Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, April 02, 2007
President Bush's Passover Message
Recent Articles and Scholarship In Law and Religion
Perry Dane, Exemptions for Religion Contained in Regulatory Statutes" . Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties, Vol. 1, pp. 559-562 (2006).
Chaim Saiman, Legal Theology: The Turn to Conceptualism in Nineteenth-Century Jewish Law, Villanova Law/Public Policy Research Paper No. 2007-5.
From SmartCILP (mostly):
James Forman Jr., The Rise and Fall of School Vouchers: A Story of Religion, Race, and Politics (Abstract), 54 UCLA Law Review 547-604 (2007).
Kamran Hashemi, Religious Legal Traditions, Muslim States, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child: An Essay on the Relevant UN Documentation, 29 Human Rights Quarterly 194-227 (2007).
Thomas J. Paprocki, Marriage, Same-Sex Relationships, and the Catholic Church, 38 Loyola University Chicago Law Journal 247-264 (2007).
Theresa J. Pulley Radwan, Keeping the Faith: The Rights of Parishioners In Church Reorganizations, 82 Washington Law Review 75-120 (2007).
James A. Sonne, Firing Thoreau: Conscience and At-Will Employment, 9 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor & Employment Law 235-291 (2007).
Gerard V. Bradley, The Blaine Amendment: Harbinger of Secularism?, 8 Engage 138-143 (Feb. 2007).
Church of England Bishop Tests Scope of Employment Equality Regulations
"Bong Hits 4 Jesus" Litigant's Interview Published
I was looking for unusual, hilariously funny, provocative and controversial speech that would not be easily understood but would be wide open to subjective interpretation to anyone that read it. When (the principal) demanded to know the meaning, I told her it could be interpreted as an acronym for "Bring on the national games, head into town for Jesus" — but that was not the meaning. I told her the banner message was never intended to promote drugs or religion but the message was to be interpreted subjectively and a person was free to assign whatever meaning and value to the banner they desired to assign to it, and if someone interpreted it as a religious message or a drug message then that is what the sign meant to them....
My message to the school was clear. "I am asserting my First Amendment free speech rights, there is nothing you should be able to do about it, and I am doing it in front of a national audience," CNN news. The underlying message I believe is quite clear: No one can interfere with my free speech rights and the free expression of my thoughts. I guess I took my Texas spirit and stubbornness with me when I moved to Alaska.
Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases
Sample v. Lappin, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21777 (D DC, March 28, 2007), is a D.C. district court case in which a Jewish prisoner claims he should have the right to consume wine on the Sabbath and at a Passover seder. In an earlier decision, the court held that Bureau of Prison regulations substantially burden the inmate's sincerely held religious beliefs, but that the government has a compelling interest in controlling alcohol consumption in prisons. It ordered a trial on whether a complete ban was the least restrictive means to carry out that interest. In this decision the court rejected motions asking it to reconsider various portions of its earlier decision and to dismiss the case as moot or for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
In Keal v. Washington, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20961 (WD WA, March 23, 2007), a Washington federal district court upheld a Magistrate Judge's recommendations, dismissing a series of claims against a number of correctional officials. The suit by two prisoners challenged denial of a Halal diet, denial of a Muslim sponsor, claims regarding prayer at work, interference with the ability to observe Ramadan, and a prohibition on wearing dreadlocks.
In Smith v. Bruce, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21220 (D KA, March 23, 2007), a Kansas federal district court permitted a prisoner to move ahead with his claim that his free exercise rights were violated when defendants repeatedly served him gelatin containing animal by-products, in violation of his religiously mandated vegetarian diet.
In Porter v. Caruso, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21244 (WD MI, March 26, 2007), a Michigan federal district court, accepting the conclusions of a magistrate judge, permitted an inmate to proceed to trial on his claim that prison authorities violated RLUIPA by barring him from purchasing a replacement ankh cross, which he says is the primary symbol of his practice of the religion of Kemetic Spiritual Science.
In Thompson v. Scott, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21742 (SD TX, March 27, 2007), a Texas federal district court permitted a prisoner to move to trial on his claim that the prison's grooming standards infringed his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA. He alleged that he was forced to cut his hair in violation of his Native American Cherokee-Blackfoot religious traditions.
In Christiansen v. Walker, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22215 (SD IL, March 28, 2007), a Muslim prisoner alleged that the defendants did not provide him a diet or hygiene supplies free of animal products, that they forced him to attend Christian religious programs , and that they did not permit him adequate time or space to observe his prayer rituals and participate in fasting rituals. An Illinois federal district court dismissed claims against three of the defendants because they were not involved in the decision to deny plaintiff religious accommodation. As to the other defendant, the court granted him summary judgment on plaintiff's dietary claims, but not on his other claims.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Profiling of Autos Carrying Bibles OK'd
DNA Swab Does Not Violate Putative Father's Free Exercise Rights
Court Rejects Several of School's Claims In Attempt To Get Building Permit
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Slovakia's Parliament Makes Church Recognition More Difficult
North Carolina County Commission Sued Over Sectarian Prayers
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the complaint in the lawsuit. Sunday's Winston-Salem Journal reports that commissioners will meet on Thursday to discuss whether they should fight the lawsuit. The high cost of mounting a defense will be one consideration.
Compromise Reached Over Ownership Of Czech Cathedral
British Veiled Teacher's Appeal Rejected
Religious Defamation-- UN Defends Muslims While NY Catholics Object To Art Display
Meanwhile, CNN today reported on a different kind of concern over defamation of a religion. New York's Roger Smith Hotel closed down a display titled "My Sweet Lord" after a flood of objections from Catholics to the display's nude, anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus. Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League, said the life-size statue was "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever."
In a series of releases from the Catholic League, Donohue first said: "All those involved are lucky that angry Christians don’t react the way extremist Muslims do when they’re offended—otherwise they may have more than their heads cut off." (March 29 Release). Then, saying that sculptor Cosimo Cavallaro has invited the public to show up at midnight on April 1 to take a bite of his chocolate sculpture, he continued: "The Roger Smith Hotel is morally bankrupt. It is the goal of the Catholic League to make it financially bankrupt as well." (March 29 Release #2). Finally, after the exhibit was closed, Donohue said: "While we are delighted with the outcome, we are not pleased with the comments of the gallery’s creative director, Matt Semler. For him to say that our objection to this outrageous display constitutes hate speech and is the equivalent of a fatwa shows how deliriously irresponsible this man is." (March 30 Release.)
Friday, March 30, 2007
Turkey's Secularist Tradition At Issue In Murder Trial
Motion Seeks Dismissal of Trespass Charges Against Gideon Bible Distributors
Kansas Legislature Passes Ban On Funeral Protests
UPDATE: On Friday, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announced that she would sign the anti-funeral protest bill into law. (Lawrence Journal-World).
Pakistan Brothel Owner Kidnapped, Then Released By Muslim Students
Today's Gulf Daily News reports that Aunty Shamim has been released after she put on a burqa and signed a statement saying in part: "I seek forgiveness for the sins that I have committed and declare I will live like a true Muslim and preacher of religion." Aunty Shamim's relatives and the arrested teachers have also all now been released, as have two policemen who were seized by protesting students.