Challenge To State Law Protection of Ritual Slaughter Held Non-Justiciable

In Pasado's Safe Haven v. State of Washington, (WA App., July 25, 2011), a  Washington state appeals court dismissed as non-justiciable a challenge brought by an animal rescue organization to the provisions in Washington's Humane Slaughter Law permitting kosher and halal slaughtering of animals.  The law defines as humane either the stunning of animals, or slaughter pursuant to religious ritual that calls for instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries. The statute also provides that nothing in the statute shall be construed to abridge religious freedom.  Plaintiff sought to have those provisions declared unconstitutional and stricken from the statute. The court held, however, that the challenged provisions are inseverable from the remainder of the law, so that if they were found unconstitutional the court would need to invalidate the entire statute. Thus, in the court's language:

were plaintiffs to prevail on any one of their various constitutional challenges, the relief obtainable—a judgment declaring the challenged statute to be invalid in its entirety—is neither sought nor desired. Thus, regardless of our resolution of the merits of the various challenges made, at the end of this case the status quo would necessarily prevail. Our opinion would be nothing more than an advisory one.

Free Exercise Challenge To Animal Cruelty Law Not Preserved For Appeal

In Myers v. State of Texas, (TX App., July 21, 2011), a Texas state appeals court ruled that defendant in an animal cruelty case had failed to preserve for review on appeal his claim that the state's animal cruelty statute violated the free exercise of his religious beliefs. At trial, defendant urged the jury to consider his religious beliefs, but never argued to the court or requested a ruling on the constitutionality of applying the statute to him.

Chabad Gets Court Order Allowing Enforcement of Default Judgment For Library Collection Against Russia

In Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States v. Russian Federation, (D DC, July 26, 2011), the D.C. federal district court, finding that defendants had received adequate notice, issued an order permitting a Jewish religious organization to enforce the default judgement it had previously obtained against Russia, its Ministry of Culture and its State Library. The judgment ordered return of a collection of books and artifacts belonging to Chabad which had been lost to them during the World War I and World War II periods and ended up in the hands of the Soviet Union. (See prior posting.)  The Russian Federation had previously withdrawn from participating in the litigation and also announced that it would refuse to loan art and cultural artifacts to art institutions in the United States, fearing that plaintiff would attach them to satisfy its default judgment.  The court's enforcement order, with consent of plaintiff, includes a provision that no execution will be made on property on loan to cultural or educational institutions which is exempt under a special provision of federal law. The court, however, refused to impose immediate sanctions for civil contempt and instead directed defendants to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt. Blog of the Legal Times reports on the decision.

Atheist Group Sues Over Placement of Ground Zero Cross In 9/11 Memorial

On Saturday, according to NBC New York, the so-called World Trade Center cross was moved from its temporary location near St. Peters Roman Catholic Church to the nearby site of the former Twin Towers where it will become part of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. The 20-foot high, 2 ton, twisted cross-shaped steel beams were found in the rubble of the World Trade Center in the days after their destruction, and the cross has become a religious icon to many. However, on Monday, American Atheists announced that they had filed a lawsuit in state court in New York seeking to enjoin the display of the cross in the September 11 Memorial and Museum until equal space is granted to non-Christian Americans for similar memorials. The complaint (full text) in American Atheists, Inc. v. Port Authority or New York and New Jersey, (NY Co. Sup. Ct., filed 7/25/2011), contends that the installation of the cross violates the Establishment Clause as well as various New York constitutional and statutory provisions.  Museum officials say the cross has become part of the Memorial and Museum not because of its religious symbolism, but because it is part of the history of Ground Zero. They say that steel girders made into other crosses, stars of David and possibly some Eastern religious symbols will also become part of the Museum.

City Says Claimed Religious Institutions Are Sex Clubs

According to yesterday's Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas officials have filed two separate lawsuits against Wyakie Glenn Hudson, who claims to be an ordained minister, to close down two adult businesses that Hudson claims are religious institutions.  An undercover investigation revealed that the Darkside is an all-night dance club for those 17 years old and above, with sex and drugs on the premises, while Hudson claims it is a place of worship. The Playground is a "swingers club" catering to adults that want to engage in random consensual sexual activities, but its certificate of occupancy is for a church, mosque or synagogue. AP reports that yesterday a court granted a temporary restraining order closing The Playground.

Arizona Announces Large Housing Discrimination Settlement

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne yesterday announced the largest settlement of a fair housing suit in the history of the state's Civil Rights Division. The owners of a Tempe, Arizona apartment complex have paid Soha Abdelrahman and her husband, Hany Ibrahim, $197,500 to settle claims that Villatree Apartments discriminated against the couple because they were Arab, Egyptian and Muslim. The settlement also involved payment of $30,000 to the state Civil Rights Division to fund enforcement of state civil rights laws. The suit alleged that defendants complicated the rental application process, refused requested repairs and eventually evicted the couple after they complained about discriminatory treatment.

Court Rejects Vaccination Exemption Claim

In Caviezel v. Great Neck Public Schools, (ED NY, July 23, 2011), a New York federal district court rejected parents' claim for a religious exemption under NY Public Health Law Sec. 2164(9) from the requirements for vaccination of their child against certain diseases in order to attend public school. The court, exercising pendent jurisdiction of plaintiffs' state law claim found that no evidence beyond that provided at the preliminary injunction stage had been offered. Preliminary relief had been denied on the ground that the parents' concerns involved safety and a secular philosophy, not religious belief. (See prior posting.)

Retired Pastors Can Continue Suit Against Pension Board Over Reduced Annuities

In Johnson v. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, (D MN, July 22, 2011), four retired Lutheran pastors filed a class action complaining of a violation of contractual and fiduciary rights in the reduction of annuities paid to them from the ELCA Retirement Plan. A Minnesota federal district court dismissed claims against the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America because it had no role in deciding to reduce payments to plaintiffs; nor was it liable either as a plan fiduciary or as the alter ego of the plan fiduciary. However the court permitted plaintiffs to proceed with their claims against the Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.  Plaintiffs were also given 30 days to amend their complaint to adequately allege certain of the claims that were dismissed. BNA's Daily Report for Executives today reports on the decision.

Certiorari Petition Filed In Vaccination Exemption Case

The Rutherford Institute announced yesterday that a petition for certiorari (full text) has been filed seeking Supreme Court review in Workman v. Mingo County Board of Education.  In the case, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld West Virginia's statute requiring vaccination for various diseases as a condition of attending school. (See prior posting.)  At issue is the request of a mother for a religious exemption from the vaccination requirements for her daughter. West Virginia law only recognizes medical exemptions.

New Survey Of Indonesian and Malaysian Muslim Youth Released

The Merdeka Center for Opinion Research has recently released a survey of Muslim youth in Indonesia and Malaysia.  The study, Values, Dreams, Ideals: Muslim Youth In Southeast Asia, reports on surveys conducted in October and November 2010 among young people age 15 to 25.  A portion of the report deals with attitudes of those surveyed toward religion and government. Here is a portion of the report's conclusions:

While many of the respondents come from religious households and about half of them pursued an education in religious schools not all of them always observe their religious obligations like praying five times a day, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan and reciting prayers from the al-Qur’an. Muslim youth in Indonesia and Malaysia are not very different in this regard....

When it comes to polygamy, the majority of Muslim youths in Malaysia and Indonesia disagree with the act. In this regard, more women than men disagree with polygamy. More Indonesian youth disagree with polygamy (86.5%) compared with their Malaysian counterparts (72.7%)....  Polygamy is a legal practice in Malaysia and Indonesia, but in Indonesia the overall public opinion towards it is highly negative, a notion reflected in the findings of this study....

The use of the headscarf has become a lot more widespread in recent years, especially in Malaysia, where the dressing habits of Muslim women have changed profoundly.... The wearing of the headscarf in Indonesia and Malaysia first became popular in the 1980s, a development some experts believe was an impact from the Iranian Revolution in 1979. However, the wearing of the headscarf over the past two and a half decades has become increasingly widespread. In Indonesia, the wearing of the headscarf particularly increased following the Reformation era.

... The headscarf has become the symbol of a woman’s Islamic identity. Even so, there are still many Muslim women in Indonesia and Malaysia who hold prominent positions but do not wear the headscarf. The same thing is true for many wives of senior officials and powerful businessmen.... Surprisingly, Malaysian respondents with a secondary school education are more liberal over the headscarf issue than university graduates or those with a diploma.

Malaysian Muslim youths are very clear in their preference for Shariah and Hudud law, despite their laxity in carrying out their religious obligations. Over 70% would rather follow Shariah law than the Federal Constitution. However, only 50% of Eastern Malaysian Muslim youth would condone such a choice.... 

A surprising finding is that the majority of Muslim youths in Malaysia and Indonesia agree to the imposition of Hudud punishments.... 71% of Malaysians and 50% of Indonesians urge the punishment of cutting off the hand of anyone found guilty as a thief; 92% of Malaysians and 68% of Indonesians support the punishment of whipping of alcohol offenders, while 92.5% of Malaysians and 66% of Indonesians agree on the death penalty for murderers.... 

The rather conservative outlook of Muslim youth in Indonesia and Malaysia on religion and social life does not appear to be conducive to building modern democratic, pluralist and humanistic societies. Religious conservatism can be potentially incompatible with democratic principles, such as the freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from discrimination. Indonesia’s history created a specific relationship between religious and state or public values that is different from the one in Malaysia. Although the majority of Indonesians are Muslim, the nation’s founders acknowledged Pancasila ["five principles"] as their ideological basis..... The nation’s founders clearly refused to ground their nation on religion. Religion was only used as an ethical basis, not as an ideological one.

In Malaysia, however, it appears that during the last few decades the idea of an “Islamic state” has gained much ground. This was not always so. Whilst the first and third prime ministers... openly declared that Malaysia was a secular state with Islam as the official religion – the fourth prime minister ... declared that Malaysia was an Islamic state.

On Islam reports on the survey.

Connecticut High Court Adopts 2nd Circuit's Version of Ministerial Exception Doctrine

In Dayner v. Archdiocese of Hartford, (CT Sup. Ct., release date 8/2/2011), the Connecticut Supreme Court adopted the Second Circuit's version of the "ministerial exception" doctrine and dismissed claims by the principal of a Catholic school that she she was wrongfully terminated from her position. In reaching this conclusion the court focused on a split among circuits as to whether all employment related claims by a ministerial employee are barred, or only those that directly call into question the religious institution's hiring or termination decision. The court rejected the categorical exclusion of all employment claims and held that the only claims excluded are those which "would require the court to intrude into a religious institution’s exclusive right to decide matters pertaining to doctrine or its internal governance or organization."  All the claims here, however, met that standard.  AP reports on the state Supreme Court decision that became available yesterday. (See prior related posting.)

Suit Seeks To Invalidate New York Same-Sex Marriage Law For Procedural Irregularities

Liberty Counsel announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in New York asking a state court to declare the state's Marriage Equality Act void and to declare void any same-sex marriages that have taken place under the Act. (See prior posting.) The complaint (full text) in New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms v. New York State Senate, (Livingston Co. Sup. Ct., filed 6/25/2011), alleges that there were a number of procedural defects in the passage of the statute. These include violation of the Open Meetings Law, suspension of normal Senate committee hearings and voting procedures, denying lobbyists access to members of the legislature, and pressures on Republican Senators from Wall Street and the governor.

Suit Claims Philosophy Course Was Unconstitutional Instruction In Christian Apologetics

In an unusual case, a student at Arizona's Paradise Valley Community College last week filed a lawsuit charging that the instructor in a Philosophy course (Introduction to Ethics) "failed to teach the Philosophy Class according to the Course Description and instead taught her own Christian worldview."  The complaint (full text) in Smith v. State of Arizona, (D AZ, filed 7/20/2011), claims that the course instructor, Adjunct Professor Kelly Burton, assigned for the course a portion of a book written by another instructor at the community college: Surrendra Gangadean, Philosophical Foundation: A Critical Analysis of Basic Beliefs. It is alleged that the assigned chapters were theological and present the author's view of Moral Law rather than the theories of philosophers promised by the course description. The suit claims that the course is in fact  one in Christian Apologetics, and that  teaching it violates the Establishment Clause as well as Art. 2, Sec. 12 of the Arizona Constitution banning use of public funds for religious instruction. The complaint also alleges breach of an implied contract. [Thanks to Bob Ritter for the lead.]

Women To Sue In Challenge To Belgium's New Anti-Burqa Law

AFP reports that on Saturday, Belgium's ban on wearing coverings-- such as the burqa or niqab-- that hide the face in public took effect. (See prior posting.) A day earlier, two Muslim women who wear full veils announced (through their lawyer) that they would file suit in Belgium's Constitutional Court to challenge the new law as a discriminatory infringement of freedom of religion and expression. According to Reuters, one of the two plaintiffs is a convert to Islam who has worn the burqa for 13 years, and who successfully fought a ban on it that the Brussels region municipality of Etterbeek had imposed earlier.

Jewish Group Congratulates TSA On New Scan Software That Avoids Body-Specific Images

The Transportation Security Administration announced last week that it will begin installing new software on its body imaging machines at airports that will eliminate body-specific images.  The new Automated Target Recognition software will display a generic outline of a person for all passengers, but will still show where suspected weapons or explosives are located on a passenger's body. If no threat is detected, the monitor will display OK, with no body outline. The Orthodox Jewish group Agudah Israel of America, which had been concerned about privacy issues posed by software that displays an actual body image of an individual, commended the TSA on its new initiative.  JTA reports that in a statement issued Thursday, Agudah said that this shows they were correct in believing that both religious concerns about privacy and security needs could be accommodated with sufficient perseverance.

Case Challenging School Flyer Policy Is Settled

Alliance Defense Fund announced last week that a settlement was reached last month in Michalek v. Garfield Heights Board of Education, (ND OH, complaint filed 4/15/2011). The complaint (full text) in the lawsuit challenged a school policy that prevented community groups from sending home religious flyers with students, while flyers promoting various non-religious events could be distributed. Plaintiffs wanted to distribute a flyer inviting students to an After School Christmas Story Hour.Under the settlement that led to the case being dismissed, the school agreed to amend its policies.  It will end distribution of all outside flyers through teachers and instead will permit any community group, including religious ones, to place up to 25 flyers in the school office where students can pick them up. However it appears that few students voluntarily visit the office.

Man Charged With Norwegian Terror Attacks Left Manifesto With Christian, Anti-Muslim Religious Themes

Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian man charged with terror attacks in Norway Friday on government buildings in Oslo and on a youth camp on the island of Utoya, published in advance online a 1500 page document titled 2083--A Declaration of Independence. Here is the full text of the document which the Wall Street Journal describes as "part terrorist manual and part manifesto for a national conservative organization clothed in the regalia and accouterments of the Knights Templar, in which Mr. Breivik titles himself a 'Justiciar Knight Commander for Knights Templar Europe'." In his introduction, Breivik says:

As we all know, the root of Europe's problems is the lack of cultural self-confidence (nationalism). Most people are still terrified of nationalistic political doctrines thinking that if we ever embrace these principles again, new “Hitler’s” will suddenly pop up and initiate global Armageddon... Needless to say; the growing numbers of nationalists in W.Europe are systematically being ridiculed, silenced and persecuted by the current cultural Marxist/ multiculturalist political establishments. This has been a continuous ongoing process which started in 1945. This irrational fear of nationalistic doctrines is preventing us from stopping our own national/ cultural suicide as the Islamic colonization is increasing annually. This book presents the only solutions to our current problems.

Texas Board of Education Rejects Creationist Supplementary Materials For Biology

The National Center for Science Education reports that the Texas State Board of Education on Friday voted 8-0 to approve scientifically accurate high school biology textbook supplements, and rejected materials that were recommended by creationists.  The Board adopted a supplement published by Holt McDougal, but instructed the Commissioner of Education to review alleged errors in it put forward by a creationist member of the review panel, and to develop amended language for Holt to incorporate where needed. Education groups are confident that the Commissioner's recommendations will not reflect creationist views. (See prior related posting.)

New York 2010 Hate Crimes Data Released

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services has recently released its 2010 Annual Report on Hate Crime in New York State (full text). Hate crimes during 2010 were up sharply in New York City, and were down in the rest of the state. 39% of the hate crimes reported were motivated by religious bias, the vast majority of those being motivated by anti-Jewish bias.  220 hate crimes (including 90 crimes against persons) were anti-Jewish, while 29 (including 22 crimes against persons) were anti-Muslim. Percentage-wise, however, anti-Jewish hate crimes dropped by 12% from the prior year, while anti-Muslim crimes increased 163% from 2009. Almost 41% of 2010 hate crimes were motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin, while nearly 20% were motivated by sexual orientation.

EEOC Sues Jewish Nursing Home For Refusing Sabbath Off For 7th Day Adventist

The EEOC announced last week that it has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against Menorah House, a Jewish-affiliated Boca Raton, Florida nursing and rehabilitation facility. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Seventh Day Adventist employee of the nursing home who for ten years had her religious beliefs accommodated by not having to work from sundown Friday to sundown on Saturday.  However this changed when management instituted a new policy requiring all employees to work on Saturdays, regardless of their religious beliefs. The suit seeks reinstatement, back pay, damages and an injunction requiring Menorah House to reasonably accommodate religious needs of employees. Friday's South Florida Sun Sentinel reports on the lawsuit.