Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Some German States Resist Jehovah's Witnesses Push For Recognition
Secretary of State Meets With USCIRF Members
Graduating Class Protests Consent Decree With Lord's Prayer
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Muslim Military Chaplains Discuss Their Special Roles
Unpaid Buddhist Monk Says He Is Not "Employed" For Visa Purposes
AU Complains To IRS About Church's Endorsement of Gubernatorial Candidate
10th Circuit Holds 10 Commandments Monument Violates Establishment Clause
UCLA Changes Policy To Allow Student Reference To Jesus In Graduation Statement
DOJ Sues New Jersey County Over Religious Employment Discrimination
Monday, June 08, 2009
Cert. Denied In Navajo Nation RFRA Case
Jewish Group Solicits Questions To Supreme Court Nominee
Report Says Israel Tax Official Seizes Catholic Church Funds For Taxes
Recent Articles Of Interest
- Jeff Redding, Proposition 8 and the Future of American Same-Sex Marriage Activism, (Nexus, Vol. 14, p. 113, 2009).
- Anne Twomey, The Australian Crowns - Changing the Rules of Succession, (Quadrant, Vol. 53, No. 6, pp. 44-47, 2009).
- Barry McDonald, Getting Beyond Religion as Science: 'Unstifling' Worldview Formation in American Public Education, (Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 66, 2009).
- Amy Lavine & Patricia Salkin, God and the Land: A Holy War Between Religious Exercise and Community Planning and Development, (Albany Government Law Review, Vol. 2, 2009).
- Donald Kerwin, Toward a Catholic Vision of Nationality, 23 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy 197-207 (2009).
- Craig W. Mandell, Tough Pill to Swallow: Whether Catholic Institutions Are Obligated Under Title VII to Cover Their Employees' Prescription Contraceptives, 8 University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class 199-239 (2008).
- Lucian C. Martinez, Jr., Sovereign Impunity: Does the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Bar Lawsuits Against the Holy See in Clerical Sexual Abuse Cases?, 44 Texas International Law Journal 123-155 (2008).
- Nicholas A. Mirkay, Losing Our Religion: Reevaluating the Section 501(c)(3) Exemption of Religious Organizations That Discriminate, 17 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 715-764 (2009).
- Mark Strasser, Repudiating Everson: On Buses, Books, and Teaching Articles of Faith, 78 Mississippi Law Journal 567-636 (2009).
Israel's High Court Hears Challenges To Army Alternatives For Religious Students
New Repressive Religion Law Takes Effect In Azerbaijan
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Swiss Senate Urges Defeat of Ban on Minarets
Federal Suit On California's Textbook Portrayal of Hindus Settled
Bosnian Election Restrictions Challenged In European Court As Discriminatory
Friday, June 05, 2009
Obama Speaks To Middle East Reporters About Religious Pluralism
What I tried to communicate in the speech ... is that in an interdependent world like ours ... we have to have a mature faith that says "I believe with all my heart and all my soul in what I believe, but I respect the fact that somebody else believes their beliefs just as strongly." ... I can't force my religion on you.... Now, that doesn't mean that I can't make arguments that are based on my belief and my faith... If I'm a politician and I say I'm going to pass a law against murdering somebody, that's not me practicing my religious faith; that's me practicing morality that may be based in religious faith, but ... one that can translate into a principle that people of various faiths can agree on.
I think it's very important for Islam to wrestle with these issues.... [I]n Islam there's a debate about sharia and how strict an interpretation or how moderate an interpretation of that should be; or should that be something that is not part of the secular law. I don't presume to make that decision for any country or any groups of people. But I do think that if you start having rules that guarantee other faiths and other groups, or in the case of the United States, people with no faith at all, are somehow forced to abide by somebody else's faith, I think that is a violation of the spirit of democracy and I think that over the long term, that's going to breed conflict in some way. It will lead to some sort of instability and destructiveness in that society.
But, as I said, I think this is a important debate that has to take place inside Islam.... [T]he one thing I can say for certain is that people who justify killing other people based on faith are misreading their sacred texts. And I think they are out of alignment with God. Now, that's my belief. [T]hat ... is a debate that I think is settled for the vast majority of Muslims, but we have a very small minority that can be very destructive....
President's Faith-Based Council Holds Its First Official Meeting
Today, Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Civil and Political Rights today issued a press release focusing on part of the report by the Task Force on Global Poverty and Development. The Task Force identified as an issue the importance of foreign aid going to civil society institutions, such as churches, mosques, temples and universities, as well as to governments. Donohue says: "This is a commendable proposition, but it also smacks of hypocrisy: U.S. taxpayers are expected to foot the bill for religious institutions overseas but there is no money for poor kids down the block from the White House who would like to have a school voucher to attend a Catholic school. "