Religion & Law

Episcopal Church Wins Title To Property of Break-Away Connectiuct Parish

Posted on March 19, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "A Connecticut trial court ruled this week that the real and personal property of Bishop Seabury Episcopal Church in Groton, Connecticut, belongs to the Diocese of Connecticut and the Episcopal Church . . . "

Belgian Court Suspends Ban On Islamic Headscarves

Posted on March 19, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "Yesterday, Belgium's Council of State suspended a ban on Islamic headscarves that had been imposed on Muslim school girls in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders."

Matt Bowman on the Hugh Hewitt Show: How much abortion is in the ?healthcare? bill?

Posted on March 19, 2010
ADF attorney Matt Bowman appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss how much abortion is in the "healthcare" bill. The MP3 runs just over 5 minutes. Related: Matt Bowman: $11 Billion buys a lot of abortions Matt Bowman: $11 Billion for ?community health centers? that won?t promote abortion? Don?t bet on it.

AL: Court Rejects Street Preachers? Challenge To Permit Ordinance

Posted on March 19, 2010
Religion Clause Blog: "In Bethel v. City of Montgomery, No. 2:04cv743-MEF, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24949 (MD AL, March 2, 2010), two street preachers challenged the requirement imposed by Montgomery, Alabama that they obtain a permit before preaching on public streets...

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

North Miami Beach may recognize religious holidays ? but with limits

Posted on March 19, 2010
Miami Herald: "Thomas Pinder, chairman of the city's multicultural committee -- which presented its report recommending the proclamation policy to councilmembers on Tuesday -- said committee members were trying to be inclusive. According to the proposal, the city council would recognize one main holiday for every religion in the form of an official proclamation...

Amy Totenberg nominated to be federal judge

Posted on March 19, 2010
Atlanta Journal Constitution: "President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated former school board attorney Amy Totenberg to the U.S. District Court bench in Atlanta. At the same time Wednesday, Obama nominated Leonard Stark to the U.S. District Court in Delaware...

UK: Public fury at demo of sex positions on ?This Morning?

Posted on March 19, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Scores of viewers have expressed outrage after witnessing actors demonstrating sex positions live on ITV?s flagship daytime television show, This Morning. Members of the public have flooded internet message boards and complained to media groups saying the explicit sex topics were 'inappropriate' for a morning show...

UK: Increase in non-Muslims opting for Sharia courts

Posted on March 19, 2010
The Christian Institute: "A tiny but increasing number of non-Muslims are turning to Sharia courts to resolve civil disputes, but critics fear that the courts are inherently discriminatory. The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) is reporting a 15% increase in the number of non-Muslims resorting to Islamic courts to settle commercial disputes this year...

What man hath joined together . . .

Posted on March 19, 2010
Mike's Blog: "Hurrah for the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals for disallowing a lesbian divorce case in the state of Oklahoma. How can you issue a divorce for what was never a legitimate marriage? Legal Counsel Tim Tracey of the Alliance Defense Fund rightly asserted that this was a back door attempt to undermine the marriage amendment of Oklahoma that was passed by 76 percent of the voters...

Week in Review: Evaporating First Amendment?

Posted on March 19, 2010
The Emerging Scholars Blog: "Evaporating First Amendment? (Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, March 18) ? Jaschik takes a look at the case of Mike Adams, the conservative criminology professor at UNC-Wilmington who argues that he was denied promotion because of his conservative Christian beliefs...

Christian taxpayer?s fed up with the Fed!

Posted on March 19, 2010
Evangelical Examiner: "It's not only the secular world that is fed up with the Fed, it appears that it is also the Christian world. All one needs to do is visit the Alliance Defense Fund, Pacific Justice Institute, the Center for Bio-ethical Reform and others...

Male-on-male sexual assaults in military

Posted on March 19, 2010
One News Now: "A national defense analyst and Pentagon advisor says a recent report concerning the alarming rate of male-on-male sexual assaults in the military should create a roadblock to President Obama's efforts to repeal the 1993 law banning homosexuals from military service...

Disability shouldn?t be death sentence

Posted on March 19, 2010
OneNewsNow: "The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has intervened in a case in which the family of a mentally disabled man wants life-sustaining treatment halted, even though he is stable and conscious . . . 'The family in this case is arguing that just because this patient has a mental disability, they should be able to determine that he'd be better off dead...

Coalition pushes amendment to Colorado?s constitution protecting religious freedom

Posted on March 19, 2010
Denver Post: "A coalition that includes Colorado Family Action and the Colorado Catholic Conference has taken the first step toward amending the state constitution to prohibit the government from infringing on the religious liberty of an individual or a religious organization ...

Objectors to required Spanish course take case to EU Court

Posted on March 19, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "Jose Luis Bazan of Professionals for Ethics announced during a press conference this week that 300 conscientious objectors to the Socialist course, 'Education for the Citizenry' have filed 105 lawsuits in the EU Court against the Spanish government for violating 'the fundamental rights of parents and their children' ...

Pa. Student free to wear ?abortion is not healthcare? shirt

Posted on March 19, 2010
Christian Post: "Officials at West Shore School District in Pennsylvania have agreed to lift a ban that prevented at least one middle school student from wearing an 'Abortion is not Healthcare' T-shirt . . . 'Public schools should not censor pro-life students for their views,' said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman, in a statement...

Matt Bowman on Sound Off Connecticut: Abortion in ?Healthcare? Legislation

Posted on March 19, 2010
ADF attorney Matt Bowman on Sound Off Connecticut with Jim Vicevich to discuss the issue of whether the pending healthcare legislation includes abortion. The MP3 runs approximately 11 minutes. Related: Matt Bowman: $11 Billion for ?community health centers? that won?t promote abortion? Don?t bet on it...

Daniel Blomberg on the Jody Hice Show: Update on Gilbert, AZ zoning restrictions on church activities in homes

Posted on March 19, 2010
ADF attorney Daniel Blomberg appeared on the Jody Hice Show to discuss Gilbert, Arizona's zoning restrictions on church activities in homes. The MP3 runs just over 16 minutes. Related ADF Media information.

Bart Stupak: Democrats Killing Health Care Bill over Abortion, I?m Still a No Vote

Posted on March 19, 2010
LifeNews: "'There's still no change,' he said of a deal and how he and about 10-12 other pro-life Democrats stand against the bill because of it. 'My group is holding firm.'"

Cambodian bans women from marrying South Koreans

Posted on March 19, 2010
AP: "Cambodia has temporarily barred its citizens from marrying South Korean men after two dozen women were sold into marriage by matchmakers - the second time the government has imposed such a ban."

AZ: Abortion report bill advances in House

Posted on March 19, 2010
Arizona Republic: "An abortion measure advanced in the House of Representatives. The bill, HB 2649, requires hospitals, other medical facilities, and health professionals who treat women with complications from abortions to submit a report to the state...

NE: Anecdotal abortion reports don?t change gov?s mind on illegal immigrant care

Posted on March 19, 2010
CNBC: "Reports that some women in Nebraska plan to have abortions now that illegal immigrants can no longer get state-funded prenatal care haven't changed Gov. Dave Heineman's opposition to a bill that would allow them to get the medical attention. But anecdotal accounts of more women saying they will end their pregnancies because of the financial and emotional strain of not having state- and federal-funded care could revive the bill anyway...

MO: Lawmaker wants women to state why they want an abortion

Posted on March 19, 2010
KMOV4: "Tom Dempsey's new bill would require doctors and clinics to ask women for the reason that they are getting the abortion. Senator Dempsey thinks it would be useful to know if most abortions are wanted because of finances, health concerns, or other reasons...

Facebook row as Middle East officials ban user ?who insulted Islam?

Posted on March 19, 2010
Telegraph: "All internet providers in the United Arab Emirates have been ordered to block the unnamed user behind the site, after he alleged his claims were supported by verses of the Koran . . . After dozens of complaints about the Arabic-language site, titled 'God and Prophets', the country?s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced this week it would ban the user from holding an internet account...

Religious registration in the Slovak Republic

Posted on March 19, 2010
Ekklesia: "The Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic's ruling is very bad news for presently unregistered smaller churches and religious organisations, which under the present statute are required, inter alia, to have 20,000 adult members before they can be officially recognised by the Ministry of Culture ...

Ireland: Minister for Justice proposes deletion of blasphemy amendment

Posted on March 19, 2010
Irish Times: "The Minister for Justice will propose to the Cabinet a constitutional amendment deleting the constitutional prohibition on blasphemy when the children?s rights amendment comes up, according to his spokesman."

UK: 32% of employees think religious freedom has been restricted

Posted on March 19, 2010
Human Resources Magazine: "Nearly two thirds of people in the UK think the law should not prevent employees expressing their religious views in the workplace. According to a report from Christian think tank Theos, a further 32% of employees think religious freedom has been restricted over the past 10 years...

EU sets up Committee of Orthodox Churches Representatives

Posted on March 19, 2010
Interfax: "The Committee of Representatives of Orthodox Churches to the European Union has initiated its work. As was reported in communique, adopted on the results of the Committee session in Brussels and conveyed to Interfax-Religion on Thursday, the new structure members believe that 'the dialogue between the political community and the Churches is very welcome as a manifestation of mutual respect and as a sign of hope for a better Europe and a sustainable world...

Pelosi lies about Catholic Support

Posted on March 19, 2010
Catholic League: " . . . Then Pelosi lied. She said she is grateful for the support of 60 orders of nuns, not mentioning that the letter she received had a whopping total of 55 signatories. Worse, she had the gall to say that this represents 'every order you can think of...

ELCA Draws Up Social Statement on Stem Cells, Cloning

Posted on March 19, 2010
Christian Post: "The 63-page draft statement was drawn up by the ELCA Task Force on Genetics and is designed to assist the church and its members to "reach informed judgments on social issues from a perspective of faith." [links added to excerpt]

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