Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Pres. Obama Sends Passover Greetings
3rd Circuit Says Police Need Not Accommodate Officer's Khimar
Student In Israel Displays Novel Protest Over Court's Reading of Hametz Law
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Cert. Denied In Establishment Clause Challenge To Navy Retirement System
Court Says Ministerial Exception Does Not Apply In Suit Against Archdiocese
High School Must Bus Students From Rented Catholic Building For Sex-Ed
New Jersey Court Issues Injunction Allowing Church To Use Building
New Yorker Meets Judicial Resistance On Name Change
Suit Challenges Michigan Funeral Protest Law On Unusual Facts
Army Chaplain Urges Day of Prayer and Fasting-- Conflicts With Passover
Monday, April 06, 2009
Orthodox Jewish Policy Director Appointed To President's Faith-Based Council-- [UPDATE]: 9 New Members Appointed
UPDATE: The Washington Post reported Monday afternoon that a number of new members were appointed to the Advisory Council and that its first substantive meeting was held today:
Several new members come from groups representing minorities, including: Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies; Anju Bhargava, founder of Asian Indian Women of America and Harry Knox, head of the religion program at the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for gays and lesbians.A White House press release Monday afternoon lists all the members, including the 9 new appointees. Additional new members are Bishop Charles Blake, Nancy Ratzan and Dr. Sharon Watkins. Absent from the list of appointees was former NFL coach Tony Dungy. A previous announcement that he had been invited to join the Council stirred criticism. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Blog From the Capital for the lead.]
Other new members include Anthony Picarello, formerly of the religious liberties law firm Becket Fund and now general counsel to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Rev. Peg Chemberlin, president-elect of the National Council of Churches, a sprawling ecumenical umbrella group of mostly mainline Protestants
Former Student Challenges University's Requirements for Counseling Practicum
Obama In Turkey Stresses Respectful US-Muslim Relationship
In his speech to Parliament (full text from Hurriyet) Obama said:I think that where there's the most promise of building stronger U.S.-Turkish relations is in the recognition that Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian nation, a predominantly Muslim nation -- a Western nation and a nation that straddles two continents ... that we can create a modern international community that is respectful, that is secure, that is prosperous, that there are not tensions -- inevitable tensions between cultures -- which I think is extraordinarily important....
[O]ne of the great strengths of the United States [is that it does not consider itself] a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values. I think modern Turkey was founded with a similar set of principles.
I know that the trust that binds us has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Muslim faith is practiced. Let me say this as clearly as I can: the United States is not at war with Islam and will never be. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.
But I also want to be clear that America’s relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al Qaeda. Far from it. We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, bridge misunderstanding, and seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. And we will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better – including my own country. The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country – I know, because I am one of them.
Court Says Pro Se Prisoner Cannot Maintain Class Action
Mexican Drug War Tactic Angers Santa Muerte Followers
UAE Proposal Would Unify Fatwa Procedures Through Federal Law
Recent Articles of Interest
- Patrick McKinley Brennan, Equality, Conscience, and the Liberty of the Church: Justifying the Controversiale Per Controversialius, (Villanova Law Review, Forthcoming).
- Calvin R. Massey, Church Schisms, Church Property, and Civil Authority, (March 26, 2009).
- Prakash Shah, Transnational Hindu Law Adoptions: Recognition and Treatment in Britain, (International Journal of Law in Context, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2009).
- Paul Horwitz, Demographics and Distrust: The Eleventh Circuit on Graduation Prayer in Adler v. Duval County, (University of Miami Law Review, 2009).
- Kenneth George Leonczyk, RLUIPA and Eminent Domain: How a Plain Reading of a Flawed Statute Creates an Absurd Result, (Texas Review of Law & Politics, Vol. 13, 2009).
From SmartCILP:
- Martha C. Franks, Water, Theology, and the New Mexico Water Code, 48 Natural Resources Journal 227-244 (2008).
- Mark Strasser, State Funding of Devotional Studies: A Failed Jurisprudence That Has Lost Its Moorings, 11 Journal of Law & Family Studies 1-34 (2008).
- Kelly S. Terry, Shifting Out of Neutral: Intelligent Design and the Road to Nonpreferentialism, 18 Boston University Public Interest Law Journal 67-117 (2008).
- Essays From the Honorable James J. Gilvary Symposium on Law, Religion & Social Justice: "Justice for Strangers? Legal Assistance and the Foreign Born. Introduction by Sheila F. Miller; articles by Howard F. Chang, Bruno G. Romero and Karen Denise Bradley. 34 University of Dayton Law Review 1-46 (2008).
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Surprise Nominee For Civil Rights Division Head Likely To Face Some Opposition
Teacher Has Immunity In Student's Religious Discrimination Claim
Recently Available Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Wright v. Veda, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24828 (ED MI, March 25, 2009), a Michigan federal district court rejected an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when his religious books were lost after shipment between prison facilities.
In Walls v. Schriro, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108112 (D AZ, June 16, 2008), an Arizona federal district court rejected plaintiff's RLUIPA and 1st Amendment claims objecting to the denial of customized Hare Krishna meals. However the court ordered prison authorities to permit plaintiff to wear his sikha hairstyle. Damages however were denied. (See prior related posting.)
In Coble v. Butler, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25361 (D AZ, March 18, 2009), an Arizona federal district court rejected plaintiff's claim that his free exercise rights were infringed when jail officials interfered with mail to and from his pastor.
In Junaid v. Kempker, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25940 (ED MO, march 27, 2009), a Missouri federal district court rejected a Muslim inmate's complaints that he was denied Halal food; that members of other religious groups could not attend Muslim services; that he could not wear his religious headgear except during religious services; that the Muslim group was barred from holding religious classes and conducting fundraisers; that the prison discriminated in the hiring of chaplains; and that officials refused to accept money mailed to him because it only contained his legally-changed name.
In Henny v. Harvey, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25977 (WD VA, March 27, 2009), a Virginia federal district court rejected plaintiff's 1st Amendment and RLUIPA claims. Plaintiff objected to officials' failure to separate NOI's Friday "Jumah" service from the Sunni Muslims' prayer service, objected to cancellation of Jumah services held in the gymnasium, and complained about pork-flavored foods served as part of the Muslim religious diet.
In Anderson v. Raemisch, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25657 a federal district court gave a Jewish prisoner two weeks to supplement his complaint to clarify what religious materials and services he was allegedly being denied in Transition Phase status after administrative segregation.
In Thorne v. Hale, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25938 (ED VA, March 26, 2009), a Virginia federal district court permitted plaintiff to move ahead with his claim against directors of the state's drug court program alleging that they were responsible for his entering a plea agreement in which he was required to attend religious-based AA and NA programs, and was refused permission to attend a drug treatment program more consistent with his religious beliefs.
In Harrison v. Watts, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26009 (ED VA, March 26, 2009), a Virginia federal district court refused to grant a motion for reconsideration and held that the Nation of Gods on Earth organization is not a religion. The court thus rejected plaintiff's attempt to have NOGE treated on the same basis as other faith-based groups in prison.
In Hayes v. Tennessee, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26411 (ED TN, March 31, 2009), a Tennessee federal district court rejected a prisoner's claim that the Christian Identity Faith should be recognized as a legitimate religion, that he be allowed to receive literature concerning his faith, and that the Department of Corrections be enjoined from adopting unconstitutional Security Threat Group criteria.