Religion & Law

Atheist Group Calls on Obama to Endorse ?National Day of Reason? Instead of ?National Day of Prayer?

Posted on April 19, 2010
CNSNews: "An atheist group is calling on President Obama to ditch the National Day of Prayer and formally recognize its own 'non-theist' version called 'The National Day of Reason.'"

Cuba?s Catholic cardinal says country in crisis

Posted on April 19, 2010
Breitbart (AP): "Cuba's Roman Catholic cardinal says the country is in one of its worst crises in recent times, with its people demanding political and economic changes sooner rather than later."

Greg Baylor on Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly: CLS v. Martinez

Posted on April 19, 2010
ADF Attorney Greg Baylor appeared on Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly (includes video and transcript) with Tim O'Brien to discuss CLS v. Martinez. The mp3 runs just under 8 and a half minutes.

Lambda Legal: ?Tennessee School Agrees To Remedy Harassment And Censorship Of Gay Student?

Posted on April 19, 2010
Lambda Legal: "The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and Lambda Legal announced today that they have received assurances from officials at Greenbrier High School that the school will stop censoring a student from wearing shirts expressing pro-gay messages...

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Doug Napier vs. Rob Boston on CNN HLN: Judge Strikes Down National Day of Prayer

Posted on April 19, 2010
ADF attorney Doug Napier vs. Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State on CNN HLN. The MP4 runs approximately 7 minutes.

Scottish bishop: Cardinal Bertone?s remarks on homosexuality ?stupid?

Posted on April 19, 2010
Catholic Culture: "Bishop Moran, who was present along with 20 other bishops in Brussels for a meeting of the Commission of the Bishops? Conferences of the European Union, added that the bishops in attendance were 'shocked to know that someone in Rome had said that this is a problem of homosexuality...

Christians now outnumber Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa by 2 to 1

Posted on April 19, 2010
Catholic Culture: "In 1900, 76% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa practiced indigenous religions, while 14% were Muslim and 9% were Christian. Today, 57% of the population is Christian, while 29% are Muslim and 13% practice indigenous religions...

Request filed with Attorney General?s office on University of Wisconsin ties to Planned Parenthood

Posted on April 19, 2010
Pro-Life Wisconsin: "On behalf of Pro-Life Wisconsin, the Alliance Defense Fund filed a formal request on Friday, April 16, with the Wisconsin Attorney General?s office. The request 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 ...

Big decision on an uncertain record? Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, Argument recap

Posted on April 19, 2010
"From questions and comments, it appeared that the Justices would line up ? at least preliminarily ? this way . . . "

Justices split over college rejection of Christian student group

Posted on April 19, 2010
Politics Daily: "U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed to split along ideological lines Monday in a case that pits anti-discrimination policies in public universities against the First Amendment rights of students . . . Alliance Defense Fund attorney [Casey Mattox], an organization supporting CLS, said the questioning led him to believe the justices' ruling may favor the Christian group...

Covering religious rights on campus

Posted on April 19, 2010
M.Z. Hemingway writing at GetReligion: "I usually try to cut reporters a bit of slack if they?re writing the first story or two about a big issue. But you have to wonder about this [McClatchy Newspapers report] by Michael Doyle . . . if you?re going to say that lawyers are fighting over what the fight is about, shouldn?t you, you know, talk to the lawyers on opposing sides? ...

Reid Promises Showdown on Judicial Nominees

Posted on April 19, 2010
Blog of the Legal Times: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said today that he plans to stay in session 'around the clock' until there are votes on five presidential nominees, including three for judicial vacancies, one for the Justice Department, and one for the Treasury Department...

Greg Baylor vs. Barry Lynn on Fox News TV: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez

Posted on April 19, 2010
ADF attorney Greg Baylor appeared with Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State on Fox News to debate some of the issues arising from Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. The MP4 runs just under 5 minutes.

The wonderful ?failure? of the Milwaukee voucher program

Posted on April 16, 2010
"If a policy that leads to greater consumer satisfaction at lower cost, and produces no negative side-effects in test scores, is viewed as a 'failure' by progressives, then I don?t think we need to worry very much when progressives criticize the free market...

U.S. Congressman lashes out at Obama over Israel remarks

Posted on April 16, 2010
HAARETZ: "Eric Cantor, a leading Republican official in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Thursday lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama's remarks about Israel at this week's nuclear security summit."

?Britain ?risks civil unrest if gay rights win over religious beliefs??

Posted on April 16, 2010
Mr [Paul] Diamond said: ?There will be a collision between the established faith of this land and judicial decisions and that will lead to civil unrest.?

Obama Extends Hospital Visitation Rights To Same-Sex Partners Of ?Gays?

Posted on April 16, 2010
"President Obama mandated Thursday that hospitals extend visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians and allow same-sex couples to share medical power of attorney, perhaps the most significant step so far in his efforts to expand the rights of gay Americans...

NYT: ?Finding a gay-friendly campus?

Posted on April 16, 2010
New York Times: "'Actually going out and recruiting a gay student ? that?s a very new thing for colleges,' says Shane L. Windmeyer, the co-founder of Campus Pride, a national organization that promotes safe college environments for gay students and sponsored the event...

Argentina: Same-sex adoption bill to be debated in Lower House

Posted on April 16, 2010
Buenos Aires Herald: "The lawmaker explained that the current Adoption Bill allows for heterosexual couples and single parents to adopt, hence there's already many gay men and women who have adopted children. 'Homosexual people adopt children all the time, we're not changing anything, only regulating something that already exists...

Timeline: Obama administration and ?gay rights?

Posted on April 16, 2010
Washington Post, Federal Eye: "President Obama decision to mandate visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians adds to a growing list of actions -- big, small and ceremonial -- taken by the federal government at the behest of gay rights groups eager to extend various rights and benefits to the LGBT community...

PA: Town meeting to tackle sexting

Posted on April 16, 2010
Lebanon Daily News: "On Tuesday, the Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center of Lebanon County will address the growing sexting problem with teens, parents and other concerned citizens at a town meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Lebanon High School auditorium, 1000 S...

Lynch to run again as same-sex ?marriage? lingers as an issue in NH

Posted on April 16, 2010
The Hill: "New Hampshire's gubernatorial election could be a referendum on gay marriage. Gov. John Lynch (D) announced Friday he would seek an unprecedented fourth term. He came under attack recently from national conservative groups for signing a gay marriage bill into law last year...

Congressional Hearing on Corporal Punishment in Schools; ACLU says ?an Arcane And Destructive Practice?

Posted on April 16, 2010
ACLU Blog: "Yesterday, the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities conducted a hearing seeking to address the problems stemming from corporal punishment in public schools ? the first Congressional hearing on this important issue since 1992...

Matt Bowman on the Schilling Show: Abortion and the Healthcare Legislation

Posted on April 16, 2010
ADF attorney Matt Bowman appeared on the Schilling Show to discuss abortion and the healthcare legislation. The MP3 runs approximately 9 minutes.

Doug Napier on the Bob Dutko Show: The National Day of Prayer Ruled Unconstitutional

Posted on April 16, 2010
ADF attorney Doug Napier appeared on the Bob Dutko Show to discuss the National Day of Prayer ruling. The MP3 runs just over 7 minutes. Related: ADF on striking down of National Day of Prayer statute: ?It?s America?s heritage, and this day belongs to Americans? WI: Federal Court declares National Day of Prayer unconstitutional

Missoula City Council passes gender identity discrimination measure

Posted on April 16, 2010
Missoulian: "Breaking ground in Montana, the Missoula City Council on Tuesday adopted the first equality ordinance in the state that protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

11th Circuit Panel Leaning Against Porn Streamed From Private Houses

Posted on April 16, 2010
Daily Business Review (Law.com): "An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel indicated Thursday that the keyhole should be closed on Internet porn sites broadcasting from private residences, saying the sites constitute a business and could violate municipal zoning ordinances...

ADF steps in for group shut out of Mont. employee giving program

Posted on April 16, 2010
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday on behalf of the Montana Family Foundation, which was excluded from the Montana State Employee Charitable Giving Campaign even though other issue advocacy and religious groups were allowed to participate.

?Will gays, who hurt priesthood, now weaken military??

Posted on April 16, 2010
"As more gays came to populate Catholic seminaries, fewer 'straights' were willing to do so, and fewer orthodox Catholic families were willing to encourage their sons to enter the priesthood. This helps explain the 'priest shortage' that currently afflicts the Catholic Church...

Federal judge strikes down National Day of Prayer statute

Posted on April 16, 2010
CNN: "A federal judge on Thursday struck down the federal statute that established the National Day of Prayer, ruling that it violates the constitutional ban on government-backed religion . . . 'The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance,' said [Joel Oster], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund...

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