Religion & Law

Doug Napier on the Michael Medved Show: The Right of Medical Workers to Refuse to Perform Abortions

Posted on December 18, 2009
ADF attorney Doug Napier appeared on the Michael Medved Show to discuss Cenzon-DeCarlo v. The Mount Sinai Hospital involving a pro-life nurse forced to participate in an abortion. The MP3 runs just over 33 minutes. Related ADF Information Page LifeNews: Senator's Amendment Would Protect Conscience Rights of Pro-Life Medical Staff

9th Circuit Ready for Trial Court Close-ups ? Cal. marriage litigation

Posted on December 18, 2009
Law.com (The Recorder): "The Judicial Council of the 9th Circuit authorized television cameras in certain district court proceedings Thursday, reviving a national controversy just weeks before a groundbreaking trial over same-sex marriage is slated to begin in San Francisco...

??Religious Orientation? before the Ontario Courts?

Posted on December 18, 2009
Christianity.ca: "The Divisional Court will be asked to assess whether there is a hierarchy of rights with sexual orientation superseding the religious freedom of a community united in non-discriminatory service to people with exceptional needs, as the OHRT found, or whether a religious community continues to have the right to define membership as stated by the SCC prior to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Hofer case...

Obama to Congressman: ?Don?t think were not keeping, score brother?

Posted on December 18, 2009
The Hill: "I would have less of a voice and I would have less respect if I voted for things I didn?t believe in because of pressure from the leadership,? DeFazio told The Hill in an interview. Obama himself has taken notice. 'Don?t think we?re not keeping score, brother,' Obama told DeFazio during a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus, according to members afterward...

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Indonesia: Muslim mob storms Catholic Church

Posted on December 18, 2009
AsiaNews.it: "Last night a crowd of angry Muslims, including women and children, attacked the Church of Saint Albert, in Bekasi Regency, about 30 kilometres east of Jakarta. The situation is now under control but the local Catholic community is afraid of an escalation before Christmas...

Religious freedom restricted for nearly 70% of world?s population

Posted on December 18, 2009
Catholic Culture reports on a recent Pew Forum Study: "Nearly 70% of the world?s people live in countries that restrict religious liberty, according to a study by the Pew Forum."

Christian Scientists seek prayer provision in health care bill

Posted on December 18, 2009
San Francisco Chronicle: "With time running short for Congress to pass a health care bill by Christmas, Christian Scientists are lobbying lawmakers to include a provision that would ban discrimination against "religious and spiritual" health care and encourage private insurers to cover prayer as medical treatment...

Indiana pressured to expand gambling

Posted on December 18, 2009
Southern Gaming: "While Ohio has approved of four of its casinos, Indiana?s casino expansion has raised economic questions regarding Indiana families. President of the Indiana Family Institute, Curt Smith, worries that people will become more financially unstable and addicted to gambling...

China imposes new internet controls

Posted on December 18, 2009
New York Times: "The authorities say the stricter controls are intended to protect children from pornography; to limit the piracy of films, music, and television shows; and to make it hard to perpetuate Internet scams. But the measures also appear devised to enhance the government?s already strict control of any political opposition...

SD: ?Gender identity, sexual orientation ignite school board debate?

Posted on December 18, 2009
Rapid City Journal: "Four words in a proposed Rapid City school district discrimination policy have ignited a passionate debate among community and school board members. A proposed change to add the words 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' to the policy drew a record number of community members and five legislators to the board's meeting Thursday night...

D.C. mayor signs ?gay marriage? bill

Posted on December 18, 2009
Baptist Press: "The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit on behalf of eight D.C. citizens calling for approval of an attempt to place an initiative on the ballot to prohibit the unions. An effort to put such a proposal before voters failed when the D...

UK: ?Our human rights culture has now become a tyranny?

Posted on December 18, 2009
"The court is effectively saying that a religion's way of defining its own membership, practised over 3,500 years, is illegal . . . I would argue that the judgment goes wider still. It is part of a current idea of equality and of human rights which, in the name of freedom, is beginning to look like tyranny...

Pittsburgh buffer zone abortion center law weakened by federal judge

Posted on December 18, 2009
LifeNews: "David Cortman, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, told the newspaper he supported the judge's order. 'It basically grants us all the relief that we were looking for,' he said. He also said the order from the judge makes it clear that abortion center staff can't stand inside the 15-foot zone and harass pro-life advocates...

Muslim Turks threaten to kill priest over Swiss minaret decision

Posted on December 18, 2009
Religion News Blog: "In response to a Swiss vote banning the construction of new mosque minarets, a group of Muslims this month went into a church building in eastern Turkey and threatened to kill a priest unless he tore down its bell tower, according to an advocacy group...

NJ: Five Republican Senators pledge their support for civil union reform, not marriage

Posted on December 18, 2009
PolitickerNJ: "Five Republican senators today said that it's unlikely that a bill redefining marriage can pass the Senate and asked their Democratic colleagues to join them in a bipartisan effort to strengthen New Jersey's civil union law. The five said that while they can't support the Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act (S-1967), they will work to ensure that New Jersey civil union law is enforced and provides all rights and benefits that legislators intended...

Poll: 46% of Americans oppose same-sex ?marriage?

Posted on December 18, 2009
Angus Reid: "People in the United States are almost evenly divided on whether same-sex marriage should be allowed in their country, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 43 per cent of respondents favour allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, while 46 per cent are opposed...

Granite monument to go on north side of Oklahoma Capitol

Posted on December 18, 2009
NewsOK.com:  "A Capitol preservation group has decided to place a Ten Commandments monument on the north side of the state Capitol after a law was passed last legislative session allowing the Judeo-Christian monument to be installed on the grounds . ...

Lawsuit Challenges Public Funding For Supreme Court Races

Posted on December 18, 2009
"Today, Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee filed suit in federal court against Wisconsin?s recently enacted public funding scheme for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates, asserting it is an unconstitutional infringement of their First Amendment free speech rights...

UK: Equality watchdog wants to keep asking people about sexual orientation

Posted on December 18, 2009
Christian Institute: "If the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) gets its way, people would regularly be asked if they are heterosexual/straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual or other. The EHRC wants to collate the information into a giant database, which will allow checks on possible 'inequality'...

Hurry Up and Wait: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Posted on December 18, 2009
Linda Greenhouse has this commentary on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission which is currently pending at the U.S. Supreme Court.

PA: Warwick residents protest suburban strip club

Posted on December 18, 2009
myfoxphilly.com: "A protest rally was set for Friday afternoon outside Just Sports in Jamison, Bucks County."

Iowa?s GOP leaders vow to focus on marriage issue

Posted on December 18, 2009
Associated Press: "Iowa's Republican legislative leaders vowed Friday to push the volatile issue of same-sex marriage in the upcoming session, arguing it's a solid way for them to cut into Democratic majorities in the Legislature."

DOJ to increase enforcement of ?hate crime? laws

Posted on December 18, 2009
JURIST: "US Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez said Thursday that the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to increase its efforts to prosecute hate crimes."

Judge to consider Okla. abortion law

Posted on December 18, 2009
UPI: "An Oklahoma judge was set to hear argument Friday to block a state law that would post information about women getting abortions in the state, attorneys say."

Texas same-sex couple argue over split

Posted on December 18, 2009
UPI: "Five years after marrying in Massachusetts, Angelique Naylor's spouse is contesting the split, arguing that since Texas doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, the dissolution shouldn't be recognized either, KXAN-TV, Austin, reported."

6th Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing In Faith-Based Funding Case

Posted on December 18, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal reports that the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied an en banc rehearing in Pedreira v. Kentucky Baptist Homes For Children, Inc."

Father Raymond J. de Souza: The Vatican?s green gambit

Posted on December 18, 2009
National Post: "The Christian tradition has a rather different view about whether producing 'non-persons' is the proper means to exercise our obligation to care for creation."

NC: Provisions That Kept Sex Offenders From Attending Church Held Unconstitutional

Posted on December 18, 2009
Religion Clause Blog: "In State of North Carolina v. Demaio, (NC Super. Ct., Dec. 17, 2009), a Chatham County North Carolina trial court dismissed charges against two registered sex offenders who had been indicted for attending church at a congregation that also had a nursery for children on premises...

Peggy Noonan: The Adam Lambert Problem

Posted on December 18, 2009
"America is not prudish or closed-minded, it is exhausted. It cannot be exaggerated, how much Americans feel besieged by the culture of their own country, and to what lengths they have to go to protect their children from it."

Several Governments Decide To Concede On Establishment Clause Challenges

Posted on December 18, 2009
Religion Clause Blog has this post discussing several cases where local governments are conceding to left wing groups threatening them with litigation over alleged 'Establishment Clause' claims.

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