Religion & Law

Bosnia: Muslim spiritual leader urges incorporation of sharia into constitution

Posted on August 18, 2009
Adkronos International: "Bosnia?s Muslim spiritual leader, Reiss-ul-Ulema Mustafa Ceric, has drawn strong criticism from moderate Muslims and from Bosnian Serbs, after he called for Islamic Sharia law to be incorporated into the Bosnian constitution."

NC: Durham City Council passes same-sex ?marriage? resolution

Posted on August 18, 2009
WRAL: "The debate over who should be able to wed legally took center stage Monday evening as the Durham City Council passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage . . . Durham council members do not have the authority to change state law, but Monday?s resolution was aimed at showing support for same-sex marriages...

Croatia: Atheist posters may soon appear on Zagreb trams

Posted on August 18, 2009
Croatian Times: "Posters with the atheist slogan 'No God, No Master' may be put on Zagreb trams in September."

?Lutherans to Vote on Sexually Active Gay Clergy?

Posted on August 18, 2009
Washington Post: "Currently, sexually active gay people are not permitted to serve in the clergy, but celibate gay people are. By Friday, church delegates meeting in Minneapolis are expected to vote on a proposal that would permit congregations to let gay men and lesbians in committed, monogamous relationships serve as clergy...

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Battle over homosexual behavior in mainline Protestant groups takes toll

Posted on August 18, 2009
NJ.com: "Emotional debate over the status of gays continues this summer among Episcopalians and members of other largely liberal mainstream Protestant denominations. This week, Lutherans will become the fourth mainline Protestant group this summer to make news on policies affecting gays ...

Pro-Family Leaders from 63 Countries Attend World Congress of Families V in Amsterdam Last Week

Posted on August 18, 2009
Christian Newswire: "WCF V produced the Declaration of Amsterdam, which included the following principles . . . "

Yale University Press Buys Into the Blame-the-Speaker Approach

Posted on August 18, 2009
Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy: "Christopher Hitchens' Slate column strikes me as quite right on this (emphasis and first link added): 'The capitulation of Yale University Press to threats that hadn't even been made yet is the latest and perhaps the worst episode in the steady surrender to religious extremism -- particularly Muslim religious extremism -- that is spreading across our culture...

Lawyers launch effort to overturn legalization of abortion in Mexico City

Posted on August 18, 2009
CNA: "The group of Catholic lawyers argues that passage of the measure legalizing abortion, which occurred on April 24, 2007, violates Article 1 of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man."

?Quebec to table wide-ranging anti-homophobia action plan this fall?

Posted on August 18, 2009
Canadian Press: "Revellers at Montreal's gay pride parade had one more reason to celebrate on Sunday: Quebec's wide-ranging action plan against homophobia, years in the making, is expected to be tabled this fall."

North Carolina courts consider adoption by lesbian couple

Posted on August 18, 2009
Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage Blog: ". . . the court's failure to rule definitively that a court can waive the provision terminating a biological parent's rights does leave the door open for some trial court judge in the state to rule that the law does not permit such waiver...

AU: ?Classically Unconstitutional: Nampa Charter School Can?t Be Based On The Bible?

Posted on August 17, 2009
Americans United for Separation of Church and State Blog: "The Alliance Defense Fund had sent a memo in support of the charter school, informing the commission that the U.S. Supreme Court has held the Bible can be studied objectively in public schools ...

School Choice Advocates Step Up Campaign

Posted on August 17, 2009
Washington Post: "School choice advocates are gearing up for a final push this week to try to get U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to reverse his decision to rescind scholarships for 216 low-income District students." http://saveschoolchoice.com/

Singapore: President Warns that Aggressive Proselytism Threatens Peace

Posted on August 17, 2009
The Becket Fund reports that Singapore's President is warning against agressive proselytism citing a Christian couple as an example.

Sen. Hutchison announces run for Texas governor

Posted on August 17, 2009
Google News (AP): "U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced her run for Texas governor Monday with a sharp blast at Gov. Rick Perry, saying he has overstayed his welcome with an administration marked by arrogance and 'tragic' mistakes."

DOJ Nominee to Teach Seminar on Sexuality and Law

Posted on August 17, 2009
The Blog of the Legal Times: "Dawn Johnsen is making a tentative return to the classroom . . . The seminar, which Johnsen has taught before, is aimed at 2Ls and 3Ls. It?s titled 'Sexuality, Reproduction and the Law.'

Chuck Colson: Sleepless in Shanghai

Posted on August 17, 2009
Breakpoing carries this article and audio broadcast by Chuck Colson: "Are children a blessing from the Lord, or obstacles to prosperity? How societies answer that question will determine their futures. Just ask China."

Turkey: PM Erdo?an pledges to address problems of religious minorities

Posted on August 17, 2009
Today's Zaman: "Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an promised democratic reforms on Saturday in a rare meeting with Turkey's religious minority leaders, highlighting the issue of minority rights, a key stumbling block in Turkey's European Union membership bid...

Smokers banned by Welsh council from adopting or fostering children

Posted on August 17, 2009
Western Mail: "A council has become the first in Wales to impose a blanket ban on smokers adopting or fostering children. Anti-smoking campaigners last night welcomed the move by Merthyr Tydfil council, but critics have pointed out there are already not enough foster parents in Wales...

House Democrats to Keep Public Option in Health Care Bill, Have September Vote

Posted on August 17, 2009
LifeNews: "Responding to President Barack Obama and top Obama officials, House Democrats say they will keep the public option, the government-run health care system that will fund abortions and abortion coverage, in the health care bills."

Nearly all kids see porn by 17, parents warned

Posted on August 17, 2009
The Guardian: "The younger a person starts to view pornography, the earlier they have sex, but it's likely that early viewing and early sex are both consequences of problems in upbringing. Hence, parents today should assume that nearly all children will be exposed to hardcore pornography at some point between 14 and 17, but how they react depends enormously on their gender and childhood history...

?Harry Potter Star Blasts Parents Who Oppose Gay Sex Ed in Schools?

Posted on August 17, 2009
LifeSiteNews: "20-year-old Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has, in an interview with a homosexual magazine, expressed anger and intolerance for parents who oppose education about homosexual sex in the classroom."

The Psychological Profession and Homosexuality: Lunatics Running the Asylum?

Posted on August 17, 2009
Matthew Cullinan Hoffman writes at LifeSiteNews: "The refusal of the organization to accept the increasingly strong evidence against its position is another reminder of how entrenched the sophistry of sexual hedonism has become among the leaders of the organization...

UK: Street preacher faces arrest after reading Bible in public

Posted on August 17, 2009
"'At 2pm, I was approached on more than one occasion by several police officers who falsely accused me, stating that I was inciting hatred with homophobic and racial comments,' Mr Hayworth was quoted as saying by the newspaper."

Obama disses marriage law as Justice defends it

Posted on August 17, 2009
"President Barack Obama insisted Monday he still wants to scrap what he calls a discriminatory federal marriage law, even as his administration angered gay rights activists by defending the it in court."

Wales: ?Resist suicide law changes, archbishop urges faithful?

Posted on August 17, 2009
Catholic Herald: "A senior archbishop has called on Catholics to do their utmost to try to prevent the laws forbidding assisted suicide from being watered down. Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff said sick and disabled people would come under pressure to kill themselves if the law on assisted suicide was relaxed following a landmark House of Lords ruling...

Sotomayor assigned as Circuit Justice for the Tenth Circuit

Posted on August 17, 2009
How Appealing links to the U.S. Supreme Court Order List.

Elderly ?mercy killings? spur argument among experts

Posted on August 17, 2009
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The Violence and Injury Prevention Program in Tampa Bay, Fla. estimated between 300 and 500 murder-suicide deaths nationally each year of people over the age of 55. The program, which is part of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at University of South Florida, has counted 138 elderly murder-suicide deaths in Georgia since 2001, including four this year...

Conrad: ?There are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option . . . never has been?

Posted on August 17, 2009
NY Times: ?Public Option? in Health Plan May Be Dropped "'The fact of the matter is, there are not the votes in the United States Senate for the public option,' Mr. Conrad said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'There never have been. So to continue to chase that rabbit, I think, is just a wasted effort...

?Anchorage Mayor Sullivan urged to veto gay measure?

Posted on August 17, 2009
Anchorage Daily News: "Sullivan's deadline arrives today for deciding if he will veto the compromise ordinance passed by a 7-4 Assembly vote last week. If he does veto, the Assembly would need an eighth vote to make the ordinance become law over the mayor's opposition...

Idaho charter school can?t use Bible as text, panel says

Posted on August 17, 2009
Associated Press: "Idaho?s charter school commission told a Nampa academy late last week that it cannot use the Bible as an instructional text . . . 'The Bible shouldn?t be singled out for censorship,' ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman told the Press-Tribune in a prepared statement...

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