Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Alex Deagon, Creating Peaceful Coexistence Through Virtue: A Theological Approach to Institutional Religious Freedom, Equality and the First Amendment , (Liberty & Law Center Research Paper No. 22-01 (2022).
• Steven Douglas Smith, The Church in the Twilight, (Liberty & Law Center Research Paper No. 22-02 (2022)).
• Elizabeth Clark, The Impact of Religion and Religious Organizations, (Liberty & Law Center Research Paper No. 22-03 (2022).
• Helen M. Alvare, Families, Schools, and Religious Freedom,      (Liberty & Law Center Research Paper No. 22-05 (2022).
• Gerard V. Bradley, The Death and Resurrection of the Establishment Clause, (Liberty & Law Center Research Paper No. 22-06 (2022).
• Francis Beckwith, What’s So Special About Religious Liberty? Law, Philosophy, and Serving God, (Liberty & Law Center Research Paper No. 22-07 (2022).
• Kristen Dagher, What's One More? Another Paper Attempting to Reconcile Abortion Jurisprudence and the Doctrine of Precedent Considering Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, (May 9, 2022).
• Mehdi J. Hakimi, Relentless Atrocities: The Persecution of Hazaras, (Michigan Journal of International Law, Vol. 44 (Forthcoming 2022)).
• Muhammad Munir, John Finnis’ Modern Natural Law Theory: An Overview, (May 15, 2022).

From SSRN (Canadian Law):

• Dwight G. Newman, God in the Constitution: The Supremacy of God Clause in the Preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ((2022) 105 Supreme Court Law Review (2d) 39-56).
• Kristopher Kinsinger, Bringing About a Reformation? Religious Freedom and Canadian Constitutionalism, 1759-1774, ((2022) 105 SCLR (2d) 395).

From SSRN (Law of China and Hong Kong)

• Johannes Man-mun Chan, From Elimination of Discrimination on the Ground of Sexual Preference to Same-Sex Marriage: The Hong Kong Experience, ((2022) Vol 27, No 2, Australian Journal of Human Rights 442-466).
• Hui Jing, The Legal Nature of the Chinese Charitable Trust ,(in Matthew Harding and Ying Khai Liew (eds), Asia-Pacific Trusts Law: Theory and Practice in Context (Hart Publishing, 2021) 271-289).

From SSRN (Islamic Law):

• Zakaria Aamou, Feminist and Islamist Movements in Morocco: Allegations of Compatibility and Revolt, (May 19, 2022).
• Dr. Sulaiman Lebbe Rifai, War and Peace in Islam, (May 19, 2022).
• Dr. Sulaiman Lebbe Rifai, Islam and the Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, (May 16, 2022).

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Christopher C. Lund, RFRA, State RFRAs, and Religious Minorities, (San Diego Law Review, Vol. 53, p. 163, 2016 (symposium)).
• Pranoto Iskandar, The Human Right to Non-Religious Beliefs: A Prospectus, (September 23, 2016).
• Christopher C. Lund, Keeping Hobby Lobby in Perspective, (in The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty (Micah Schwartzman, Chad Flanders, and Zoë Robinson eds., Oxford University Press, 2016)).
• Joel A. Nichols & John Witte, Religious Law and Religious Courts as a Challenge to the State (National Report for United States of America), (Religious Law and Religious Courts as a Challenge to the State: Legal Pluralism from a Comparative Perspective, Ed. Uwe Kischel (Verlag Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, 2016), 83-111).
• Nelson Lund, Rousseau's Rejuvenation of Political Philosophy: A New Introduction, (Rousseau’s Rejuvenation of Political Philosophy, N. Lund, Palgrave, 2016).
• Michele Goodwin & Allison M. Whelan, Constitutional Exceptionalism, University of Illinois Law Review, 2016, (Forthcoming).
• Paul J. Heald, Christian Libertarianism and the Curious Lack of Religious Objections to the Patenting of Life Forms in the United States, (September 29, 2016).
• Engy Abdelkader, A Comparative Analysis of European Islamophobia: France, UK, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden, (UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law, Vol. 16, 2016).
• G. Michael Fenner, Same-Sex Marriage, Conscientious Objection and an Ambushed Pope, (Creighton Lawyer, Fall 2016).
• Katayoun Alidadi, The Limits of State Law in the Case of an Organized Secular-Humanist Community in the Southern Bible Belt: Model Behaviour Shaping Self-Restrained Law Use, (Rechtsphilosophie: Zeitschrift Fur Grundlagen Des Rechts, Forthcoming 2016).
• Jason N. E. Varuhas, Damages and Human Rights: Introduction, (Chapter 1 of JNE Varuhas, Damages and Human Rights (Hart Publishing, 2016)).
• Jeremy Waldron, What a Dissenting Opinion Should Have Said in Obergefell v. Hodges, (September 28, 2016).
• Iain T. Benson, Undazzling Equality, (September 24, 2016).
• Brian D. Galle, Valuing the Right to Sue: An Empirical Examination of Nonprofit Agency Costs, (September 28, 2016).

From SmartCILP:

• Rowan W. Dorin, "Once the Jews Have Been Expelled": Intent and Interpretation in Late Medieval Canon Law, 34 Law & History Review 335-362 (2016).
• Mohammad Rasekh, Sharia and Law in the Age of Constitutionalism, [Abstract], 2 Journal of Global Justice & Public Policy 259-276 (2016).

ADL Covers A Range of Issues at Meeting Marking 95th Year

In a release issued Friday, the Anti-Defamation League summarized the proceedings of its annual meeting held earlier this month in Los Angeles. The ADL marks its 95th birthday this year. In the keynote address, ADL director Abraham Foxman reported that in the wake of the country's financial crisis, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are spreading on the Internet. Separately, the ADL released a new poll showing that a majority of Americans believe that religious values are under attack in the U.S., but there has been a decline in concern about racial tensions. Finally the ADL adopted a resolution on religious accommodation in the workplace, favoring it if it does not infringe others' rights or create undue employer burdens. The resolution opposed "policies or laws that permit a pharmacist to interfere with the physician-patient relationship by refusing to fill prescriptions without simultaneously offering a referral source to the patient so that his or her medication can be promptly and timely obtained..." Also it opposed excusing government officials, in states where same-sex marriage is legal, from issuing licenses or performing civil ceremonies unless there is immediate access to another employee who will do so.

Indiana Trial Court Dismisses Catholic School Teacher's Suit Against Archdiocese

As previously reported, in May 2020 in Payne-Elliott v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc., an Indiana trial court refused to dismiss a lawsuit against the Catholic Archdiocese brought by a Catholic high school teacher who the Archdiocese ordered fired after he entered a same-sex marriage. In July 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court broadly interpreted the "ministerial exception" doctrine as it applies to teachers in religiously affiliated schools. Subsequently, in State of Indiana ex rel. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc. v. Marion Superior Court, (IN Sup. Ct., Dec. 10, 2020), the Indiana Supreme Court denied a writ of mandamus and prohibition and remanded the case to a different trial court judge "to consider new and pending issues and reconsider previous orders in the case."  Now, in Payne-Elliott v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc.,  (IN Super. Ct., May 7, 2021), the trial court dismissed the case for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. Legal Reader reports on the case.

Church Autonomy Bars Court Adjudicating Dispute Over Withdrawal from Parent Body

 In Deutsche Evangelisch Lutherische Zions Gemeinde v. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, (Kings Cty NY Sup. Ct., Aug. 16, 2023), a New York state trial court dismissed a suit brought by a German Lutheran church in Brooklyn that claims it has broken away from its parent bodies, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and ELCA's Metropolitan New York Synod over the parent bodies' stance accepting same-sex marriage and ordination of gay clergy. The parent bodies claim that the church is still affiliated with them. Plaintiff asks the court to determine that its membership with the parent bodies has been terminated and that the parent bodies lack authority to take control of church property. It also alleges in defamation claims that false statements about its affiliation injure its reputation and dissuade new members from joining. In rejecting those claims, the court said in part:

... [T]he neutral principles of law approach cannot be applied to adjudicate plaintiff's property claims which directly call into question the authority that has been vested in the synod to impose synodical administration which would allow it to dissolve the church and take control over its property....

The MNYS's power to impose synodical administration is far broader, however, than its authority to take control over a local church's property.... Plaintiff's argument ... ignores the inherent religious elements.... [T]he decision to impose synodical administration over a church involves consideration by the Synod of such issues as church governance, religious doctrine and practice, scripture, and the spiritual well-being of the local church's remaining members. Thus, it concerns subject matter with which this court is forbidden from entangling itself pursuant to the First Amendment. Indeed, synodical administration is an inherently religious matter although it incidentally concerns a local church's property.....

In order to resolve the dispute of whether plaintiff terminated its membership with defendants, this court would necessarily intrude into areas of church polity, religious doctrine, practice, and scripture in order to force the Synod to accept the votes taken by plaintiff's congregation in 2008 and 2009 to terminate the relationship. Whether plaintiff remains a member church of the ELCA and the MNYS is more than just a mere associational question but a religious one.

Church Autonomy Doctrine Bars Inquiry Into Pretext Claim In Catholic School's Firing Of Teacher

In Butler v. St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy, (ED NY, June 27, 2022), a New York federal district court dismissed a sexual orientation discrimination lawsuit brought by Cody Butler, a teacher of English Language Arts and Social Studies who was fired from his Catholic school teaching position shortly after he was hired. After his first teacher orientation session, Butler e-mailed the principal saying that the orientation made him uncomfortable because he is homosexual and plans in the future to marry his boyfriend. Within days, Butler was given a letter of termination.  The court dismissed the suit on both ministerial exception and church autonomy grounds. As to the ministerial exception, the court said in part:

[E]xtensive evidence leaves no doubt that Butler’s job did, and would have continued to, include important ministerial duties....

Butler argued that the school's claim he was fired because his intended same-sex marriage which violated church doctrine was a pretext for firing him because of his sexual orientation. The court said in part:

[T]he only way for the jury to find pretext would be to question the Church’s explanation of religious doctrine, or to question how much that particular religious doctrine really mattered to the Church. To do so, however, would violate the church-autonomy principle.... 

The bottom line is that courts have long recognized the church-autonomy doctrine, and no binding authority has ever said that the ministerial exception eclipses this doctrine in employment-discrimination cases.... I am constrained to conclude that no such limitation exists. Under controlling case law, the church autonomy doctrine applies in the employment-discrimination context, as it does elsewhere. And this principle forecloses judicial inquiry  into the plausibility of St. Stans’ asserted religious justifications in this case....

[Thanks to Mark Chopko for the lead.]

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Philip J. Candreva, Playground or Church? Implications for Public Administration from Trinity Lutheran v. Comer, (Public Administration Review, Forthcoming).
• Julie Ringelheim, State Religious Neutrality as a Common European Standards? Reappraising the European Court of Human Rights Approach, (Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 6, no.1, p. 1-24 (2017)).
• Scott W. Gaylord, Is a Cake Worth a Thousand Words? Masterpiece Cakeshop and the Impact of Antidiscrimination Laws on the Marketplace of Ideas, (Tennessee Law Review, Vol. 85, Forthcoming).
• Mark Strasser, Obergefell's Legacy, (24 Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy 61-88 (2016)).

From SmartCILP:

• Heidi Liu & Caleb C. Wolanek, Applying Strict Scrutiny: An Empirical Analysis of Free Exercise Cases, 78 Montana Law Review 275-312 (2017).
• Symposium, The Teachings of Pope Francis: Toward a Vision of Social Justice and Sustainable Capitalism? (Introduction by Steven W. Bender; articles by Michael Kaufman, Steven A. Ramirez, Nicholas Capaldi, Gilbert Paul Carrasco, Iryna Zaverukha, Russell Powell, Dean Vincent Rougeau, Amelia J. Uelmen). 40 Seattle University Law Review 1167-1415 (2017).
• Rev. John C. Lentz Jr., The Bystander in the Bible, 2017 Utah L. Rev. 661-705.
• Marcia L. McCormick, Religious Privilege to Discriminate as Religious Freedom: From Charitable Choice to Faith Based Initiatives to RFRA and FADA, 56 Washburn Law Journal 229-243 (2017).
• John R. Dorocak, How Might a Church's Tax-Exempt Status (and Other Advantages) Be Revoked Procedurally for Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage or Be Defended Possibly as Free Exercise of Religion?, [Abstract], 53 Willamette Law Review 161-184 (2017).
• Sarah M. Stephens, Freedom From Religion: A Vulnerability Theory Approach to Restricting Conscience Exemptions in Reproductive Healthcare, 29 Yale Journal of Law & Feminism 93-121 (2017).

Archbishop Says Gays Should Be Protected From Discrimination

RNS reports that Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, head of the Pontifical Council for the Family, in his first press conference sine he was appointed, urged protection of gays and lesbians from discrimination in countries where homosexuality is illegal. While emphasizing the Church's continued opposition to same-sex marriage, the Archbishop at a press conference yesterday said:

In the world there are 20 or 25 countries where homosexuality is a crime.  I would like the church to fight against all this.

Prayer At South Carolina County Council Meetings Becomes Controversial

Today's Spartanburg, South Carolina Herald Journal reports on the controversy over prayer at Spartanburg County Council meetings. The Council's chaplain-- Jerry Clevenger, a Sheriff's Office employee-- usually closes invocations by invoking Jesus' name. However, apparently the prayer policy provoked scrutiny when in March Councilman O'Neal Mintz filled in for the chaplain at one meeting and delivered a prayer condemning abortion and same-sex marriage. Now Unitarian minister Don Rollins is organizing a "silent protest" against opening meetings with Christian prayer, seeking to have prayers delivered by members of different faith communities. Council chairman Jeff Horton says that as a Christian he could not ask anyone not to pray in Jesus' name.

North American Conservative Anglicans Create New Church Province

Over the last several years, courts in the United States and Canada have faced numerous lawsuits involving congregations and dioceses that have broken away from the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Church of Canada. The break-away congregations are more conservative and take issue with the parent Churches' policies on issues such as same-sex marriage, ordination of women and ordination of gay clergy. Yesterday these conservatives announced the formation of the Anglican Church in North America, a competing national Province still claiming to be part of the Anglican Communion. Yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle, reporting on developments, says that it is unprecedented for an Anglican national Province to be created where any other such national church already exists. However the new Province has the support of archbishops in three African countries and Argentina. The new Anglican Church in North America must still adopt a constitution and elect leaders. A Provisional Constitution and Provisional Canons have been published.

UPDATE: Episcopal News Service reported Thursday on a statement from the London office of the Archbishop of Canterbury on the proposed new Anglican province in North America. It said in part: "There are clear guidelines..., notably [Anglican Consultative Council] resolution 12, detailing the steps necessary for ... the creation of new provinces.... Once begun, any of these processes will take years to complete. In relation to the recent announcement from the meeting of the Common Cause Partnership in Chicago, the process has not yet begun."

President Obama Speaks Out On Poverty At Catholic-Evangelical Panel Discussion

As reported by Religion News Service, President Obama yesterday engaged in a fascinating 75-minute panel discussion at Georgetown University's Catholic-Evangelical Leadership Summit on Overcoming Poverty.  Labeled "Conversation on Poverty" (full text), the panel, moderated by journalist E.J.Dionne, also included Harvard professor Robert Putnam and American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks. The President said in part:

I think it would be powerful for our faith-based organizations to speak out on this in a more forceful fashion. 

This may sound self-interested because there have been -- these are areas where I agree with the evangelical community and faith-based groups, and then there are issues where we have had disagreements around reproductive issues, or same-sex marriage, or what have you.  And so maybe it appears advantageous for me to want to focus on these issues of poverty, and not as much on these other issues....

There is great caring and great concern, but when it comes to what are you really going to the mat for, what’s the defining issue, when you're talking in your congregations, what’s the thing that is really going to capture the essence of who we are as Christians, or as Catholics, or what have you, that this is oftentimes viewed as a “nice to have” relative to an issue like abortion.  That's not across the board, but there sometimes has been that view, and certainly that's how it’s perceived in our political circles....

And there’s noise out there, and there’s arguments, and there’s contention.  And so people withdraw and they restrict themselves to, what can I do in my church, or what can I do in my community?  And that's important.  But our faith-based groups I think have the capacity to frame this -- and nobody has shown that better than Pope Francis, who I think has been transformative just through the sincerity and insistence that he’s had that this is vital to who we are.  This is vital to following what Jesus Christ, our Savior, talked about.

7th Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In Ministerial Exception Case Involving Catholic School

Yesterday, the US. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments (audio of full arguments) in Starkey v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In the case, an Indiana federal district court  held that the ministerial exception doctrine bars Title VII retaliation, discrimination and hostile work environment claims as well as state law claims of interference with contractual and employment relationships in a suit brought by the former Co-Director of Guidance at a private Catholic high school. The school refused to renew its contract with Lynn Starkey, who had been employed by the school for nearly forty years, after the school learned of Starkey's same-sex marriage. (See prior posting.)

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Steven Lubet, Why the Dreyfus Affair Does and Doesn't Matter, (Green Bag, Vol. 13, No. 2, p. 331, 2010).
• Timothy Stewart-Winter & Simon Stern, Picturing Same-Sex Marriage in the Antebellum United States: The Union of 'Two Most Excellent Men' in Longstreet's 'A Sage Conversation', (Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 197-222, May 2010).
• Gail F. Mason, Hate Crime Laws in Australia: Are They Achieving Their Goals?, (Criminal Law Journal, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 326-340, 2009).
• Mark J. Cowan, Nonprofits and the Sales and Use Tax, (Florida Tax Review, Forthcoming).

Recent Books:

• Amy Scobee, Scientology: Abuse At the Top, (Scobee Publishing, May 2010).
• Melanie Phillips, The World Turned Upside Down: The Global Battle over God, Truth, and Power, (Encounter Books, April 2010).
• S.E. Cupp, Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity, (Threshold Editions, April 2010).
• Ian Johnson, A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA, and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 2010).

Recent Articles of Interest (Installment 2 For This Week)

From SSRN:

• Robin Fretwell Wilson, The Calculus of Accommodation: Contraception, Abortion, Same-Sex Marriage, and Other Clashes Between Religion and the State, (Boston College Law Review, Vol. 53, p. 1417, 2012).
• Amos N. Guiora and Julia Chamberlin, Religion and the Status of Women, (October 2, 2012).
• Aaron J. Rappaport, Tinka M. Veldhuis, and Amos N. Guiora, Homeland Security and the Inmate Population: The Risk and Reality of Islamic Radicalization in Prison, (Special Needs Offenders IN Correctional Institutions, p. 431, Lior Gideon, ed., 2012).
• Kay Wilson, Penelope June Weller, Benevolent Paternalism or a Clash of Values: Motherhood and Refusal of Medical Treatment in Ireland , (2011) 21 Journal of Mental Health Law 74.
• Hadassa A. Noorda, Review on Ahmed Al-Dawoody, The Islamic Law of War – Justifications and Regulations, (Journal of Military Ethics, 11:1, 67-69, 2012).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Susanna Mancini, Patriarchy As the Exclusive Domain of the Other: The Veil Controversy, False Projection and Cultural Racism, 10 I.Con: International Journal of Constitutional Law 411-428 (2012).
• Laura Nader, Rethinking Salvation Mentality and Counterterrorism, 21 Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems 99-117 (2012).
• Wadie E. Said, The Message and Means of Modern Terrorism Prosecution, 21 Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems 175-195 (2012).
• Stephanie M. Wurdock, Doctors, Dioceses, and Decisions: Examining the Impact of the Catholic Hospital System and Federal Conscience Clauses on Medical Education, 6 Pittsburgh Journal of Environmental & Public Health Law 179-212 (2012).
• Stanley W. Carlson-Thies, Which Religious Organizations Count as Religious? The Religious Employer Exemption of the Health Insurance Law's Contraceptives Mandate, Engage Volume 13, Issue 2, July 2012.
• Karen Lugo, American Family Law and Sharia-Compliant Marriages, Engage Volume 13, Issue 2, July 2012.
• Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Preaching Politics From the Pulpit--2012 Guide to IRS Rules on Political Activity by Religious Organizations, (2012).

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Cecile Laborde, On the Parity between Secular and Religious Reasons, Social theory and Practice (2021).
• Adam Swift, Parents’ Rights, Children’s Religion: A Familial Relationship Goods Approach, (Journal of Practical Ethics, Vol. 8 No. 2, Dec 2020).
• Doug Magendanz, How Norms Interact: On Normative Plasticity, (March 6, 2021).
• Blaine Hutchison, Raymond J Lajeunesse, Jr., Bruce Cameron & Frank D. Garrison, Comments on EEOC Proposed Updates to Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination,  (December 17, 2020).
• Alexander Lindvall, Forgive Me, Your Honor, For I Have Sinned: Limiting the Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine to Allow Suits for Defamation and Negligent Employment Practices, (South Carolina Law Review, Vol. 72, No. 1, 2020).
• Deborah Cantrell, Transformative Silence and Protest, (Rutgers Journal of Law & Religion, Forthcoming).
• Katie R. Eyer, The But-For Theory of Anti-Discrimination Law, (Virginia Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Amanda Harmon Cooley, The Powerful Problem of Prayer at Public School Board Meetings, (March 7, 2021).
• Reva B. Siegel, Why Restrict Abortion? Expanding the Frame on June Medical, (2020 Sup. Ct. Rev. (Forthcoming).
• Robert G. Schwemm, Fair Housing and the Causation Standard After Comcast, (Villanova Law Review, Vol. 66, No. No. 1, 2021).
• Shuai Chen & Jan van Ours, Mental Health Effects of Same-Sex Marriage Legalization, (Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 2021-003/V (2021)).

From SSRN (Non-U.S. Law):

• Dimitry Gegenava, Legal and Social Status of the Georgian Orthodox Church: Challenges and Perspectives, (Teka Komisji Prawniczej PAN Oddział w Lublinie, t. XIII, 2020, nr 2).
• Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Re-Imagining the Rules – the Global Transition to Transformative Equality and the Narratives of Feminist Religious Movements, (December 31, 2020).
• Vincenzo Pacillo, The Role of Mario Piacentini and Mario Falco in the Drafting of the Italian Fascist Laws on Religious Minorities and Jewish Communities, Highlighting the Danger of Nationalism for the Freedom of Religion or Belief, (October 27, 2020).
• Warto Ahmad Saifuddin, Zainal Arif, Efri Syamsul Bahr & Zulfitria, Opportunities and Challenges of Halal Product Business Pasca COVID-19 in Indonesia, (November 10, 2020).
• Muhammad Sher Abbas, Honour Killings In Pakistan And Status Of Women In Islamic Law, (January 5, 2021).
• Faisal Kutty, In Search of the Elusive Middle Ground Between Blasphemy and Free Speech: From Defamation of Religion to Incitement to Hate, (August 5, 2020).

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Caroline Mala Corbin, Expanding the Bob Jones Compromise, (Matters of Faith: Religious Experiences and Legal Responses in the United States, Austin Sarat, ed., Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming).
• Wilson Ray Huhn, The Growing Acceptance and Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage in America Constitutes a Victory for Reality-Based Thinking, (April 22, 2012).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Robert Audi, Natural Reason, Religious Conviction, and the Justification of Coercion in Democratic Societies, [Abstract], 4 Journal of Law, Philosophy & Culture. 1-28 (2009).
• Susanna Frederick Fischer, Catholic Social Teaching, the Rule of Law, and Copyright Protection, 4 Journal of Law, Philosophy & Culture 63-72 (2009).
• Haider Ala Hamoudi, Judicial Review of Islamic Law Under Iraq's Constitution, Jurist, April 2012.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Nelson Tebbe, Witchcraft and the Constitution, (T.W. Bennett, eds, Traditional African Religions in South African Law p. 156, UTC Press, 2011).
• Mohammad Fadel, A Tragedy of Politics or an Apolitical Tragedy?, (Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 131, No. 1, 2011).
• Kenneth Lasson, Hammerin’ Hank & the Golden Arm: Remembering Baseball’s Jewish Hall of Famers, (Baltimore Jewish Times, April 8, 2011).
• Tokufumi Joshua Noda, The Role of Economics in the Discourse on RLUIPA and Nondiscrimination in Religious Land Use, (Boston College Law Review, Vol.1, 2011).

Engage, Vol 12 No. 2:

• Robert F Wilson and Jana Singer, Same-Sex Marriage and Conscience Exemptions.
• Richard W. Garnett and Kurt T. Lash, The Establishment Clause.
• Gregory S. Baylor and Ronald Chen, Did the Supreme Court Properly Decide Christian Legal Society v. Martinez?
• William L. Saunders, European Court of Human Rights Finds No Right to Abortion Under European Human Rights Convention.

Happy New Year 2020 !

Dear Religion Clause Readers:

Happy New Year 2020! I hope you continue to find Religion Clause an important resource for news on religious liberty and church-state developments. I continue to strive for objectivity in my posts and to provide links to an abundance of primary source material underlying each post. I am pleased that my regular readers span the political and religious spectrum and include a large number of law school faculty, journalists, clergy, governmental agency personnel, students and others working professionally dealing with church-state relations and religious liberty concerns in the U.S. and around the world.

As we usher in 2020, it has become conventional wisdom that many of the most highly charged issues that divide our country politically also often divide it along religious lines.  Whether the issue is abortion, transgender rights, immigration, same-sex marriage, climate change, or campus free speech, activists have increasingly defined the debate in religious terms. As I watch this, I recall the words of Chief Justice Burger nearly 50 years ago in Lemon v. Kurtzman:

Ordinarily political debate and division, however vigorous or even partisan, are normal and healthy manifestations of our democratic system of government, but political division along religious lines was one of the principal evils against which the First Amendment was intended to protect.

2019 has also been a year in which religious intolerance has grown.  Increasing anti-Semitic incidents in the United States and around the world remind us that this age-old manifestation of hate has not disappeared. Anti-Muslim attitudes and actions continue largely unabated in numerous countries, while minority Christian communities elsewhere are under siege.  2020 promises to be an important year for confronting religious liberty and church-state concerns.  Religion Clause will continue to cover all the developments.

Thanks again to all of you who are loyal readers-- both those who have followed Religion Clause for years and those of you who have only recently discovered the blog.  A special thanks to readers who have quickly sent me leads on recent developments, and to those who have alerted me to mistakes. All of you have made Religion Clause the most recognized and reliable source for keeping informed on the intersection of religion with law and politics. I encourage you to recommend Religion Clause to colleagues, students and friends who might find it of interest.

I also remind you that the Religion Clause sidebar contains links to a wealth of resources.  Please e-mail me if you discover broken links or if there are other links that I should consider adding.

Best wishes for 2020!  Feel free to contact me by e-mail (religionclause@gmail.com) in response to this post or throughout the year with comments or suggestions.

Howard Friedman

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Gary J. Simson, Religion by Any Other Name? Prohibitions on Same-Sex Marriage and the Limits of the Establishment Clause, (Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, Vol. 23, p. 132, 2012).
• John M. Kang, Martin v. Malcolm: Democracy, Nonviolence, Manhood, (West Virginia Law Review, Vol. 114, No. 937, 2012).
• Brian D. Galle, Charities in Politics: A Reappraisal, (William & Mary Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Randall P. Bezanson, Sheila Anne Bentzen and C. Michael Judd, Mapping the Forms of Expressive Association, (Pepperdine Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Patrick S. Metze, Troy Davis, Lawrence Brewer, and Timothy Mcveigh Should Still Be Alive: Certainty, Innocence, and the High Cost of Death and Immorality, (6 Charleston L. Rev. 333, Winter 2012).
• Nan D. Hunter, Animus Thick and Thin: The Broader Impact of the Ninth Circuit Decision in Perry v. Brown, (Stanford Law Review Online, Vol. 64, pp. 111-116, 2012).
• Zubair Abbasi, God’s Law v. Corporations: A Critique of Islamic Law Matters Thesis, (May 6, 2012).

In Spain, Church Is At Odds With PSOE Party As Elections Appoach

CNS News and the World Socialist Web Site today both report on the growing tensions in Spain between the Catholic Church and the country's ruling Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), as the country's March 9 elections approach. The Catholic Bishops have been attacking the PSOE's policies on abortion and same-sex marriage, as well as the government's dealings with the Basque separatist group ETA. Under Church pressure the PSOE has removed from its platform a call for extending aboirtion rights. Meanwhile, on January 30, the Spanish Bishops Conference issued a statement declaring that although: "Catholics may support and join different parties, it is also true that not all [electoral] programmes are equally compatible with the faith and Christian demands in life."