Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Court Rejects Interlocutory Appeal In Minnesota Charter School Case
British Jewish Schools Implement New Admissions Criteria Ordered By Court
Monday, September 28, 2009
Christian Group Creates "Adopt a Liberal" Initiative
Pray earnestly and intensely for them! Pray that the Lord would move upon them and cause them to be the kind of leaders who will encourage others to lead "a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." We encourage you to seek the Lord's guidance on how to pray for your liberal(s), always allowing Him to temper your prayer with His love and mercy....
Please pray daily for the liberal(s) of your choice, so each can become a good influence on our Nation's culture. Prayer is powerful! It allows God to change the minds of those for whom we are praying. In fact, we fully expect that many of our adoptees will "graduate" from this prayer program with vivid testimonies of God having changed their lives and worldviews!
Woman's Caning Sentence Upheld On Appeal In Malaysia
Victoria Government Agrees To Broad Religious Exemptions In Discrimination Law
2010 National Religious Moot Court Announced
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Recent Articles and Books of Interest
- Jeffrey M. Lipshaw, Can There Be a Religion of Reason? A Response to Leiter's Circular Conception of Religious Belief, (Suffolk University Law School Research Paper Series, Sept. 27, 2009).
- Mostapha Benhenda, Liberal Democracy and Political Islam: The Search for Common Ground, Politics, Philosophy & Economics, Forthcoming).
- Umar Aimhanosi Oseni, Towards the Effective Legal Regulation of Waqf in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects, (September 25, 2009).
From SmartCILP:
- Stephen M. Johnson, Is Religion the Environment's Last Best Hope? Targeting Change in Individual Behavior Through Personal Norm Activation, 24 Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation 119-164 (2009).
- Chad G. Marzen, The Role of Custom in Canon, Jewish, and Islamic Law: Supplemented, Superseded, or Supplanted by Written Law?, 35 Ohio Northern University Law Review 813-827 (2009).
- Anne Orford, Jurisdiction Without Territory: From the Holy Roman Empire to the Responsibility to Protect, 30 Michigan Journal of International Law 981-1015 (2009).
- Nicholas C. Rigano, Fraudulent Conveyance Law: Destroying Free Exercise Rights at a Church Near You, 17 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 165-187 (2009).
Recent Books:
- Anne Marie Lofaso, Religion in the Public Schools: A Road Map for Avoiding Lawsuits and Respecting Parents' Legal Rights (Americans United for Separation of Church & State, 2009), reviewed on AU's website. [Link is to full text of book.]
- David Nash (ed.), Blasphemy in Britain and America 1800-1930, (4 vols.) (Pickering & Chatto Publishers, forthcoming April 2010).
China Issues New Report on Its Ethnic Policy-- Claims Religious Freedom
Freedom of religious belief in China means that every citizen has the freedom to believe or not to believe in any religion," said the white paper issued by the Information office of the State Council.... [A]ll normal religious activities, including those of ethnic minorities, are protected by law.... Venues for religious activities are found all over China, basically satisfying the needs of religious believers.... [T]he Chinese government also helps religious groups build seminaries to train clergymen of ethnic minorities, subsidizes the repairs of some religious venues in minority areas, and gives allowances to poor religious believers of ethnic minorities, according to the white paper.The White Paper comes in the wake of a letter earlier this month (full text) from two members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Jon Huntsman, the new U.S. ambassador to China, raising concerns about reported plans by China to take new steps against "house churches" leading up to the Oct. 1 marking of the 60th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China. (Christian Post, Sept. 10.)
Illinois Supreme Court Says Limitiations Extension Cannot Be Applied Retroactively
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Davis v. Hightower, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85505 (ND FL, July 13, 2009), a federal magistrate judge recommended rejection of a Wiccan inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were infringed when authorities confiscated 9 "religious healing stones" from his property which he used to help heal his peptic ulcer.
Mauwee v. Donat, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86148 (D NV, Sept. 18, 2009), involved claims that prison officials desecrated the prison's sweat lodge area by allowing non-Indians to use it. A Nevada federal district court concluded that damage claims are not permitted under RLUIPA and that plaintiffs' claim for equitable relief was precluded by qualified immunity. It also concluded that objections to changes in sweat lodge procedures were now moot since those changes had been rescinded. The magistrate's recommended findings in the case are at 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86141 (May 28, 2009).
In Kinney v. Curtin, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86225 (WD MI, July 29, 2009), and in Thomas v. Bergh, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86893 (WD MI, Aug. 21, 2009), a Michigan federal magistrate judge recommended that the court uphold decisions to deny plaintiffs participation in their prison's kosher food program because plaintiff had not shown that his beliefs were sincerely held.
In Parks v. Smith, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87147 (ND NY, Sept. 23, 2009), a New York federal district court accepted most of the magistrate's recommendations (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87210, Aug. 17, 2009) allowing a Jehovah's Witness inmate to move ahead with his claim that authorities violated his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA when they disciplined him for attempting to mail a photograph of himself in a meditation pose to a company for use in a personal ad. Prison authorities claim that the pose is in fact a gang signal. The court rejected the magistrate's holding that plaintiff's free exercise and retaliation claims were duplicative. He might be able to show retaliation based on religion even if he did not succeed in his claim that his rights were infringed when authorities classified his meditation pose as a gang signal.
In Strope v. McKune, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86886 (D KS, Sept. 22, 2009) and Strope v. Cummings, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86885 (D KS, Sept. 22, 2009), a Kansas federal district court rejected claims that Assembly of Yahweh inmates were not given adequate time for worship. It also rejected claims that certain foods served to those on the kosher diet were routinely spoiled, and that other foods were not included. UPDATE: The 10th Circuit affirmed (June 11, 2010).
In Shepard v. Peryam, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87189 (SD FL, Aug. 20, 2009), a Florida federal magistrate judge recommended that the court reject claims by a Muslim pre-trial detainee that he was denied religious services, prayer beads, a prayer rug, a Kufi (prayer cap), and a Kosher diet.
In Floyd v. Leslie, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87758 (ND IN, Sept. 23, 2009), and Indiana federal district court allowed an inmate to move ahead with his complaint that a prison officer denied him access to Satanist religious material that belonged to him, but the court dismissed plaintiff's claim against the prison's chaplain.
In Jenkins v. Vail, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87730 (ED WA, Aug. 31, 2009), a federal district court (rejecting a magistrate's recommendations, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87769, July 22, 2009) refused to grant a preliminary injunction to a Muslim inmate who would not participate in work or educational programming on the ground that his sincerely held religious beliefs prevent him from supporting a non-Islamic government.
Moorish American Corrections Officers Can Move Ahead With Discrimination Allegations
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Guardian Ad Litem Has Immunity As To Comments On Mother's Religious Views
Christian Group Complains About Ganesh Statue At Calgary Zoo
Christian Reformed Church Gets Title To Property Over Breakaway Congregation
Friday, September 25, 2009
Hasidic Congregation Gets Reversal of Damage Award, But Loses On Other Issues
It appears that originally the 3,000-member Congregation Yetev Lev ("CYL") owned a synagogue building, surrounding parking lots and a nearby residence that was used as living quarters by its rabbi. In some fashion, Bais Yoel Ohel Feige ("BYOF") took ownership of the residence and began to use it as a synagogue. It also filed a suit under Art. 15 of New York's Real Property Actions & Proceedings Law to confirm its ownership of the premises. CYL brought several counterclaims. One asserted that BYOF's use of the property violated the town's zoning code. The appellate court agreed and upheld a trial court's injunction because the zoning code, as amended in 2007, requires a site plan review by the Village Zoning Board for operating a place of worship in a residence.
The appellate court however reversed the trial court's award of nearly $745,000 in damages on another counterclaim by CYL which complained that individuals attending services at BYOF had continuously used CYL's parking area. The appellate court concluded that there was no evidence that BYOF had instructed its members where to park and that, in any event, CYL had not put up signs attempting to restrict who could use its lots. Also testimony as to how many BYOF members parked there was speculative. Finally the appellate court held that CYL retained an implied easement to access the basement and roof of the residence area to install and repair water, sewer and utility lines and HVAC equipment that apparently served CYL's building. [Thanks to Y.Y. Landa for the lead.]
Religious Groups Active On Several Issues At G-20
4th Circuit Says Westboro's "Utterly Distasteful" Picketing Is Protected By 1st Amendment
The court held that additionally no reasonable reader could interpret any of the signs, or the Internet posting, as asserting actual and objectively verifiable facts about Snyder or his son. They are merely "imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric intended to spark debate about issues with which the Defendants are concerned." Judge Shedd, concurring in the judgment, would have avoided the constitutional issue by holding that Snyder failed to introduce sufficient evidence at trial to support the jury verdict in his favor.
Today's Baltimore Sun reports on the decision and reactions to it. Meanwhile this week Westboro members began a campaign to picket synagogues in Brooklyn, New York just before Yom Kippur. Westboro spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper told the The Brooklyn Paper that their efforts could be seen as an "obey your God rally." Also, last week, just before Rosh Hashanah, Westboro picketers turned up outside the University of Oklahoma's Hillel Foundation. According to the AP, Phelps-Roper said the church stopped there as part of a "love campaign" to critize Jews for "killing Christ."
Capitol Visitor Center Hosts Premiere of Film On Religion In America
This Sunday Is Second "Pulpit Freedom Sunday"
UPDATE: ADF reports that 83 churches from 30 states and D.C. participated in the 2009 Pulpit Sunday.