Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
9th Circuit Hears Arguments In Pledge and Motto Cases
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
8th Circuit Finds State Funding of Faith-Based Prison Program Unconstitutional
Even though inmate entry into the InnerChange program was voluntary and state funds were used only to pay for non-religious aspects of the program, the court held that direct payments to InnerChange for the years 2002-04 funded religious indoctrination in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. and Iowa constitutions. It also found an Establishment Clause problem because participation in InnerChange was available only to inmates professing Christian beliefs. In 2005-07, funding changed from cost reimbursement to a per diem payment. The court held that this did not convert the program into one of permissible indirect aid. The court also rejected defendant's reliance on Turner v. Safley, a Supreme Court case which in the court's view applies to free exercise, but not to establishment clause, challenges in prison settings.
The court however reversed the district court's order that InnerChange repay funds it received from the state for periods before the trial court found the program unconstitutional. The court also emphasized that the district court injunction it was affirming applied to InnerChange only so long as it received government funding for operating the Iowa program.
Both sides have claimed victory in the Court of Appeals. Americans United issued a release praising the ruling, saying it is a major setback for the White House's faith-based initiative. Meanwhile, InnerChange issued its own release, saying that since InnerChange now operates in Iowa without state funding, the 8th Circuit's ruling effectively permits it to continue and reverses the trial court's order for it to repay $1.5 million it previously received in state funds.Yesterday's Des Moines Register covers the decision. (See prior related postings.)
Talk Show Host Sues Muslim Group For Copyright Infringement
Cert. Denied In Removal of Cross From LA County Seal
Israeli Rabbinic Court Decision Increases Tension Over Civil-Religious Jurisdiction
Preliminary Injunction Protects Preacher From Disturbing-the-Peace Arrests
Judge Asks For Briefs On Use of Religion In Picking Jurors
Monday, December 03, 2007
Heated Controversy Over Portrait of Militant Sikh Leader Erupts In India
Church Property Disputes Looming In Pennsylvania
Holiday Display Disputes Appear Muted This Year
Meanwhile in Cranston, Rhode Island, backing away from past high profile controversies over religious symbols, new mayor Michael T. Napolitano has opted to merely put up 50,000 white lights and a Christmas tree in the foyer of City Hall. In past years, the City Hall display-- which led to litigation-- included a life-sized nativity scene, a menorah, an inflatable snowman, and 15 flamingos in Santa Claus hats representing the "Church of the Flamingos". (ACLU Release, 2003). (See prior related posting.) Local ACLU director, Steven Brown, said that Napolitano "is doing more to respect religion than the politicians who try to turn Christmas into a political issue."
Sudan's President Pardons British Teacher Convicted of Insulting Islam
Romney To Deliver Speech On His Religious Beliefs and the Presidency
Op-Ed Explores School Board's Rule On Sacred Music In Choir Concerts
Is it the number of songs, sacred versus secular? Or time — would one six-minute secular song be worth two three-minute sacred songs? Or, since the musical notes themselves are neither sacred nor secular, is it just the lyrics? Do we have to count lines within each song?
Equally unclear is exactly to whom the policy would apply. School board members seem to think the policy would not apply to outside groups that rent a room in a Howell school building for an event. Administrators seem to think it would....[The Constitution] says public schools can't promote one religion over another.... [W]hy can't the Howell school board come up with a policy that says that, and goes no further so that it avoids creating needless controversies where there really is no controversy?
Private Enforcers of Islamic Law Appear In Cairo
Recent Publications on Law, Religion and Society
From SSRN:
- Shraddha Veeranna Chigateri, Glory to the Cow: Cultural Difference and Social Justice in the Food Hierarchy in India, (South Asia, Vol. 31, No. 1, April 2008).
From SmartCILP and elsewhere:
- Alex Geisinger & Ivan E. Bodensteiner, An Expressive Jurisprudence of the Establishment Clause, 112 Penn State Law Review 77-136 (2007).
- Antony Barone Kolenc, "Mr. Scalia's Neighborhood": A Home for Minority Religions?, 81 St. John's Law Review 819-880 (2007).
- Douglas G. Smith, "Equal Access"?: Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover and the Use of Public Facilities for Religious Worship, 8 Engage 142-144 (Oct. 2007).
- Robin Judd, Contested Rituals: Circumcision, Kosher Butchering and Jewish Political Life in Germany, 1843-1933, (Cornell University Press, August 2007), reviewed in The Forward.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
NJ Mosque Developers Lose Attempt To Add Count To Complaint
Texas Schools Science Director Fired Over Apparent Opposition To Intelligent Design
British Accounting Body Will Offer Certificate In Islamic Finance
Alberta Panel Finds Anti-Gay Letter Violated Human Rights Law
The complaint, filed by a Red Deer high school teacher, alleged that the letter crossed the line of free speech and incited hatred against homosexuals in violation of Sec. 3 of the HRCMA. In an 80-page decision, the Panel held it had jurisdiction over the case because of the relationship of the letter to the province's educational system and its circumstantial connection to the beating of a gay teenager in Red Deer less than two weeks following its publication. The panel concluded that Boissoin's letter expressed hatred or contempt for a group of persons on the basis of their sexual preference, and made it more acceptable to others to manifest hatred against homosexuals. The panel rejected the argument that Boissoin's freedom of religion and expression are defenses to the discrimination charge. Friday's Canadian Press reported on the decision.
Meanwhile, according to the Canadian Press, on Saturday the Executive Committee of the Conservative Party of Alberta refused to endorse the nomination of Concerned Christian Coalition leader Craig Chandler for election to the province's legislative assembly from Calgary-Egmont. Apparently the refusal was related to the Boissoin letter.