Break-Away Presbyterian Church In Missouri Can Keep Its Property

According to The Layman Online, a Missouri state trial court has ruled in favor of the break-away Colonial Presbyterian Church, one of Kansas City's largest Presbyterian congregations, in its land ownership dispute with the Presbyterian Church USA. The congregation is one of many Presbyterian congregations that have moved their affiliation to the more conservative New Wineskins Association of Churches.  In Colonial Presbyterian Church v. Heartland Presbytery, (MO Cir. Ct., June 9, 2011), the court, applying the "neutral principles of law" approach, held that the provision in the PCUSA Book of Order that all property of a particular church is held "is held in trust ... for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (USA)" is insufficient under Missouri law to create a trust over the church's property. [Thanks to Anglican Curmudgeon for the lead.]

Plaintiffs Voluntarily Dismiss Challenge To Parsonage Allowance.

A press release yesterday from the Pacific Justice Institute reports that the Freedom from Religion Foundation and 21 of its members, represented by Michael Newdow, have filed a voluntary dismissal of their federal court lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the parsonage allowance given to clergy in the federal and California tax codes.  Apparently the dismissal was impelled by the fact that plaintiffs had not asked federal and state tax officials for relief before filing suit.

Britain's Equality Commission Releases Study on Religious Discrimination

Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission yesterday released a report titled Religious Discrimination in Britain: A Review of Research Evidence, 2000-10.  The report says that its aims were:

to identify and review:
• quantitative and qualitative evidence of religious discrimination;
• any evidence about whether religious discrimination is increasing or decreasing;
• any differences in evidence between England, Wales and Scotland;
• ‘Islamophobia’ as a frame of reference for discrimination against Muslims; and
• gaps in the existing research and statistical evidence.

The Commission has also made available a related statistical briefing paper on Religion of Belief.

In a somewhat provocative interview with the Sunday Telegraph ahead of the release of the report, Commission Chairman Trevor Phillips said:

I understand why a lot of people in faith groups feel a bit under siege. They're in a world where there are a lot of very clever people who have a lot of access to the airwaves and write endlessly in the newspapers knocking religion and mocking God. The people who want to drive religion underground are much more active, much more vocal....

Our business is defending the believer. The law we're here to implement recognises that religious identity is an essential part of this society. It's an essential element of being a fulfilled human being.....

I think the most likely victim of actual religious discrimination in British society is a Muslim but the person who is most likely to feel slighted because of their religion is an evangelical Christian.

There are a lot of Christian activist voices who appear bent on stressing the kind of persecution that I don't think really exists in this country. There are some Christian organisations who basically want to have a fight and therefore they're constantly defining the ground in such a way that anyone who doesn't agree wholly agree with them about everything is essentially a messenger from Satan.

I think for a lot of Christian activists, they want to have a fight and they choose sexual orientation as the ground to fight it on. I think that whole argument isn't about the rights of Christians. It's about politics. It's about a group of people who really want to have weight and influence and they've chosen that particular ground.

Texas Governor Signs Mezuzah Bill

Last week Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed HB 1278 (full text).  The new law bars condominium property owners' associations from adopting restrictive covenants that would prevent Jewish property owners or residents from placing a mezuzah on the door of their home. When the bill was passed earlier this month, it was unclear whether or not the governor would sign it. (See prior posting.) Kate Shellnutt's blog at the Houston Chronicle reports on the bill's signing.

Priest Challenges Constitutionality of Law Barring Sex With Woman Seeking Spiritual Comfort

The St. Paul Tribune reports that in state court arguments today a Minnesota priest is challenging the constitutionality of a state statute, MN Stat 609.344,  that prohibits clergy from having sex with a person "during a period of time in which the complainant was meeting on an ongoing basis with the actor to seek or receive religious or spiritual advice, aid, or comfort in private." The challenge comes as a defense in the prosecution of Catholic priest Christopher Wenthe for third-degree criminal sexual conduct for a year-long sexual relationship with a woman in her early 20's.  The woman had met Wenthe while attending a Catholic initiation class and later sought him out as a confessor. Wenthe's attorney says the statute is an overly broad attempt to regulate sexual behavior. He says the case raises the question of whether the woman could have a friendship with the priest that was not counseling under the statute. The Minnesota Supreme Court in the 2007 case of State v. Bussman rejected a vagueness challenge to the law, but divided equally on whether it violated the Establishment Clause. Ultimately it reversed defendant's conviction because the trial court had allowed church doctrine to become entangled with the meaning of the statute.

Pakistan TV Hosts First Religious Quiz Show

A leading Pakistani television channel, GEO TV, is broadcasting what it says is the first-ever large-scale religious quiz show.  According to Pakistan's The News, the game show Alif, Laam, Meem, which begins tonight, will be an entertaining attempt "to impart knowledge of religion in it’s entirety, be it Quran, Sunnah, religious history, literature, architecture or jurisprudence."

Charter School That Is Target of Establishment Clause Challenge Files Its Own Suit To Stay Alive

As previously reported, the ACLU of Minnesota is moving ahead with its Establishment Clause challenge claiming that a Minneapolis area charter school, the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, is promoting Islam. As reported earlier this month by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, new state legislation that takes effect June 30 bans out-of-state authorizers for charter schools, and in a settlement of the ACLU's litigation with it, Islamic Relief USA, the school's current authorizer, has agreed not to reincorporate in Minnesota. (See prior posting.) A trial on the merits of the ACLU's claim is set for November.  Facing imminent closure, TiZA's attempt to line up a new in-state authorizer that is acceptable to the state has been unsuccessful. An authorizing organization, Novation, has resubmitted an application after its first proposal was rejected by the state.

In an attempt to remain open, TiZA has gone to court. Last month a state court dismissed the school's lawsuit against Islamic Relief USA. The suit charged that IRUSA was obstructing TiZA's efforts to get a new sponsor.  Now, according to Minn Post last week, TiZA has filed suit in federal district court against IRUSA and the state Commissioner of Education. The complaint (full text) in Tarek Ibn Ziyad Academy v. Islamic Relief USA, (D MN, filed 6/15/2011) seeks a declaratory judgment that the Minnesota law limiting charter school sponsors to in-state organizations is unconstitutional as a violation of the due process and equal protection clauses, an impairment of the obligation of contracts and as a violation of the commerce clause. The suit also claims that IRUSA is improperly impeding TiZA's attempts to find a new sponsor.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Pamela Edwards, Non-Mainstream Religions and the Law, (June 13, 2011).
• John Witte, Jr., Calvin the Lawyer, (Tributes to John Calvin on His 500th Birthday, David Hall and Martin Padgett, eds., pp. 1-23, 2010).
• Radwa S. Elsaman, Factors to Consider Before Arbitrating in the Arab Middle East: Religious and Legislative Constraints, (Journal of International Commercial Law, Vol. 3, p. 1, 2011).
• Patrick Nelson Leduc, Christianity and the Framers: The True Intent of the Establishment Clause, (Liberty University Law Review, Vol. 5, p. 201, 2011).
• Jane S. Schacter, Ely at the Altar: Political Process Theory Through the Lens of the Marriage Debate, (Michigan Law Review, Vol. 109, No. 8, 2011).

From SmartCILP:

• Sylvie Langlaude, The Rights of Religious Associations to External Relations: A Comparative Study of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, [Abstract], 32 Human Rights Quarterly 502-529 (2010).
• Guobin Zhu, Prosecuting "Evil Cults:" A Critical Examination of Law Regarding Freedom of Religious Belief in Mainland China, 32 Human Rights Quarterly 471-501 (2010).

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Ford v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61978 (D CO, June 10, 2011), a Colorado federal district court accepted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62014, May 24, 2011), and dismissed a complaint by a Nation of Islam inmate that he was not receiving a nutritionally adequate diet consistent with his religious beliefs. The court concluded that plaintiff had failed to show that his beliefs were sincerely held since he purchased food from the commissary that was inconsistent with his claimed dietary requirements.

In Marzuq v. Loury, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62495 (D NJ, June 6, 2011), a Muslim inmate brought a free exercise claim contending that participation in the prison's Therapeutic Community was inconsistent with his religious beliefs. The court held that since the remedy plaintiff sought was restoration of good time credits that he lost when he was expelled from the TC program, he should have brought the suit as a habeas corpus action after exhausting state remedies.

In two opinions in Mahone v. Pierce County, 2011 U.S. Dist LEXIS 62619  and 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62588 (WD WA, June 10, 2011), a Washington federal district court adopted magistrate's recommendations  (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62617, May 23, 2011 and 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62589, May 24, 2011) and dismissed various claims from an inmate who claimed to be an African American Hebrew adherent of Judaism that he was being denied a kosher diet. Prison officials concluded that plaintiff's claims were not based on sincerely held religious beliefs.

In Gordon v. Lee, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63433 (WD LA, June 16, 2011), a Louisiana federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63618, May 17, 2011) and dismissed a complaint by an inmate that he was not able to practice his Rastafarian religion. He was the only Rastafarian at the two facilities in which he had been incarcerated. Plaintiff sought a transfer to a different prison facility where he could practice his religion.

Purported Synagogue Sues Over Zoning Exemption For Hostels

The Forward this week reported on attempts by New York City's Department of Buildings to close down a network of hostels that offer low-priced rooms along with a "tolerance program" for guests. The hostels claim to be operated by the MacDougal Street Synagogue, and therefore to be exempt from various zoning laws under a provision in the New York City administrative code permitting charitable and religious institutions to convert homes into rooming houses "for working girls or women, or for working boys or men, or… for students attending a school or college." The city says that claim is a sham. It argues that the MacDougal Street Synagogue does not appear to exist at any location, and that the hostel rooms are being rented to tourists through the Internet.  The synagogue has filed a lawsuit challenging citations by city inspectors who closed down the hostels that they say are illegal transient hotels.  Inspectors found overcrowding and fire safety violations.

Louisiana Baptist Church Factions Battle In Court

Alexandria, Louisiana's Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church is at the center of four lawsuits, with another set to be filed.  Alexandria Town Talk reports today on the battle between two factions in the church-- primarily older long-time members versus newcomers. The church, which was founded in 1902, serves primarily black congregants.  The church's pastor, Ameal Jones, who was hired in 2007 after the death of longtime pastor Donny  Granville is the focus of the congregational split. Opponents say Jones has built a power base of new members to the detriment of families that have been at the church for generations and who rely on church-financed services such as handicap-accessible vans and meals. The church's Board of Trustees fired Jones last year, but he refused to leave. They sued and the court ruled in the board's favor and nullified the election of a new Board that had taken place. But then Jones' supporters sued complaining that the church had not held an annual meeting or an election for 5 years. In a court supervised election, a new board of Jones supporters was elected. The new board tried to expel some of their opponents who they say engaged in disruptive conduct during church services, such as grabbing a microphone and yelling at Rev. Jones. The board has obtained a temporary restraining order barring 6 individuals from entering church grounds.

Paper Profiles Christian Religious Liberty Lawyer

The Tennessean today profiles Brentwood (TN) lawyer Larry Crain, who often represents clients for the conservative Christian advocacy group American Center for Law and Justice. The article describes Crain as "one of the leading religious liberty lawyers in the United States." Crain's law firm operates as an independent contractor for ACLJ, receiving over $387,000 in fees from it during the past three years.ACLJ has an annual budget of nearly $60 million. According to the article:

Crain’s legal resume reads like a history of the culture wars. Over the past 30 years, he’s represented abortion protesters from Operation Rescue, home-schooling parents, churches in zoning disputes and students who want to pray at graduation.

Israeli Rabbinic Court Sees Stray Dog As Spirit of Cursed Lawyer

Israel's YNet News last Thursday carried the rather strange story of a rabbinical court in Jerusalem, near the ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood, whose judges enlisted neighborhood children to throw stones at a dog. The incident took place several weeks ago in the rabbinic Monetary Affairs Court when a large dog wandered into the courtroom and refused to leave.  One of the judges then recalled that 20 years ago a panel of judges of the court cursed a famous secular lawyer who had insulted the court-- condemning his spirit to move into the body of a dog.  The judge was convinced that this was the dog  carrying that lawyer's spirit, and the court saw stoning as a way of retaliating. The dog managed to escape.  A member of Jerusalem's city council has complained to the Attorney General about the incident and an animal welfare organization has filed a complaint with the police.

UPDATE: According to a June 20 BBC report: "The head of the court, Yehoshua Levin, was quoted by Maariv as saying: 'There is no basis for abuse of animals from the side of Jewish Halacha [law].' In a statement, the court denied that a dog had been condemned. A dog had entered the court and been removed, it said."

UPDATE2: The London Telegraph yesterday reported the full statement by a Jerusalem rabbinical court denying original accounts of the incident:

There is no basis for stoning dogs or any other animal in the Jewish religion, not since the days of the Temple or Abraham.

The female dog found a seat in the corner of the court. And the children were delighted by it; there were hundreds outside the court. They are used to seeing stray cats but most have never seen a dog before. The only action we took was to dial the number of the Jerusalem Municipality to get the people in charge to take it away.

There was no talk of reincarnation, a lawyer has never been mentioned, either now or 20 years ago, and there was no stoning. Such inventions are a kind of blood libel, and we wonder why the inventor of the story did not continue to describe how we collected the blood of the dog to make our matzah.

US Catholic Bishops Revise Child Protection Policies To Comply With Latest Vatican Standards

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced yesterday that at its Spring General Assembly, by a vote of 187-5, with 4 abstentions, the bishops approved revisions to its Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.  According to the press release:

The revisions bring the Charter into line with the most recent Vatican instructions in this area, including specifically mentioning child pornography as a crime against church law and holding that abuse of someone who habitually lacks reason, for example, someone with mental retardation, is equivalent to child abuse.

According to CNN, critics say the changes do not go far enough.

Al-Qaida Announces New Leader In Statement Filled With Religious Affirmations

Al-Quaida announced yesterday on an Islamic website that Ayman al-Zawahri has assumed leadership of the organization now that Osama bin-Laden has been killed. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that al-Zawahari, an Egyptian doctor, is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. McClatchy Newspapers has published a full translation of the group's statement, which is filled with Islamic religious references. The statement reads in part:

Jihad will continue until Judgment Day, and ... has become an obligation in this era against the invading infidels, the occupiers of Muslim homes, and against the backsliding leaders who've changed Islamic law agreed upon by Muslim scholars....

... Al-Qaeda Jihad Organization seeks the implementation of Allah’s book and the Sunna and calls for all Muslims to follow the ways of the Prophet Mohammad and those of his noble companions and his successors, may Allah accept them all. We call for the pursuit of the ways agreed to by the followers of the prophet and their followers ... such as the four Imams and the Imams of Jurisprudence and Hadith.... We abide by what they set out and we do not disobey their commandments. We seek, with Allah's help, to be followers, not fabricators, learners and never creators.

NY Assembly Passes Marriage Equality Bill Including Religious Protections

The New York state Assembly yesterday passed and sent to the state Senate a marriage equality bill, A8354.  The Advocate reports that the bipartisan 80-63 vote in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage followed an impassioned but civil debate that included remarks by various members on whether their religious faith should be an issue in their vote:

I wish it wasn't in the book," said Dov Hikind, who waved a copy of the Torah on the assembly floor. "The Torah's so clear on this subject," he said. "There is no choice for me. And I am open-minded."...

Deborah Glick, the first openly gay member of the state legislature, later addressed the separation of church and state head on, saying, "You do not put your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."

The bill provides that no religious organization will be required to  provide accommodations or facilities for same-sex marriages, and no clergy shall be required to perform same-sex marriages.

According to the New York Times yesterday, the state Senate is still apparently one vote short of the 32 needed for passage.   Final passage may depend on the decision on how to vote by Republican Sen. Stephen Saland from Poughkeepsie who, along with a small group of other Republicans, may vote for the bill if the protections for religious organizations that object to gay marriage are strong enough. (See prior related posting.)

Israel Interior Ministry Changes Procedures On Recognition of Conversions From Abroad

In the convoluted politics of religious identity in Israel, the Israeli Interior Ministry has declared that the Jewish Agency will decide on whether particular Orthodox Jewish conversions abroad will be recognized for purposes of permitting an individual to immigrate under the Law of Return.  The Jerusalem Post reported this week that under the new arrangement the country's Chief Rabbinate will be consulted only in "isolated cases" where questions arise.  The problem arises from a decision by the Chief Rabbinate several years ago to limit which Orthodox Jewish conversions from the United States it would recognize.  Under a High Court decision, anyone converted by a recognized Jewish community abroad qualifies for entry under the Law of Return. However the Interior Ministry never formulated a policy on how to define a recognized community, and instead deferred to the Chief Rabbinate. This has led to a growing number of applications by U.S. and Canadian converts for immigration under the Law of Return being rejected. The change in policy, which will lead to recognition of a broader group of conversions, presumably moots a lawsuit filed in May on behalf of a Canadian who was refused citizenship under the Law of Return. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for the lead.]

Judge Sanctioned In Part For Ordering Defendant To Attend Church As Condition of Bail

In Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance v. Dearman, (MS Sup. Ct., June 16, 2011), the Mississippi Supreme Court ordered a public reprimand and a 30-day suspension without pay of a trial court judge who was charged with various instances of improper judicial conduct. One of the charges was that as a condition of bail for a defendant charged with possession of cocaine the judge required that the defendant attend church at least once a week. Justice Kitchens dissenting argued that the imposition of this condition may have been only an incorrect legal interpretation by the judge. If it was, that is not a basis for sanctions. [Thanks to Volokh Conspiracy for the lead.]

Borough Settles Lawsuit Challenging Its Use of Sectarian Invocations

Subject to a final Borough Council vote next week that is expected to pass, Point Beach, New Jersey has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed against it by the ACLU challenging its practice of opening meetings with a prayer that was generally Christian in nature. (See prior posting.) At one time, the borough opened meetings with the Lord's Prayer. After an initial lawsuit was filed, it moved to prayers by individual council members reflecting their own beliefs.  But that still resulted in Christian prayer and a new suit was brought. The settlement of that suit follows a decision by Council now to open its meetings only with prayers that do not use language specific to any religion. Point Pleasant Patch reports on these developments.

Suit Claims In-House Lawyer Fired Because He was Not An Orthodox Jew

An unusual religious discrimination lawsuit will come to trial June 27 in federal district court in the Southern District of New York. According to The Real Deal, Les Kramsky who was employed as in-house general counsel, is suing his former employer, the prominent real estate developer Joseph Chetrit.  Kramsky claims that Chetrit, an Orthodox Jew, hired Kramsky only because he believed that Kramsky was also an Orthodox Jew. The suit alleges that Chetrit began to treat Kramsky differently, and ultimately fired him, when he discovered Kramsky, though Jewish, was not Orthodox. The suit also claims that an Orthodox rabbi who regularly came to the office pressured Kramsky to pray and put on tefillin. Plaintiff asks for $500,000 in lost wages and benefits, as well as punitive damages. In court documents, Chetrit denies that Kramsky's religion played any role in his hiring, probation or firing, contending that he was terminated because it did not make economic sense to have a full-time in-house lawyer. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State In Israel) for the lead.]


UPDATE:  Real Deal reports on June 24 that the lawsuit was settled out of court just a few days before it was set to go to trial.