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:

• Nathan B. Oman, That Principle of Freedom…Belongs to All Mankind: The United States Constitution and Religious Freedom in the Latter-day Saint Tradition, (February 13, 2025).
• Laura Portuondo, The Myth of Equal Protection, (16 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. (forthcoming 2026)).
• Alex Deagon, & Francis Beckwith, Religious Freedom and Abortion: Why State-Imposed Abortion Restrictions Do Not Breach The First Amendment, (Baylor Law Review 76 (Fall 2024): 511-574).
• Nicholas Reaves & Matthew Krauter, Religious Liberty Pragmatism, (24 Federalist Society Review 331 (2023)).
• Johnny Rex Buckles, A Defense of the Unborn Person, (28 Tex. Rev. L. & Pol. 629 (2024)).
• Ortal Isaac, Lifesaving Care, Denied: Torts as a Tool in a Post-Dobbs World?, (March 01, 2025).
• Mansi Jain Comparative Analysis Of Judicial Review: Assessing The Influence On Same-Sex Marriage Rights In The United States And Germany, (January 03, 2024).
• Gail L. Heriot, Statement of Commissioner Gail Heriot in Enforcing Religious Freedoms in Prison 2017-2023—a Report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, (San Diego Legal Studies Paper (forthcoming)).
• Michael L. Smith, State Constitutional Due Process Protections After Dobbs, (16 Faulkner L. Rev. (Forthcoming 2025)).

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

• Abraham Maslow Azanya, Free Education as the Catalyst for National Transformation: The Case of Ghana's Free Senior High School Policy and Its Long-Term Impact, (March 01, 2025).
• Sanjay Koul has posted several short articles: Spirituality at the Workplace: A Pathway to Fulfillment, Productivity, and Growth, (March 15, 2025); Shirdi Sai Baba: The Saint Who Bridged Religions and Hearts, (March 15, 2025); The Cosmic Blueprint: Creation, Karma, and the Eternal Soul in Sanatana Dharma (January 30, 2025); Spirituality: A Journey to Self-Realization and Universal Connection, (March 02, 2025); A Comparative Analysis of the Four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda (October 18, 2024).

From SmartCILP:

• Stephen M. Feldman, Who Belongs?: "We the People" in the Twenty-First Century, 52 Fordham Urban Law Journal 1-44 (2024).
• Anya Bernstein, Book Review. The Battle for Sabarimala: Religion, Law, and Gender in Contemporary India, by Deepa Das Acevedo, 58 Law & Society Review 541-542 (2024).

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."

New Minnesota Judge Pick Represented Conservative Christian Groups

The Minnesota Independent reports that on Tuesday, Minnesota's Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed attorney Jamie L. Anderson to a vacancy created by a retirement on the state's 4th District (Hennepin County) Court. Anderson is the wife of the Governor's chief of staff and has represented conservative religious groups in high profile cases.  She represented the Minnesota Family Council in its effort to intervene as a defendant in a case challenging Minnesota's ban on same-sex marriage. In 2009, she was one of the lawyers who represented the Child Evangelism Fellowship of Minnesota in a case in which it was seeking an equal right with secular groups to to send Christian literature home with students. In 2007, Anderson was a lobbyist for born-again-Christian Frank Vennes who was a large donor to evangelical groups. However Anderson's primary areas of practice are business law, wills and trusts, probate and real estate. In appointing Anderson, Gov. Pawlenty bypassed the state's Commission on Judicial Selection which makes recommendations to the governor.  Legally governors may bypass the Commission and others have also done so.

Catholic Group Criticizes 20 Colleges For Inviting "Scandalous" Commencement Speakers

The Cardinal Newman Society yesterday issued a "Special Report" criticizing 20 Catholic colleges and universities for inviting as commencement speakers this year public figures or politicians who support abortion rights or same-sex marriage.  The detailed list of schools faulted for scheduling "scandalous commencement speakers and honorees" includes Boston College whose commencement speaker is Secretary of State John Kerry, Georgetown University whose commencement speaker is Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, and Villanova University whose commencement speaker is Dr. Jill Biden.  As is typical, honorary degrees are being awarded by the various universities to their commencement speakers as well.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Zachary R. Calo, Islamic Headscarves, Religious Pluralism, and Secular Human Rights, (International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies Conference, Santiago, Chile, September 2011).
• Zachary R. Calo, Human Dignity and Health Law: Personhood in Recent Bioethical Debate, (Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, Forthcoming).
• Robert J. Miller, The International Law of Colonialism: A Comparative Analysis, (August 30, 2011).
• Mark Strasser, Parents, Religious Convictions, and Public School Curricula, (Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal, pp. 547-569, 2011).
• Howard Kislowicz, Judging the Rules of Belonging, (U.B.C. Law Review, Vol. 44, No. 2, p. 287, 2011).
• Zachary R. Calo, Catholicism, Liberalism and Human Rights, (Journal of Christian Legal Thought, Forthcoming).
• Lorin C. Geitner, Westboro Baptist and the Limits of Religious Speech, (Orange County Lawyer, Forthcoming).
• Victor M. Muniz-Fraticelli, The Distinctiveness of Religious Liberty, (July 29, 2011).
• Douglas E. Abrams, Reason and Passion: Justice Jackson and the Second Flag Salute Case (Part I), (Precedent, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 22-26, Summer 2011).
• Steve Sanders, The Constitutional Right to (Keep Your) Same-sex Marriage: Why the Due Process Clause Protects Marriages that Cross State Lines, Even if Conflict of Laws Cannot, (August 24, 2011).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Vol. 26, No.2, Journal of Law and Religion has recently appeared.
• Sept./Oct. 2011 issue of Liberty: A Magazine of Religious Freedom has recently appeared.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Jay Wexler, Government Disapproval of Religion, (Boston University School of Law, Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper No. 11-32, July 2011).
• Pol Morillas, Hezbollah’s Identities and their Relevance for Cultural and Religious IR, (ICIP Working Papers 2009/4, Dec. 2011).
• Kenneth L. Marcus, Bullying as a Civil Rights Violation: The U.S. Department of Education’s Approach to Harassment, (July 11, 2011).
• Christopher C. Lund, Understanding the Ministerial Exception, (North Carolina Law Review, Vol. 90, No. 1, Fall 2011).
• Haider Ala Hamoudi, Book Review: Constitutional Theocracy by Ran Hirschl, (Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Forthcoming).
• Nicole Stelle Garnett and Margaret F. Brinig, Catholic Schools, Charter Schools, and Urban Neighborhoods, (University of Chicago Law Review, 2012).
• Nicole Stelle Garnett, A Winn for Educational Pluralism, (Yale Law Journal Online, May 2011).
• Lucia Ann Silecchia, Pope John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae and the 'Horizon of the Good', (Journal of Christian Legal Thought, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2011).
• Jonathan Caleb Landon, Usury and the Church: A Christian Response to Payday Lending, (May 6, 2011).
• Charles J. Russo and William E. Thro, Another Nail in the Coffin of Religious Freedom? Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, (Education Law Journal, Vol. 12, 2011).
• Jeffrey A. Parness, Civil Unions and Parenthood at Birth, (Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 99, October 2011).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• John R. Dorocak and Lloyd E. Peake, Political Activity of Tax-Exempt Churches, Particularly After Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and California's Proposition 8 Ban On Same-Sex Marriage: Render Unto Caesar What Is Caesar's, [Abstract], 9 First Amendment Law Review 448-485 (2011).
• K. Eli Akhavan, Basic Principles of Estate Planning Within the Context of Jewish Law, Probate and Property, July/Aug. 2011, pg. 60.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Samuel J. Levine, Foreword: Conference on Religious Legal Theory: RLT IV: Expanding the Conversation, (30 Touro L. Rev. 1 (2014)).
• Dallan F. Flake, Image is Everything: Corporate Branding and Religious Accommodation in the Workplace, (University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 163, 2014-15).
• Asifa Quraishi-Landes, Rumors of the Sharia Threat are Greatly Exaggerated: What American Judges Really Do with Islamic Family Law in Their Courtrooms, (New York Law School Law Review, Vol. 57, No. 245, 2013).
• John M. A. DiPippa, God and Guns: The Free Exercise of Religion Problems of Regulating Guns in Churches and Other Houses of Worship, (March 21, 2014).
• John M. Breen & Lee J. Strang, The Forgotten Jurisprudential Debate: Catholic Legal Thought's Response to Legal Realism, (March 24, 2014).
• Micah Schwartzman, Religion as a Legal Proxy, (San Diego Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Micah Schwartzman, Religion, Equality, and Public Reason, (Boston University Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Yaniv Heled, On Patenting Human Organisms or How the Abortion Wars Feed into the Ownership Fallacy, (Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 36, 2014, Forthcoming).
• Jessica Feinberg, The Survival of Non-Marital Relationship Statuses in the Same-Sex Marriage Era: A Proposal, (Temple Law Review, Vol. 87, Forthcoming).

From SSRN (Affordable Care Act and Religious Freedom):

• Heidi Muller, Hobson's Choice: For-Profit Corporations and the Exercise of Religion, (November 17, 2013).
• Scott Harrington, No Soup for You! Religion in the Post-PPACA Era, (March 18, 2014).
• Zoe Robinson, The Contraception Mandate and the Forgotten Constitutional Question, (Wisconsin Law Review, Forthcoming 2014).
• Toni M. Massaro, Nuts and Seeds: Disclosure of Religious Exemptions, (Arizona Legal Studies Discussion Paper No. 14-10 (March 2014)).

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

• Lotem Perry-Hazan, From the Constitution to the Classroom: Educational Freedom in Antwerp's Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Schools, (Journal of School Choice, 2014, Forthcoming).
• Lotem Perry-Hazan, Court-Led Educational Reforms in Political Third Rails: The Cases of Israeli Haredi Schools' Curricula and Admission Policies, (March 18, 2014).
• Jill Marshall, The Legal Recognition of Personality: Full Face Veils and Permissible Choices, (10 International Journal of Law in Context 64-80 (2014)).
• Robert J. Delahunty, The Returning Warrior and the Limits of Just War Theory, (Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion, 2014).

From SmartCILP:

• Mark W. Cordes, The First Amendment and Religion After Hosanna-Tabor, 41 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 299-355 (2014).
• Alvaro Hasani, Compatibility of Democracy and Islam...Or the Lack Thereof: A Closer Look At Whether the "Arab Spring" Was Ever Capable of Culminating Into a Viable Democracy in the Arab World, 15 Scholar 715-743 (2013).
• Ken Matheny, The Disappearance of Labor Unions and the Social Encyclicals of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XIV, 23 Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 1-35 (2014).

Red Mass and Modernized Website Herald Opening of Supreme Court's 2014 Term

The Supreme Court's new term opens today.  To mark the occasion, the annual Catholic Red Mass was held yesterday in Washington's Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.  According to the Legal Times, four of the Court's six Catholic Justices (Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas) and two of its three Jewish Justices (Breyer and Kagan) attended. So did a number of D.C. lower court judges.

Tomorrow the Court will hear oral arguments in a religious accommodation case-- Holt v. Hobbs.  At issue is whether the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act permits Arkansas to bar a Muslim prison inmate from growing a one-half inch beard. (See prior related posting.) All the briefs filed in the case are available from SCOTUSblog.

The Court usually issues a long list of certiorari denials on its first day of the term, and might grant review in additional cases as well.  Among the most closely watched are a number of petitions for review in same-sex marriage cases.

The Court also begins the Term displaying a revamped website with a modernized look and improved navigation features. (Court press release.)

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Steven H. Resnicoff, Extraordinary Sources of Jewish Law: the Example of Capital Punishment,, (Steven H. Resnicoff, Chapter 8 of Understanding Jewish Law, LexisNexis, 2012).
• Rene Provost, Magic and Modernity in Tintin au Congo (1930) and the Sierra Leone Special Court, (June 25, 2012).
• Nicolai N. Petro, The Role of the Orthodox Church in a Changing Russia, (ISPI Analysis #121, Institute for the Study of International Politics, Milan, Italy, June 2012).
• David A. Grenardo, Samuel D. Davis and Thomas M. Gutting, Take One Step Forward: Federal Courts Continue to Find that Volunteers are Shielded from Retaliation Based on Protected Speech Under the First Amendment, (First Amendment Law Review, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2011).
• Lewis D. Solomon, God and Human Destiny: A Jewish Perspective, (GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2012-53).
• Richard S. Myers, Same-Sex Marriage, Education, and Parental Rights, (Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal, Vol. 2011, No. 2).
• Richard S. Myers, Assessing the Legal Bases for Conscientious Objection in Healthcare, (Life and Learning XVIII: The Proceedings of the Eighteenth University Faculty for Life Conference 57-82, J. Koterski ed. 2011).
• Mehmet Asutay and Zulkifli Bin Hasan, An Analysis of the Courts’ Decisions on Islamic Finance Disputes, (ISRA International Journal of Islamic Finance, 3 (2), 41-71, 2011).
• Kimberley Brownlee and Richard Child, Can the Law Help Us to Be Moral?, (Warwick School of Law Research Paper No. 2012/17).
• Kimberley Brownlee, Conscientious Objection and Civil Disobedience, (Warwick School of Law Research Paper No. 2012/15).

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Kaiponanea T. Matsumura, Consent to Intimate Regulation, (North Carolina Law Review, Vol. 96, No. 4, 2018).
• Margo A. Bagley, The Morality of Compulsory Licensing as an Access to Medicines Tool, (Minnesota Law Review, Forthcoming).
• Paul T. Babie, Parliamentary Prayer and the Establishment of Religion, (February 2018) 40(1) the Bulletin of the Law Society of South Australia 12-15).
• Noel D. Johnson & Mark Koyama, The State, Toleration, and Religious Freedom, (Advances in the Economics of Religion, Edited by Iyer, Rubin and Carvalho. Palgrave, 2018).
• Robert G. Natelson, Why Nineteenth Century Bans on 'Sectarian' Aid are Facially Unconstitutional: New Evidence on Plain Meaning, (19 Federalist Soc. Rev. 98 (2018)).
• Thaddeus Mason Pope, How to Respond to a Patient's Discriminatory Request for a Different Clinician, (ASCO Post (April 10, 2018)).
• Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Taking North American White Supremacist Groups Seriously: The Scope and the Challenge of Hate Speech on the Internet, (International Journal of Crime, Justice, and Social Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 2 (2018): 38-57).

From SSRN (Religious Law):

• Ghassan Abdul-Jabbar, The Major Themes of Hadith and Its Characteristics, (The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Vol. 1, Foundations of Islam (2016)).
• Mohammed A. Arafa, Transitional Justice, the Seeds of Change: Secular Law or Divine (Islamic) Law, Quo Vadis?, (Creighton Law Review, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2018).
• Christopher P. Guzelian, Silver: A Morally Good Money, (Procesos de Mercado, vol. 15 (2018).
• Doron M. Kalir, Rethinking Religious Objections (Old-Testament Based) to Same-Sex Marriage, (Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, Vol. 33, 2018, Forthcoming).
• Jonathan C. Augustine, The Fiery Furnace, Civil Disobedience and the Civil Rights Movement: A Biblical Exegesis on Daniel 3 and Letter from Birmingham Jail, (Richmond Public Interest Law Review, Vol. 21, No. 3, 2018).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Ran Hirschl, Ayelet Shachar, Competing Orders? The Challenge of Religion to Modern Constitutionalism, 85 University of Chicago Law Revies 425-455 (2018).
• J. William Callison, Dangling Threads: Hobby Lobby and Corporate Law Issues, 48 University of Memphis Law Review 447-461 (2017).
• Andrew L. Seidel, Dating God: What Is “Year of Our Lord” Doing in the U.S. Constitution?, [Abstract], 3 Constitutional Studies 129-151 (2018).

Mexican Electoral Tribunal Orders Sanctions Against Catholic Archdiocese

According to yesterday's National Catholic Reporter, Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal issued a ruling on July 1ordering the country's Interior Ministry to sanction the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico City for critical comments made by the Archdiocese's spokesman last August.  The Tribunal found that comments urging Catholics vote against political parties that support more liberal abortion laws and same-sex marriage violated  Mexico's electoral code. The Electoral Tribunal pointed to the need to keep church and state separate.  Mexico's Interior Ministry is responsible for regulating religious associations, but it is unclear whether the Electoral Tribunal has jurisdiction to order the Interior Ministry to take action.  The Archdiocese plans to appeal.

California High Court Accepts Certified Question On Standing In Prop 8 Challenge

Last month in Perry v. Schwarzenneger -- the challenge to the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 that bars same-sex marriage-- the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals certified to the California Supreme Court the question of whether under California law "official proponents of an initiative measure" have, under state law, a sufficient interest to give them standing to defend the constitutionality of the initiative when the public officials refuse to do so. (See prior posting.) Yesterday, the California Supreme Court granted the certification request. AP reports that the Court may hear oral arguments as early as September.

Proponents of Prop 8, Anticipating Loss, File Advance Motion For Stay Pending Appeal

The federal district court for the Northern District of California has announced that it will issue its decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger-- the challenge to the constituitonality of California's Proposition 8 banning same sex marriage-- today. In anticipation of the decision, yesterday proponents of Proposition 8 (apparently anticipating a loss) filed a Motion for Stay Pending Appeal accompanied by a memorandum in support of the motion. (Full text of filing.) Plaintiffs responded today with a letter (full text) saying they intend to respond if a response is warranted and asked to be heard on the motion. Today's Silicon Valley Mercury News reports on the filing.

President Obama's Brand of Christianity Is Analyzed

CNN's Belief blog on Sunday carried a lengthy analysis of President Obama's Christian faith, titling the article The Gospel According to Obama. This excerpt gives a flavor of the article:

Historians may remember Obama as the nation’s first black president, but he’s also a religious pioneer. He’s not only changed people’s perception of who can be president, some scholars and pastors say, but he’s also expanding the definition of who can be a Christian by challenging the religious right’s domination of the national stage.

When Obama invoked Jesus to support same-sex marriage, framed health care as a moral imperative to care for “the least of these,’’ and once urged people to read their Bible but just not literally, he was invoking another Christian tradition that once dominated American public life so much that it gave the nation its first megachurches, historians say....

Some Christians, however, still see Obama as the “other.” He doesn’t act or talk like other Christians, says the Rev. Gary Cass, a conservative Christian president of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission..... Cass says he’s never heard Obama say he’s “born-again.” There’s no emotional conversion story to hang onto.