Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Indian Government's Haj Subsidy Debated
The Haj begins on December 29, 2006. The Allahabad High Court has told the central government and the government of Uttar Pradesh that, pending a final hearing, they may no longer pay a subsidy for Haj pilgrims. The subsidy now comes in the form of reduced airfares on Air India or Indian Airlines. (Times of India.) The court's decision however permits the government to continue to provide for the safety and well being of religious pilgrims. (India eNews.)
Recent Articles and Book On Law, Religion and Politics
- Paul Robinson, et. al., Shari'a, Legality, and the Freedom to Invent New Forms: Americans Drafting an Islamic Model Penal Code (July 28, 2006).
- Kent Greenawalt, David C. Baum Memorial Lecture on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Objections in Conscience to Medical Procedures: Does Religion Make a Difference?, 2006 University of Illinois Law Review 799-825.
- Alexandra R. Harrington, Resurrection From Babel: The Cultural, Political, and Legal Status of Christian Communities in Lebanon and Syria and Their Prospects for the Future, 13 Tulsa Journal of Comparative & International Law 217-248 (2006).
- Melynda J. Price, Litigating Salvation: Race, Religion and Innocence in the Karla Faye Tucker and Gary Graham Cases, 15 Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice 267-298 (2006).
- Ryan Sager, The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians, and the Battle to Control the Republican Party, Wiley (August 25, 2006).
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Religion and Candidates For Texas Governor
Malaysia Human Rights Official Suggests New Religious Affairs Ministry
FLDS Leader Seeks Return Of Seized Records
Establishment Clause Claim Against Veteran's Affairs Department Survives
This Week's Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Mark v. Gustafson, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62376 (WD WI, Aug. 30, 2006), a Wisconsin federal district court rejected First Amendment and RLUIPA claims by a Wiccan prisoner whose "magic seals" were removed from his prison cell walls and door by prison officials.
In Shaka Zulu Acoolia v. Angelone, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62574 (WD VA, Sept. 1, 2006), a Virginia federal district court rejected First Amendment and RLUIPA claims by a Rastafarian prisoner who was refused a strict vegan diet and instead served the prison's vegetarian Alternative Entree Menu that includes eggs, milk and sweets.
In Jackson v. Department of Correction, 2006 Mass. Super. LEXIS 389 (Middlesex County, Aug. 25, 2006) a Massachusetts Superior Court judge found that the state's Department of Corrections violated RLUIPA by failing to provide an Imam to perform jum'ah services at MCI-Shirley every Friday, and by having female correctional officers in non-emergency situations pat-frisk male Muslim inmates (including touching of the inmate's genital or anal areas). These practices were also found to violate a Massachusetts statute that requires equal treatment of prisoners who are not being disciplined. (See prior related posting.)
In Kaufman v. McCaughtry, (7th Cir., Sept. 7, 2006), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court's holding that prison officials who denied atheists the right to form a study grope were entitled to qualified immunity because prior precedents were not clear on whether atheism was to be treated as a religion.
Saudi Religious Police Ban Sale of Dogs and Cats
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Mandatory Boy Scout Membership Presentation Is Not Discriminatory
Challenge To IL Requirement On Dispensing of Contraceptives Moves Ahead
In Menges v. Blagojevich, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63671 (CD IL, Sept. 6, 2006), the court held that plaintiffs alleged sufficient facts to possibly show that Illinois' rule is not a neutral rule of general applicability. The court held that the case should move to trial. Plaintiffs claim that the Illinois rule was targeted at pharmacists to force them to either surrender their religious beliefs or else leave the practice of pharmacy, and thus the rule is subject to strict scrutiny review by the court. The court held that plaintiffs’ pleadings also adequately raise the issue of whether the Illinois rule was inconsistent with Title VII of the federal 1964 Civil Rights Act. The court however dismissed Walgreens request for a declaratory judgment that its prior pharmacist referral policy complies with Title VII and the Illinois pharmacy rules.
The Associated Press yesterday discussed the decision, as did Blog from the Capital.
Pro-Life Minister's Suit To Protect Protest Rights Moves Forward
Hindu Temple In India Wants Its Own Township
Cobb County Invocations OK; But Not Planning Comm'n. Choice Of Clergy
However in a parallel challenge to the invocation policy of the Cobb County Planning Commission, the court found that its policies in 2003-04 for selecting individuals to deliver invocations did violate the Establishment Clause. "[C]ertain faiths were categorically excluded from the list of prospective speakers based on the content of their faith."
Today’s Atlanta Journal Constitution discusses the decision.
UPDATE: The opinion is now available on LEXIS at 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64294 (ND GA, Sept. 8, 2006),
California Mayor Sees Christian-Shiite Spiritual War
Murray says he distinguishes between "mainstream" practitioners of Islam, and Shiites. He says, "Since the Crusades, there's been a spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of people. I think it's a historical reality, and the rubber's meeting the road again. Either the Judeo-Christian philosophy will survive or the Islamic philosophy will survive." Mayor Murray says the noontime event was not about government sponsorship of religion; rather it was about free speech by individual officials. Murray’s remarks apparently included allegations that Shiites believe that it is acceptable to lie, cheat, steal and kill, as long as it ultimately glorifies Allah. He added: "Folks, they're not like us. They're not like us at all, and for them, their war has been going on for 1,200 years."
UPDATE: Sacramento-area Muslims are asking for an apology from Mayor Murray. (Associated Press, Sept. 11).
Friday, September 08, 2006
2005 Bankruptcy Law Makes Charitable Giving Difficult For Debtors
Evangelicals And American Foreign Policy
The full article is definitely worth reading.The three contemporary streams of American Protestantism (fundamentalist, liberal, and evangelical) lead to very different ideas about what the country's role in the world should be. In this context, the most important differences have to do with the degree to which each promotes optimism about the possibilities for a stable, peaceful, and enlightened international order and the importance each places on the difference between believers and nonbelievers. In a nutshell, fundamentalists are deeply pessimistic about the prospects for world order and see an unbridgeable divide between believers and nonbelievers. Liberals are optimistic about the prospects for world order and see little difference between Christians and nonbelievers. And evangelicals stand somewhere in between these extremes....
Evangelicals are likely to focus more on U.S. exceptionalism than liberals would like, and they are likely to care more about the morality of U.S. foreign policy than most realists prefer. But evangelical power is here to stay for the foreseeable future, and those concerned about U.S. foreign policy would do well to reach out. As more evangelical leaders acquire firsthand experience in foreign policy, they are likely to provide something now sadly lacking in the world of U.S. foreign policy: a trusted group of experts, well versed in the nuances and dilemmas of the international situation, who are able to persuade large numbers of Americans to support the complex and counterintuitive policies that are sometimes necessary in this wicked and frustrating -- or, dare one say it, fallen -- world.
7th Circuit Hears Arguments In Indiana Legislative Prayer Case
House Committee Approves Public Expression of Religion Act
UPDATE: The vote in the House Judiciary Committee to approve the bill was 7-5, along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats against. (Associated Baptist Press.)