CA, Feb. 20, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to file an amended complaint, free exercise, equal protection and RLUIPA claims brought by a Wiccan prisoner who claimed that religious activities for the Wiccan/Pagan Community in his facility were insufficient-- only one hour of worship every Saturday.
In Buckner v. Casaleggio, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17310 (D NV, Feb. 27, 2009), a Nevada federal district court permitted plaintiff , an Orthodox Sunnah Muslim, to move ahead with his claim for injunctive relief asserting that his rights under the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause and RLUIPA were violated when authorities permitted only joint Juma'h religious services with Nation of Islam members, instead of separate services.
In Echtinaw v. Lappin, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17842 (D KS, March 9, 2009), a Kansas federal district court dismissed a Muslim prisoner's claims that his ability to practice this religion is infringed by disruption of worship services, lack of access to religious materials and problems with religious celebrations.
In Perez v. Frank, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18241 (ED WI, March 9, 2009), a Wisconsin federal district court refused to grant summary judgment to defendants and permitted two Muslim prisoners to move to trial on a variety of claims. They seeking access to several items of religious property-- primarily certain items of apparel worn to emulate the Prophet Muhammad. One of the plaintiffs seeks halal meals and also object to TB testing that involves subcutaneous injection of substance derived from pork. However 4 defendants were dismissed from the case. Over the past few years, 3 other opinions have been handed down in the case.
In Cabbagestalk v. South Carolina Department of Corrections, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18412 (D SC, Feb. 24, 2009), a South Carolina federal district judge accepted the recommendations of a federal magistrate judge to deny a preliminary injunction to a Rastafarian prisoner who objected to a number of aspects of prison rules relating to clothing, food and confinement that interferes with religious services.
In Amaker v. Goord, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19327 (WD NY, March 10, 2009), a New York federal district court rejected a claim by a Nation of Islam prisoner that prison authorities were in contempt of a prior injunction by transferring him to another detention facility. The injunction protected plaintiff in the wearing of dreadlocks.
In Musto v. Trinity Food Services, Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18589 (MD FL, Feb. 20, 2009), a Florida federal district judge permitted an inmate to move ahead with his First Amendment claim that he was denied "Kosher dietary meals," appropriate Jewish materials, and visits from a Rabbi. The court also permitted plaintiff to proceed with his retaliation claim, and with his RLUIPA claim against individuals in their official capacities for nominal damages.
In Avery v. Chacon, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18958 (ND CA, Feb. 10, 2009), a California federal district court permitted plaintiff to move ahead with his claim that a corrections officer confiscated and destroyed his religious and cultural material.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Air Force Investigating Commander's Promotion of Religious Website Video
Interim Guidelines adopted by the Air Force in 2006 provide that "leaders at every level bear a special responsibility to ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed to be officially endorsing nor disapproving any faith belief or absence of belief.... [S]uperiors need to be sensitive to the potential that their personal expressions may appear [to subordinates] to be official..." (See prior related posting.)
UPDATE: As a comment to this posting indicates, the continuing authority of the Air Force's 2006 Guidelines is unclear. The Conference Committee Report for the 2007 Defense Appropriation Act directed the Air Force to rescind the policy and reinstate 1999 Guidelines on the chaplains' service. (See prior posting.) Shortly thereafter, the Air Force did issue new guidelines for chaplains, reflecting its 1999 policy. (See prior posting.) However those new guidelines do not explicitly mention repeal of the 2006 Interim Guidelines. Moreover the new Guidelines govern activities of chaplains, but do not mention responsibilities of commanders regarding endorsement of religion. Finally subsequently the Air Force's publication Air Force Call republished the 2006 Guidelines indicating that they are still in effect.