Religion & Law

Egypt: Muslims attack with acid girl who converted to Christianity ? after fatwas call for spilling of her father?s blood

Posted on April 19, 2010
Newsrealblog: "Dina el-Gowhary?s father, Peter Athanasius, is a convert also. Our religious freedom bus ads in Miami, pictured above, were pulled by Miami-Dade Transit for being ?offensive to Islam.? CAIR?s Muhammed Malik said: 'Islam guarantees freedom to and freedom from religion...

Next justice needs political savvy, Kaufman says

Posted on April 19, 2010
Delaware Online: "The Supreme Court could use a justice with a background in politics, Sen. Ted Kaufman believes . . . While he appreciates circuit court judges' legal experience, he said it's wrong to have nine of them on the Supreme Court . . . "

Wisconsin pro-life group asks Atty General about UW funding abortion training

Posted on April 19, 2010
LifeNews: "The request, joined by the Alliance Defense Fund, a pro-life legal group, asks for an opinion on whether it is illegal for the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority [UWHCA] to pay resident physicians while they are being trained to do abortions at Planned Parenthood in Madison...

Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Christian Legal Society?s Clash With Hastings? Discrimination Rules

Posted on April 19, 2010
Religion Clause Blog summarizes and links to several backgrounders on the litigation.

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Could ?gay? protections trump religious freedom?

Posted on April 19, 2010
CBN News: Attorney [Austin R. Nimocks] with the The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian non-profit organization, argues that Christian businesses . . . have every reason to be concerned. 'A law that would require an organization to retain employees who don't fulfill that organization's mission is a dangerous law,' he said...

Obama v. Roberts: The struggle to come

Posted on April 19, 2010
New York Times: "Many years after their campus days in Cambridge, Mass., President Obama and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. have emerged as the intellectual gladiators in a great struggle over the role of government in American society. In this moment of churning uncertainty and ideological ferment, it is a struggle that is already defining the selection of the next Supreme Court justice and could easily help shape the course of the nation for years to come...

Tajikistan: Officials insist unregistered religious activity ?illegal?

Posted on April 19, 2010
Forum 18: "Tajikistan continues to seriously restrict freedom of religion or belief, Forum 18 News Service has found. At least 236 Five-fold, 48 Central cathedral, and 12 Cathedral mosques, as well as over 12 non-Muslim religious organisations have not been re-registered under the Religion Law...

Tension rises in northern Nigeria after pastor?s murder

Posted on April 19, 2010
AFP: "Sectarian tension is rising in a Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria state following the murder of a pastor and his wife as Christians call for revenge, residents and officials said."

Morocco to define ?proselytizing?

Posted on April 19, 2010
OneNewsNow: "Officials from the Moroccan government have met with evangelical leaders over concerns stemming from the recent expulsion of Christians from the Middle Eastern country."

Greg Baylor on The Takeaway: CLS v. Martinez

Posted on April 19, 2010
ADF Attorney Greg Baylor appeared on The Takeaway to discuss CLS v. Martinez. | The mp3 runs just over 6 minutes.

India: Christians relieved to get government protection

Posted on April 19, 2010
Spero News: "Christians in a central Indian tribal belt expressed relief after churches and pastors were given police protection. Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh faced trouble after police resisted attempts by some rightwing Hindu groups to storm the concluding function of a Christian program on April 15...

Eastern ND Synod Assembly votes down ?gay? clergy resolution

Posted on April 19, 2010
Grand Forks Herald: "The Eastern North Dakota Synod Assembly narrowly defeated a resolution Sunday that would have called for a reversal of its denomination?s decision to allow individuals in same-gender relationships to serve in the clergy. That resolution failed by a margin of 190-213 on the second and final day of the annual assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America?s END Synod in Jamestown...

Abortion rulings could bring scrutiny of possible Supreme Court pick Wood

Posted on April 19, 2010
Washington Post: "If President Obama nominates U.S. Circuit Judge Diane P. Wood to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, social conservatives say they intend to make her rulings on abortion rights the primary point of contention."

Georgia: ?Gay lobbyist sues journalist at Media Council?

Posted on April 19, 2010
The Georgian Times: "Paata Sabelashvili, President of the Inclusive Foundation, has filed a complaint at the Media Council stating that Kavkasia TV journalist Aleko Elisashvili has encouraged homophobic behaviour. This will be the second case the Media Council has considered, but the first related to gay rights in a conservative-minded country...

Europe: Bans on Muslim garb show shift in attitudes

Posted on April 19, 2010
Associated Press: "Concerns that visible signs of Islam erode national identity are combining with complaints that immigrants are stealing jobs during the economic slump, deepening a sense of unease in many European countries, small and large alike, over the role of Muslims in society...

UK: Three party leaders back faith-based community work

Posted on April 19, 2010
Church Times: "The three main party leaders, as they entered the second week of the General Election campaign and launched their manifestos, spoke positively of the part played by churches in com­munity-building."

MA: Charles Baker wins Republican nomination

Posted on April 19, 2010
Boston Herald: "Republican Christy Mihos was muscled out of the GOP primary today as gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker took 89 percent of the delegate vote, leaving Mihos with just 11 percent, according to unofficial estimates."

What NH employers should know about same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on April 19, 2010
SeacoastOnline: "Effective Jan. 1, 2010, New Hampshire became the sixth state to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex. New Hampshire's statute provides that couples who entered into civil unions in other states will be considered married in New Hampshire, and civil unions performed under the state's prior law will be converted into marriages...

Spaniards reject government?s abortion law

Posted on April 19, 2010
Angus Reid: "People in Spain are not satisfied with their government?s new pregnancy termination regulations, according to a poll by NC Report published in La Razón. 54.2 per cent of respondents oppose the Abortion Law."

Greg Baylor: Freedom of All Student Groups at Stake in CLS case at Supreme Court

Posted on April 19, 2010
"There is no need for the Court to 'choose sides' in the culture war. It simply needs to uphold the Constitution . . . "

New Zealand: Parents want abstinence message taught

Posted on April 19, 2010
Family First NZ: "Family First NZ says that three out of four parents of young children want the abstinence message taught in sex education - with 69% of kiwis overall supporting the 'wait' message."

Catholic doctors call for qualified professionals in developing countries

Posted on April 19, 2010
Spero News: "Catholic obstetricians of the NGO MaterCare International (MCI) have called for greater emphasis on prenatal care and more qualified medical assistance to developing countries, instead of increasing reproductive health programs that include birth control through the use of condoms, and so-called 'safe' abortions...

IL: Religious differences fuel custody battles

Posted on April 19, 2010
Chicago Sun-Times: "Their divorce was settled three years ago, but there they were Friday, back in Cook County Domestic Relations Court, this time fighting over a contentious religious issue: Could a devout Jewish mother force her ex-husband, who isn't Jewish, to feed their 7-year-old son kosher food when he has the boy?"

Court splits sharply on campus Christian argument

Posted on April 19, 2010
"Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito questioned the school's lawyer sharply, saying that being forced to admit someone who doesn't share their beliefs was a threat to the group. But Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor pressed the group's lawyer on notion that if they can ban gays, other groups can legally ban women and minorities...

U.S. Supreme Court to hear ?sexting? case

Posted on April 19, 2010
Legal Newsline: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday will hear the case of whether employees' text messages sent by an employer-owned device are considered private."

A presidential push for D.C. voting rights

Posted on April 19, 2010
ABC: "President Obama today fought for Congressional voting rights for Washington, D.C. in a generations-old battle waged since the founding of the federal district." | Statement by the President

National Day of Prayer ruling called ?egregious?

Posted on April 19, 2010
Baptist Press: "'The lawsuit against Mrs. Dobson was based on the ridiculous argument that a private citizen can violate the law by praying, and it is just another example of one radical organization's allergic reaction to anything involving God,' [Joel Oster], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which advocated for Dobson, said...

CA: Pleasanton couple donates frozen embryos, then sues to regain control

Posted on April 19, 2010
Santa Cruz Sentinel: "Couples from Pleasanton and Missouri, who each had children from the same set of embryos, are battling each other in court over control of the remaining two. Suits were filed Thursday in Alameda County Superior Court by the Pleasanton couple, and in St...

Podcast: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez

Posted on April 19, 2010
SCOTUS Blog: "If you didn?t prevail in line at the Court this morning to see oral arguments in either Christian Legal Society or Quon, we have two pairs of podcasts with lawyers in these cases (including three who are arguing before the Court this morning) ...

Indonesia Court Upholds Blasphemy Law

Posted on April 19, 2010
CNSNews: "Indonesia's constitutional court upheld a controversial blasphemy law Monday that critics say limits religious freedom in the world's largest Muslim-majority country, ruling that the law is vital to religious harmony."

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.