Vietnam Recognizes Assemblies of God Church

Earth Times reports that in a ceremony in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, the government's Committee for Religious Affairs granted formal recognition under the 2007 Law on Religion to the Vietnamese branch of the Assemblies of God church. The church, the world's largest Pentecostal Christian denomination, has 40,000 members in Vietnam. It has been active in the country since 1989, and had received warnings from the government. However sanctions were never imposed because of ambiguities in the law. Apparently it will take another year for the church's status to become fully legal.

UPDATE: Christian News Today provides more legal details. The recognition process was delayed until now because Vietnam's Religion Law requires 20 years of stable organization before the process can begin. Now it has received an "operating license" which allows it to carry on religious activities in the country for the next year. During that time it must prepare a doctrinal statement, a constitution and bylaws and a four-year working plan. If these are approved by the government, then the Church can hold an organizing assembly.

Congress Passes Extension of Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program

Following House passage last week, the U.S. Senate yesterday passed and sent on to the President the Conference Committee's version of H.R. 2892, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. Section 568(a) of the bill extends until Sept. 30, 2012 the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program. (See prior posting.) Under prior law that program expired three weeks ago. The bill also requires Citizenship and Immigration Services to submit a report to Congress on the risks of fraud and non-compliance by program participants, and a plan to improve the integrity of the program. In June 2009, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General issued a report (full text) on steps taken recently to reduce fraud in the program.

6th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In Long-Running 10 Commandments Case

The 6th Circuit yesterday heard oral arguments in the long running 10-Commandments case, ACLU of Kentucky v. McCreary County. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a preliminary injunction barring the a display of the Ten Commandments along with other historical documents that refer to God in two Kentucky county courthouses. A majority concluded that the displays violated the Establishment Clause because the predominant purpose of the displays was the advancement of religion. (See prior posting.) However Justice Souter added: "we do not decide that the Counties' past actions forever taint any effort on their part to deal with the subject matter." Meanwhile the counties put up yet a third display, a broader "Foundations of American Law and Government" display that included the Ten Commandments along with other historical documents. On that basis, on remand the district court refused to issue a permanent injunction, but also refused to find that the counties had purged themselves of their original religious motivation. (See prior posting.) The Cincinnati Enquirer says that yesterday's oral arguments in the 6th Circuit focused on whether the counties have done enough to eliminate their original religious motivation.

Tentative Settlement Reached in "Flying Imams" Case

Fox News reported yesterday that a tentative settlement has been reached by all parties in the so-called "flying imams" case. The lawsuit, filed by six Muslim clergy against US Airways and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airport Commission, alleged false arrest, unreasonable search and seizure and equal protection violations. The six plaintiffs were removed from a U.S. Airways flight in 2006 as they were returning from the North American Imams Federation conference held in Minneapolis. (See prior posting.) Details still need to be worked out in the settlement agreed to by the parties on Monday, and federal court approval is still required. None of the parties would comment on specifics of the settlement.

Vatican Invites Conservative Anglicans Into New Affiliation

Surprise developments today out of Rome, London and Washington create new possibilities for dissident Episcopal congregations that are increasingly splitting off from ECUSA and affiliating with new more conservative Anglican provinces. (See prior related posting.) The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced:

[T]he Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion.... [T]he Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. Under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, pastoral oversight and guidance will be provided for groups of former Anglicans through a Personal Ordinariate, whose Ordinary will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy.

Bloomberg News characterizes the new initiative as a way "to integrate disaffected Anglicans and enable the faith's married priests to become Roman Catholic clerics." In London, Roman Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams issued a joint statement saying that today's announcement from the Vatican "brings to an end a period of uncertainty for such groups who have nurtured hopes of new ways of embracing unity with the Catholic Church." However, writing in the London Telegraph, Jonathan Wynne-Jones says this about the developments:

Interestingly, the archbishop says that "this new possibility is in no sense at all intended to undermine existing relations between our two communions or to be an act of proselytism or aggressions". He is either putting on a brave face for the sake of Anglican pride, being incredibly naive or had this part dictated to him by somebody in Rome. For there is no way that this won't undermine the archbishop’s position and weaken the Church of England.

Meanwhile in the United States, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops quickly issued a statement from Washington saying in part:

Today the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has received word of the new Provision in the form of an apostolic constitution issued by the Holy See for the reception into full communion with the Catholic Church of groups from the Anglican tradition. The USCCB stands ready to collaborate in the implementation of that Provision in our country.

The New York Times reports on today's news conference held in the Vatican by Cardinal William Levada, the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

Asked at the Vatican news conference what would happen if an Anglican congregation led by a woman priest wanted to join the Catholic Church, Cardinal Levada smiled and said, “I would be surprised” if that happened.

Justice Kennedy Reinstates Injunction Against Release of Petition Signers' Names

Yesterday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy issued an order (full text) reinstating the preliminary injunction issued by a federal district court in Washington state in John Doe #1 v. Ried. The injunction bars release of the names of signers of referendum petitions seeking to overturn a recently-enacted state domestic partnership law. The 9th Circuit last week reversed the district court (see prior posting), and plaintiffs seeking to prevent release of the names immediately petitioned Justice Kennedy. The full text of both appellants' application to Kennedy and the response by Washington's Secretary of State are available online. AP reports on the case, and Eugene Volokh weighs in on the latest developments.

UPDATE: On Tuesday, the full Supreme Court (Justice Stevens dissenting) confirmed Justice Kennedy's reinstatement of the district court's preliminary injunction, "pending the timely filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari." (Full text of order.) [Thanks to Eugene Volokh for the lead.]

South Carolina Republican Officials Use Anti-Semitic Stereotypes

A letter to the editor published in Sunday's Orangeburg (SC) Times and Democrat from the chairmen of two South Carolina County Republican Party organizations reflects, at the very least, insensitivity to the anti-Semitic nature of comparisons they draw. Defending South Carolina U.S. Senator Jim DeMint's opposition to earmarks in budget bills, Bamberg County chairman Edwin O. Merwin Jr. and Orangeburg County chairman James S. Ulmer Jr. wrote:

There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves. By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed.

JTA reports on the letter, quoting a conservative website in the state (The Palmetto Scoop) that said remarks like these "make many folks fear for the future of the once Grand Ole Party."

UPDATE: AP reported on Tuesday that the two county Republican officials have apologized for their remarks. Ulmer's apology was straight forward; however the apology from Merwin still suggested he did not understand the history of the stereotype he invoked. He said his original statement was was "truly in admiration for a method of bettering one's lot in life" and he meant nothing derogatory.

Opposing Religious Coalitions Active On Maine's Same-Sex Marriage Ballot Issue

Yesterday' Bangor (ME) Daily News reports on religious coalitions on opposing sides of Maine's Question 1-- a referendum on the November ballot that would overturn a law passed earlier this year permitting same-sex couples to marry. (See prior posting.) The Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine held rallies around the state on Sunday to urge a "No" vote on Question 1. Rev. Bob Emrich, founder of the Maine Jeremiah Project which opposes same-sex marriage and urges a "yes" vote on the referendum, says the issue is not discrimination, but redefining marriage.

Asst. Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Sworn In

Yesterday, the new head of a little-known bureau within the State Department was formally sworn in, though he has been on the job for over three weeks. Michael Posner was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Posner previously served as president of Human Rights First. In her remarks (full text) at the ceremony, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the work of the Bureau: "It trains NGOs and civil society leaders to try to turn the principles of democracy into practice, to combat violence and discrimination against women and minorities, to promote interfaith dialogue and fight exploitation in the workplace." Posner's actual confirmation by the Senate was Sept. 22, and immediately afterwards he led the first U.S. delegation to the UN Human Rights Council, sponsoring with Egypt a compromise resolution on freedom of expression and religion. (See prior posting.)

Smithsonian Will Add Evolution Exhibit; Explore Religion and Science

USA Today reported last week that the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum will open a new 15,000 square foot permanent exhibit next March on the "discovery and understanding of human origins." The Museum has also created a Broader Social Impacts Committee to address the interaction between religion and science. However Jim Miller, co-chair of the committee and an official with the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith, says that the evolution exhibit is "a scientific exhibit so it's not there to make a religious point." But, he says, he hopes the new exhibit, which opens on the 100th anniversary of the Museum on the National Mall, will provide an opportunity "for sound scientific discovery to enrich religious experience." [Thanks to Institute on Relig. & Public Policy for the lead.]

Wilmington Catholic Diocese Files For Chapter 11 Protection

Last night, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington (covering Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore) became the seventh U.S. Catholic diocese to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing delays the trial that was scheduled to start today in a clergy sex abuse case against the diocese. AP reports that today's case was the first of over 100 filed under a 2007 Delaware law that gave victims a 2-year window to file even though the prior statute of limitations had run. (See prior posting.) In the bankruptcy filing, the diocese listed its assets as between $50 million and $100 million, with liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. Since 2002, the diocese has paid out $6.2 million to settle clergy sex abuse lawsuits, and additional undisclosed amounts to victims who did not file suit.

UPDATE: According to Thursday's Wilmington News Journal, attorneys for clergy abuse victims will ask the bankruptcy court to include property of the parishes along with diocesan property as assets in the bankruptcy proceeding. The Diocese is incorporated under Delaware's nonprofit corporation law, while each parish is individually incorporated under either the Delaware or Maryland statue relating to religious societies or religious corporations.

IRS Receives Comments On Proposed Church Audit Rule Change

Today's BNA Daily Report for Executives [subscription required] summarizes four sets of comments the Internal Revenue Service has received on proposed changes in its Regulation governing which official has authority to authorize church tax inquiries. (See prior posting.) The proposal is designed to clarify the confusion over who has that authority after a 1998 IRS reorganization. Comments from D.C. attorney Marcus Owens object to the IRS conclusion that the authority should be given to the Director of Exempt Organizations. He urges that the authority should be vested in an official who has experience in making high-level sensitive policy decisions and who does not have church tax compliance as a significant part of his responsibilities.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Roberta Rosenthal Kwall, Book Review: Intellectual Property Law and Jewish Law: A Comparative Perspective on Absolutism, (Yale J. Law & Humanities, Vol. 22, 2010).
• Susan J. Stabile, Vocation, Formation and the Next Generation: The Role of Catholic Law Schools in Light of Catholic Social Thought, (Villanova Journal of Catholic Social Thought, Forthcoming).
• László Blutman, In Search of a Legal Definition of Religion, (Americana, Vol. V, No. 1, Spring 2009).
• Robert F. Blomquist, Beyond Historical Blushing: A Plea for Constitutional Intelligence, (2009 Cardozo L. Rev. de novo 244).

From SmartCILP:

• Brian Bloch, Creating a Faith-Based Conflict Management System, 14 Harvard Negotiation Law Review 249-270 (2009).
• Samantha Crane, Book Review, (Reviewing Carol Gilligan and David A.J. Richards, The Deepening Darkness: Patriarchy, Resistance, & Democracy's Future), 32 Harvard Journal of Law & Gender 505-533 (2009).
• Douglas NeJaime, Inclusion, Accommodation, and Recognition: Accounting for Differences Based on Religion and Sexual Orientation, 32 Harvard Journal of Law & Gender 303-381 (2009).
• Mark Strasser, When Churches Divide: On Neutrality, Deference, and Unpredictability, 32 Hamline Law Review 427-475 (2009).

British MPs Want Christian References Removed From Constitutions of Territories

Sunday's London Mail reports on efforts by the Foreign Affairs Committee of Britain's Parliament to have references to Christianity removed from the Preambles of the Constitutions of two British territories. Beginning in 1999, the British Foreign Office initiated efforts to have territories under British sovereignty update their Constitutions. However, when Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee saw the redrafts from two territories, it raised objections. On the Cayman Islands draft, the Committee wrote in a letter to the Commonwealth Office:

we consider it inappropriate that both the preamble and the main text contain specific reference to the Christian religion and "Christian values". This gives the impression, even if it is a misleading one, that Christians will be granted more favourable treatment under the Constitution than people of other faiths or of none. Second, we regret the absence of explicit mention of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for discrimination in clause 16.

In examining the draft of the proposed Constitution from St. Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, the Committee objected to a reference to "Christian and family values" in the Preamble. However in a letter, the Commonwealth Office said that other provisions in the document assure protections against religious discrimination. Meanwhile church leaders in Britain criticized Parliament for its concern with "spurious political correctness."

U.S. Attorney General Speaks On Hate Crimes

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder addressed the Anti-Defamation League's 2009 American Heritage Dinner in Las Vegas Saturday night. His address (full text) focused primarily on hate crimes, including anti-Semitism which is one of the ADL's primary concerns. Holder hailed the fact that expanded hate crimes legislation is about to pass in Congress. (See prior posting.) He said that "on the day that it becomes law, we will hasten to begin using it." Then focusing on problems being faced by Muslim-Americans, he said:

Crimes against Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim have escalated dramatically since September 11th. Some hate-mongers seem to have adopted the twisted logic that an attack on innocents can somehow be avenged by another attack on innocents.... I have heard from Muslim Americans who feel uneasy about their relationship with our government, who feel isolated and discriminated against by law enforcement. They report feeling denied the full rights of citizenship and also, just as importantly, the full responsibilities of citizenship.

I realize that we can become emotionally overwhelmed by acts of terror committed in the name of Islam. We can, perhaps, fail to see that virtually all Muslim Americans are, just like us, trying to do what all Americans wish to do - lead fulfilling, honorable lives, raise their children, love their families, support their communities, and serve their country. The tension that arises among citizens of different faiths, and between government and citizens of a particular faith, is unacceptable to me. It is inconsistent with what America is all about.

Cyprus Benefits From No Civil Marriage Laws In Israel and Lebanon

AP yesterday reported on the thriving civil marriage industry in Cyprus, catering to residents of Israel and residents of Lebanon. In both of those countries, civil marriage does not exist and religious authorities will not perform interfaith marriages. In Israel the Orthodox rabbinate is particularly strict in determining who is Jewish for purposes of marriage. Last year, 523 couples from Lebanon and 1,533 from Israel were married in Cyprus.

9th Circuit: Names of Referendum Petition Signers Can Be Released

Last month, a federal district court in Washington state enjoined release of the names of individuals who signed petitions supporting a referendum to overturn a recently-enacted state domestic partnership law. The Public Records Act request for the documents had been filed by two gay rights groups that wanted to be able to contact the signers to complain about their support for the referendum. (See prior posting.) In an order issued last Thursday, the 9th Circuit in John Doe #1 v. Ried, (9th Cir., Oct, 15, 2009), cleared the way for release of the names, holding that the district court had relied on an "incorrect legal standard" in granting the preliminary injunction. It said that "an opinion setting forth the reasons for the court’s reversal of the Preliminary Injunction Order shall be issued expeditiously and in due course." The Seattle Times reported Thursday that Protect Marriage Washington, the group supporting the referendum, will seek en banc review of the 3-judge panel's reversal of the injunction. Meanwhile, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, there is still a temporary restraining order outstanding from a state court barring release of the information about petition signers. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Canadian Court Decides Dispute Between Church Factions Over Control of Funds

Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Canada v. Hohite Semay St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, (BC Sup. Ct., Oct. 9, 2009), involved a dispute over which of two factions in a Vancouver congregation in the Canadian province of British Columbia was entitled to control over $280,000 of church funds. The congregation was made up primarily of immigrants from Ethiopia and Eritrea whose first language is Amharic. The dispute grew out of the firing of the congregation's priest and inaccurate corporate filings when the congregation was created that had initially registered the congregation in the name of the Toronto-based Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Canada. That Church, as plaintiff, is aligned with the smaller of the two factions in the congregation. The British Columbia Supreme Court (as a trial court) held: "the conduct of the parties shows that there was never any intention that the funds raised by and for the benefit of members of the Vancouver Church were for the beneficial ownership of the plaintiff.... The plaintiff is not, and never was, the owner of the funds at issue."

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Putzer v. Donnelly, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94467 (D NV, Oct. 9, 2009), a federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation to deny a preliminary injunction (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94472, Aug. 17, 2009). A Jewish prisoner, alleging RLUIPA and 1st Amendment violations, objected that he was not permitted to attend a candle-lighting ceremony on Friday evenings just before sundown, in celebration of the Sabbath.

In Albrecht v. Williams, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95070 (D NJ, Oct. 13, 2009), a New Jersey federal magistrate judge found that there were factual disputes that precluded summaryjudgement for either side ina suit by a Catholic prisoner who complained that he was disciplined for refusing to work at his prison job on Sundays, while accommodations were made for Jews, Muslims and Seventh Day Adventists to avoid work on their Sabbaths.

In Henderson v. Hubbard, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95652 (ED CA, Sept. 25, 2009), a California federal district court refused to issue a preliminary injunction granting a Muslim prisoner conjugal visits. Plaintiff claimed that his religious faith mandates sexual intercourse with his spouse.

In Nixon v. Brown, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95610 (SD FL, Oct. 14, 2009), a Florida federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95615, Sept. 18, 2009) finding that a former prisoner sufficiently stated a claim that he was prevented from worshiping and that his Kufi cap was confiscated. However his claim for declaratory and injunctive relief is now moot and he is not entitled to recover damages for emothonal injury unaccompanied by physical injury.

In State of Vermont v. Hall, (VT Sup. Ct., Oct. 8, 2009), the Vermont Supreme Court held that an inmate's free exercise rights are not violated by requiring him to submit a DNA sample.

Tax Liens Complicate Efforts To Reform FLDS UEP Trust

Saturday's Salt Lake (UT) Tribune reports that growing numbers of tax liens are complicating the work of the Utah court-appointed trustee of the FLDS United Effort Plan Trust. The trust holds land in Colorado City, AZ and Hildale, UT on which FLDS members, many in polygamous relationships, live. A combination of misunderstandings, disagreements and complexity has led to taxes not being paid on many properties in Colorado City, as trustee Bruce Wissan still seeks to remove the religious elements from the trust and allocate some land to former FLDS members who left or were expelled from the Church. (See prior posting.) Tax liens have been filed on homes, businesses and school buildings, vacant land and a 54-acre community park and zoo. In February, tax liens on 35 large communal properties were sold at auction, giving the buyers the right to foreclose if back taxes are not paid within three years. Part of the problem is that non-FLDS members placed on land by the trustee have not paid their share of communal taxes. Also Wissan has not applied for tax exemptions for some of the properties that previously had exemptions. Furthermore, some tax lien sales stem from unpaid taxes on only a small portion of a communal lot.

UPDATE: Sunday's Dallas Morning News has a long article that more broadly reviews the unexpected problems being faced being faced by the state of Utah in its attempts to reform the UEP Trust.