President Meets With Inner City Pastors

Yesterday afternoon, President Trump met at the White House with a group of inner city pastors.  The White House has posted a transcript of remarks by the President and a number of the pastors at the meeting.  They focused primarily on issues of economic development and prison reform.

Treasury Department Sanctions Turkish Officials Over Imprisoned American Pastor

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced yesterday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions on Turkey's Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and its Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu.  They are leaders of Turkish government organizations responsible for the arrest and detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson. Brunson has lived in Turkey for more than 20 years.  According to the Treasury Department:

Pastor Andrew Brunson has reportedly been a victim of unfair and unjust detention by the Government of Turkey.  He was arrested in Izmir, Turkey in October 2016, and with an absence of evidence to support the charges, he was accused of aiding armed terrorist organizations and obtaining confidential government information for political and military espionage. 

Vox, reporting on the Treasury Department's action, says that Brunson's case has become a personal issue for President Trump and Vice President Pence, and is important to many Christian evangelicals.  Turkey, however, apparently sees Brunson's case as tied to its attempt to get the U.S. to extradite Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen to Turkey.

Challenge To Settlement In Mosque Zoning Case Is Dismissed

In Youkhanna v. City of Sterling Heights, (ED MI, Aug. 1, 2018), a Michigan federal district court dismissed a lawsuit challenging a consent decree approved by the Sterling Heights City Council growing out of a dispute over zoning approval for a mosque. (See prior posting.) The consent decree settled two related lawsuits-- one by the Islamic Center and one by the Department of Justice-- that alleged violations of RLUIPA and of the Islamic Center's free exercise rights.  An overcrowded and contentious City Council meeting preceded approval of the consent decree.  Rejecting the challenge to approval of the consent decree the court said in part:

The crux of Plaintiffs’ Complaint is that the approval of the Consent Judgment should be invalidated because the Council purportedly failed to abide by the City’s Zoning Code by neglecting to consider the discretionary standards set forth in § 25.02. Plaintiffs’ further assert that the Consent Judgment should be invalidated because the City did not comply with the notice requirements under the MZEA [Michigan Zoning Enabling Act]. Both of Plaintiffs’ arguments are without merit.

The court also rejected claims that the Michigan Open Meetings Act had been violated and that defendants' 1st, 4th and 14th Amendment rights had been infringed. The court said in part:

Plaintiffs claim their speech was impermissibly chilled when they and other audience members were limited to a two-minute speaking time, prevented from speaking critically of the Islamic faith, and removed from the meeting for being disruptive. However, ... [w]hen the government designates a limited public forum for speech, as is the case of a city council meeting, it may apply restrictions to the time, place, and manner of speech so long as those restrictions “are content neutral, are narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest, and leave open ample alternative channels of communication.”

The court had previously denied a preliminary injunction in the challenge.  Detroit News reports that defendants will appeal yesterday's ruling.

Meanwhile, according to AINA, another mosque controversy is on the horizon in Sterling Heights as a group of Pakistanis are moving ahead with plans to convert a former Lutheran church there into a mosque.

Gym's Failure To Disclose Transgender Policy Violates Michigan Consumer Protection Law

In Cormier v. PF Fitness-Midland, LLC, (MI App., July 26, 2018), a Michigan appellate court in a case on remand from the Michigan Supreme Court held that the gym Planet Fitness violated provisions of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act when it failed to inform plaintiff that it had a policy of allowing members to use whichever locker room and rest room corresponds to the gender with which that person self-identifies. The court concluded that Planet Fitness violated MCL 445.903(1)(s), (bb), and (cc) which prohibit:

(s) Failing to reveal a material fact, the omission of which tends to mislead or deceive the consumer, and which fact could not reasonably be known by the consumer.

(bb) Making a representation of fact or statement of fact material to the transaction such that a person reasonably believes the represented or suggested state of affairs to be other than it actually is.

(cc) Failing to reveal facts that are material to the transaction in light of representations of fact made in a positive manner.

In concluding that the failure to inform plaintiff of the policy was material, the court said:

After joining the gym, plaintiff saw an assigned male individual in the women’s locker room and then complained to an employee at the front desk and to defendants’ corporate office. Upon being informed of defendants’ unwritten policy on the matter, plaintiff verbally warned other women at the gym about it. Plaintiff’s actions indicate that she strongly preferred a locker room and a restroom in which individuals who are assigned biologically male are not present, and it is thus reasonable to infer that defendants’ failure to inform plaintiff of the unwritten policy affected her decision to join the gym.

A person who successfully sues under Michigan's Consumer Protection Act may recover actual damages or $250, whichever is greater, plus attorneys' fees. Liberty Counsel issued a press release announcing the decision.

Museum Can Keep Biblical Paintings First Acquired By Nazis

In Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, (9th Cir., July 30, 2018), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a lengthy opinion applied the Act of State Doctrine to reject the attempt by plaintiff to recover two oil paintings of Biblical characters taken by the Nazis from her father-in-law in a forced sale. At issue are Renaissance masterworks painted by Cranach the Elder— "Adam" and "Eve".  The Forward reports on the decision.

Unification Church Sues Its Founder's Son For Trademark Infringement

The Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification USA) has filed a suit alleging unauthorized use of a registered trademark against  The World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania ("Sanctuary Church").  According to a Unification Church press release:

In light of the recent media attention surrounding Sanctuary Church, public concern regarding the political views of this organization, and public brand confusion, Family Federation has made the difficult decision to pursue litigation to protect the legacy of its founders, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.

As reported by The Blaze earlier this month, the founder of the Sanctuary Church is Hyung Jin Sean Moon, the son of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon who founded the Unification Church in the 1950s. Hyung has been labeled an anti-LGBT cult leader by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Earlier this year, Sanctuary Church sponsored a service at which hundreds of members, some holding unloaded AR-15 rifles, exchanged wedding vows.  They see the AR-15 as symbolizing the "rod of iron" in the Book of Revelation.

Suit Challenges City Council Opening Meetings With Lord's Prayer

The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit this week in a West Virginia federal district court to stop the Parkersburg, West Virginia City Council from regularly opening its meetings with the recitation of the Lord's Prayer.  The complaint (full text) in Cobranchi v. The City of Parkersburg, (D WV, filed 7/30/2018), seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, contending that the prayer practice violates plaintiffs' 1st and 14th Amendment rights. FFRF issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

DC Circuit Upholds Bus Ad Restrictions On Religious Subject Matter

In Archdiocese of Washington v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, (DC Cir., July 31, 2018), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in 44-pages of opinions, rejected challenges to the WMATA's guidelines which preclude the sale of advertising space on public buses for issue-oriented advertising, including political, religious and advocacy ads.  The ban includes ads "that promote or oppose any religion, religious practice or belief."  The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington wished to purchase space on the exterior of buses for its Christmas season "Find the Perfect Gift" ad.  Finding that advertising space on buses is a non-public forum, the court said in part:

the government has wide latitude to restrict subject matters — including those of great First Amendment salience ... — in a nonpublic forum as long as it maintains viewpoint neutrality and acts reasonably....

The Archdiocese’s position would eliminate the government’s prerogative to exclude religion as a subject matter in any non-public forum. It contends Supreme Court precedent prohibits governments from banning religion as a subject matter.... Not only is this position contrary to the Supreme Court’s recognition that governments retain the prerogative to exclude religion as a subject matter, see Rosenberger, 515 U.S. at 831, it would also undermine the forum doctrine because the Archdiocese offers no principled reason for excepting religion from the general proposition that governments may exclude subjects in their non-public forums....

The Archdiocese contends also that ... Guideline 12 is unconstitutional because, like the restrictions challenged in Rosenberger, Lamb’s Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School Dist., 508 U.S. 384 (1993), and Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001), it suppresses the Archdiocese’s religious viewpoint on subjects that are otherwise includable in the forum. But far from being an abrogation of the distinction between permissible subject matter rules and impermissible viewpoint discrimination, each of these cases represents an application of the Supreme Court’s viewpoint discrimination analysis, of which Guideline 12 does not run afoul. In each, the Court held that the government had engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination because the challenged regulation operated to exclude religious viewpoints on otherwise includable topics. An examination of each case demonstrates the contrast between the breadth of subjects encompassed by the forums at issue and WMATA’s in which, unlike the restrictions struck down by the Court, Guideline 12 does not function to exclude religious viewpoints but rather proscribes advertisements on the entire subject matter of religion.

Judge Wilkins, while joining the court's opinion, filed a concurring opinion as well.  Washington Times reports on the decision.

11th Circuit: Jehovah's Witness Truck Driver Was Offered Reasonable Accommodation

In Walker v. Indian River Transport Co., (11th Cir., July 27, 2018), the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Title VII claims brought by a Jehovah's Witness truck driver who resigned his job alleging a failure to accommodate his need to regularly attend Sunday church services. The milk route to which Bobby Walker, Jr. was assigned required flexibility that included Sunday availability.  The court concluded that Walker's employer, Indian River Transport, offered Walker a reasonable accommodation by offering him other local routes, even though they paid less than the milk route.  The court also rejected Walker's retaliation claim.  Land Line reports on the decision.

AG Sessions Announces New Religious Liberty Task Force In Extensive Remarks on Topic

Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered remarks (full text) at today's Department of Justice Religious Liberty Summit.  He said in part:

I want to thank all of you for your courage and insight to speak out for religious liberty.

Let us be frank.

A dangerous movement, undetected by many, is now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom. There can be no doubt. This is no little matter. It must be confronted and defeated.

This election, and much that has flowed from it, gives us a rare opportunity to arrest these trends.  Such a reversal will not just be done with electoral victories, but by intellectual victories. 

We have gotten to the point where courts have held that morality cannot be a basis for law; where ministers are fearful to affirm, as they understand it, holy writ from the pulpit; and where one group can actively target religious groups by labeling them a “hate group” on the basis of their sincerely held religious beliefs.

This President and this Department of Justice are determined to protect and even advance this magnificent heritage....

[I]n recent years, the cultural climate in this country—and in the West more generally—has become less hospitable to people of faith. Many Americans have felt that their freedom to practice their faith has been under attack.

And it’s easy to see why.  We’ve seen nuns ordered to buy contraceptives. 

We’ve seen U.S. Senators ask judicial and executive branch nominees about dogma—even though the Constitution explicitly forbids a religious test for public office.  We’ve all seen the ordeal faced so bravely by Jack Phillips.

Americans from a wide variety of backgrounds are concerned about what this changing cultural climate means for the future of religious liberty in this country.

President Trump heard this concern.

I believe this unease is one reason that he was elected.  In substance, he said he respected people of faith and he promised to protect them in the free exercise of their faith.  He declared we would say “Merry Christmas” again....

Today I am announcing our next step: the Religious Liberty Task Force, to be co-chaired by the Associate Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy—Jesse [Panuccio] and Beth [Williams].

The Task Force will help the Department fully implement our religious liberty guidance by ensuring that all Justice Department components are upholding that guidance in the cases they bring and defend, the arguments they make in court, the policies and regulations they adopt, and how we conduct our operations.  That includes making sure that our employees know their duties to accommodate people of faith.

As the people in this room know, you have to practice what you preach. We are also going to remain in contact with religious groups across America to ensure that their rights are being protected.  We have been holding listening sessions and we will continue to host them in the coming weeks.

This administration is animated by that same American view that has led us for 242 years: that every American has a right to believe, worship, and exercise their faith in the public square.

DOJ Religious Liberty Summit Today

According to an ADF press release, the U.S. Department of Justice will host a Religious Liberty Summit this morning. It will be live streamed at this link beginning at 9:30 AM.  The Summit "will present a number of perspectives on the centrality of religious liberty to a flourishing society and will examine legal and cultural challenges to it. Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio will host the event, which will feature an announcement on protecting religious freedom by Attorney General Jeff Sessions...."

UPDATE: Here is a transcript of the proceedings at the Religious Liberty Summit. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the link.]

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Orders Release of Redacted Grand Jury Report On Clergy Sexual Abuse

In In re: Fortieth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, (PA Sup. Ct., July 27, 2018), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court approved the public release (with certain redactions) of a 900-page grand jury report on allegations of child sexual abuse, failure to report abuse, and other acts endangering children by persons associated with 6 Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses.  The Grand Jury report, which lists over 300 clergy as predators, also covers possible obstruction of justice by Church officials, community leaders, and public officials.  However the court ordered that there be temporary redactions in the report as released to safeguard the reputations of individuals who have filed challenges to the report.  The court also called for oral argument on what due process mechanisms should be available to those individuals challenging the report's conclusions about them. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The order by the seven-member high court provided a temporary victory for about two dozen current and former clergy members who have waged a furious legal fight to prevent their names from being publicly disclosed. The high court’s decision will allow them to remain unidentified for weeks, if not months, while the justices weigh their arguments.

New IRS Rules On Substantiation of Charitable Contributions

T.D. 9836, published in the July 30 Federal Register, sets out revised IRS rules for reporting and substantiation of cash and non-cash charitable contributions.  They implement provisions of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 and the Pension Protection Act of 2006. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Boyd v. Etchebehere, (9th Cir., July 25, 2018), the 9th Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a challenge to a California prison's Ramadan meal policy.

In McCracken v. Godert, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121480 (ED MO, July 20, 2018), a Missouri federal magistrate judge dismissed, unless an appropriate amended complaint is filed, a Native American inmate's complaint that he is not being allowed to use ceremonial pipes, tobacco, and other ritual items.

In Thomas v. Delaney, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122106 (ND NY, July 23, 2018), a New York federal district court dismissed some claims by a Rastafarian inmate of harassment and free exercise infringement, while allowing an amended complaint asserting 1st Amendment, harassment and RLUIPA claims to be filed.

In Allen v. Kunkel, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122116 (D CT, July 22, 2018), a Connecticut federal district court dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies a Moorish American inmate's complaints about barring his obtaining a particular book and refusing to approve his ability to purchase a fez.

In Miller v. Lucas, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122640 (MD PA, July 20, 2018), a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing an inmate's complaint that on one occasion he was sent from the chapel back to his cell without being able to participate in religious services.

In Cejas v. Brown, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122935 (SD CA, July 20, 2018), a California federal district court allowed a Buddhist inmate to move ahead with his claim that authorities denied weekly Buddhist services and the ability to practice meditation, chanting and prostration indoors. The court however denied joinder of other plaintiffs.

In Finefeuiaki v. Maui Community Correctional Center Staff, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124678 (D HI, July 25, 2018), a Hawaii federal district court dismissed an inmate's complaint that authorities could not locate his Bible, daily bread, and religious handbook during a 5-day perioid.

In Mears v. Kauffman, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125038 (MD PA, July 26, 2018), a Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed an inmate's complaint that after a chaplain accused him of homosexual activity, a correctional officer removed him from services and urged him not to attend services conducted by that chaplain, or not bring the other inmate with whom he allegedly has sexual contact.

In Cox v. United States, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124412 (D MN, July 25, 2018), a Minnesota federal district court adopted a magistrate's report (2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125213, June 28, 2018), and dismissed an inmate's complaint that a counselor told him to stop praying.

In Brown v. Ryles, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125256 (ED AR, July 26, 2018), an Arkansas federal magistrate judge dismissed an inmate's complaint that he was denied the right to shave in accordance with his religion.

NYT Profiles Wealthy Hindu Holy Man With Rising Political Power In India

Today's New York Times Magazine carries a lengthy profile of Baba Ramdev, holy man and billionaire who has increasing political power in India. Here is an excerpt:

Ramdev has been a prominent voice on the Hindu right, and his tacit endorsement during the landmark 2014 campaign helped bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power.... Although Modi campaigned heavily on promises to reform India’s economy and fight corruption, there were frequent dog whistles to the Hindu nationalist base, some of them coordinated with Ramdev. A month before Modi’s landslide victory, a trust controlled by Ramdev released a video in which senior leaders of Modi’s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.) ... appeared alongside him with a signed document setting out nine pledges. These included the protection of cows — animals held sacred in Hinduism — and a broad call for Hindu nationalist reforms of the government, the courts, cultural institutions and education....

But Ramdev is far more than a useful holy man. Even beyond his political patrons, Ramdev is the perfect messenger for a rising middle class that is hungry for religious assertion and fed up with the socialist, rationalist legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first post-independence leader. Ramdev has led vastly popular campaigns against corruption, donning the mantle of swadeshi, or Indian economic nationalism, to cast foreign companies as neocolonial villains. In a sense, Ramdev has changed Hinduism itself. His blend of patriotic fervor, health and religious piety flows seamlessly into the harder versions of Hindu nationalism, which are often openly hostile to India’s 172 million Muslims. Although Ramdev prefers to speak of Indian solidarity, his B.J.P. allies routinely invoke an Islamic threat and rally crowds with vows to build temples on the sites of medieval mosques.

In his own way, Ramdev is India’s answer to Donald Trump, and there is much speculation that he may run for prime minister himself.

Pope Accepts Resignation of Cardinal McCarrick Amid Growing Sex Misconduct Charges

Crux reported today that at the Vatican, Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick from the College of Cardinals. The 88-year old cardinal's resignation comes amid growing numbers of complaints about past sexual abuse and misconduct by the now-retired Archbishop of Washington.  The Pope ordered McCarrick "to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial."  In 2002, McCarrick was the leading drafter of the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" which imposed new safeguards to protect minors from clergy abuse.

Another Side of the National Prayer Breakfast

The New York Times yesterday profiled a different side of the annual National Prayer Breakfast, saying that it has become a vehicle for "Washington’s corps of lobbyists and fixers" to arrange access for their clients to important government officials and other infludentials. The reports says in part:

Held every year at the Washington Hilton, the prayer breakfast festivities span several days during the first week of February, with the American president appearing at a ceremonial breakfast on Thursday. The days are packed with programming, after which guests head to private suites ... where they mingle late into the night — praying, sharing business cards and sometimes draining expensive bottles of cognac....

Some describe the gathering as similar to the World Economic Forum, except that Jesus is the organizing principle. The eclectic guest list has included the Dalai Lama, the Rev. Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, the singer Bono and the former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, as well as the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

Lobbyists say the event has become even more of a coveted invitation in the Trump era, as foreign politicians scrambled to forge connections with a president who swept into office with few ties to the international community or Washington’s hierarchy of established foreign access brokers.

With its relative lack of diplomatic protocols and press coverage, the prayer breakfast setting is ideal for foreign figures who might not otherwise be able to easily get face time with top American officials, because of unsavory reputations or a lack of an official government perch, according to lobbyists who help arrange such trips....

Pence Announces New US Program To Aid Victims of Genocide and Religious Persecution

Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a 30-minute address (full text) at the State Department's Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.  The Vice President called out a long list of countries for their records of religious persecution and intolerance.  He went on to say:

And it’s my privilege as Vice President to announce today that the United States of America will establish the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response Program, effective today....

Under this new program, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development will closely partner with local faith and community leaders to rapidly deliver aid to persecuted communities, beginning with Iraq.  Crucially, this support will flow directly to individuals and households most in need of help.

Atheist Firefighter Can Move Ahead With Hostile Work Environment Claim

In Queen v. City of Bowling Green, (WD KY, July 20, 2018), a Kentucky federal district court allowed an atheist firefighter to move ahead with his claim of hostile work environment based on religion. The court, analyzing his claim under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act, said in part:

Defendants argue that Queen cannot prove the religious harassment he  experienced was unwanted. Rather, Defendants contend that jokes,  pranks, and teasing are all part of the fraternal environment at the Fire Department that Queen enjoyed and participated in.  However, since the Defendants are  moving  for  summary  judgment, the Court must consider the facts in a light favorable to Queen.  According to Queen, none of the harassment he experienced was welcomed.  As he tells it, he was interrogated about his religion by coworkers and forced against his will to participate in Bible studies.  Ultimately, he claims that he was threatened and physically assaulted.  For this reason, there is enough evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that the harassment Queen experienced was unwanted.

Friendly Atheist blog has more on the decision.

Lesbian Spouses Sue Senior Housing Community For Discrimination

A suit was filed in Missouri federal district court this week by a lesbian married couple against a senior housing community for refusing to rent to same-sex couples. The complaint (full text) in Walsh v. Friendship Village of South County, (ED MO, filed 7/25/2018), alleges that the senior housing community which is not religiously affiliated has a Cohabitation Policy that provides:

Friendship Village “will permit the cohabitation of residents within a single unit only if those residents, while residing in said unit, are related as spouses by marriage, as parent and child or as siblings,” defining “[t]he term ‘marriage’ as used in this policy means the union of one man and one woman, as marriage is understood in the Bible.”

The suit alleges violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act and Missouri's Human Rights Act. Friendly Atheist blog has more on the lawsuit.