Religion & Law

UK: Boys do better when they are taught by men, study finds

Posted on September 30, 2008
The Independent reports:  Boys will perform better in education if they have a male teacher in their primary school, according to research published today.   A study of more than 1,000 men reveals almost half of them (48 per cent) cited male primary school teachers as having had the most impact on them during their school life ...

UK: X Factor fills vacuum left by God in schools, says head

Posted on September 30, 2008
The Guardian reports:  State schools are increasingly “embarrassed” to talk about God, leaving a moral vacuum which has been filled by celebrity culture and the X Factor, a leading independent school head said yesterday . . .  Separately, he told journalists that faith gives schools “structure”, adding: “In large parts of the education system God has become an [...

Indiana: Local pastor defies IRS code, preaches politics from pulpit

Posted on September 30, 2008
The Post-Tribune reports:  . . . On Sunday, Johnson preached about political candidates from the pulpit in apparent defiance of a federal tax code amendment, and condemned Democratic nominee Barack Obama for his support of abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples...

Mont. former same-sex partner gets parental rights

Posted on September 30, 2008
The AP reports:  ”A judge ruled in favor of a woman who sought parental rights to a boy and girl adopted by her former same-sex partner, a decision described as a first for Montana.” ADF attorney Austin R. Nimocks is mentioned as legal counsel for the adoptive parent...

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Protesters target Orlando Magic owner for supporting marriage amendment

Posted on September 30, 2008
The Orlando Sentinel reports:  Professional sports and political street theater intersected Sunday as opponents of a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution vented their wrath on Magic owner Rich DeVos on the day season-ticket holders were selecting their seats...

Gary McCaleb on the Frank Pastore Show: IRS vagueness silences churches

Posted on September 30, 2008
ADF attorney Gary McCaleb appeared on the Frank Pastore Show to discuss the ADF Pulpit Initiative.  The mp3 file is here and runs just over 19 minutes.  Visit Site » Share This

How to Cut Divorce in Half

Posted on September 30, 2008
FRC’s Washington Weekly Update carries this report:  That’s why FRC included “strengthening state marriage laws by reforming divorce” as one of our “25 Pro-Family Policy Goals for the Nation.” One of the potential reforms would be replacing “no-fault” with a system of “mutual consent” divorce, under which an expedited divorce would only be available if both [...

Say No to $700 Billion Debt and Yes to Common Sense: Plan B

Posted on September 30, 2008
OneNewsNow.com has this report:  ”. . . there is great talk about what is being called “Plan B”, and Dave Ramsey has summarized ‘Plan B’ here.” Visit Site » Share This

Iran Women Say No to Polygamy

Posted on September 30, 2008
AlterNet carries this report: “The Iranian ‘Family Protection Bill,’ which is anything but protective of families, has brought together one of the largest coalitions to oppose a bill since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran...

ACLU attorney: ?Proposed Bush Administration Rule Fails to Strike Balance Between Religious Liberty and Access to Health Care?

Posted on September 30, 2008
Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Staff Attorney, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project has this post on the American Constitution Society Blog.  The post begins: Last Thursday, the 30-day public comment period closed on a controversial rule proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would expand the ability of institutional and individual health care providers to refuse to provide [...

Erik Stanley on Moody?s Chris Fabry Show: ADF Pulpit Initiative, the beginning of a movement

Posted on September 30, 2008
ADF attorney Erik Stanley appears with Pastor Jody Hice of Bethlehem First Baptist Church on Moody’s Chris Fabry Show to discuss the ADF Pulpit Initiative.  The mp3 file is here and runs just over 18 minutes.  The record picks up the show in progress...

Hickory, NC officials agree to respect constitutional right to share faith

Posted on September 30, 2008
Two Christians arrested for expressing their faith in public have been assured by town officials that their constitutional right to religious free speech will be respected in the future.

1st Circuit: Sexual orientation can serve as basis for asylum claim

Posted on September 30, 2008
The 1st Circuit has issued an opinion in Kardi v. Mukasey, NO. 06-2599  (1st Cir. Sept. 30, 2008). Excerpts follow: TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge. Zulkifly Kadri, a Muslim native of Indonesia, came to the United States on a non-immigrant visa. He filed a petition for asylum on the ground that he was persecuted in Indonesia because of [...

U.K. Court Recognizes Threat to Christian Converts

Posted on September 30, 2008
The Christian Post reports: A U.K. immigration court of appeals has for the first time recognized the life threatening circumstances of Muslim converts to Christianity by granting asylum to a Syrian evangelical Christian couple . . . ?This is a significant and groundbreaking decision that clearly puts the focus on the fact that many converts to Christianity [...

9th Circuit upholds San Francisco Insurance mandates on employers

Posted on September 30, 2008
How Appealing reports on the opinion in Golden Gate Restaurant v. San Francisco, No. 07-17370 (9th Cir. Sept. 30, 2008).  Visit Site » Share This

Free Speech Coalition against International Blasphemy laws announced

Posted on September 30, 2008
The Becket Fund has issued this press release: “The United Nations General Assembly, now in session in New York, is about to take up another ‘defamation of religion’ resolution, which is another step toward criminalizing peaceful speech...

ADF sues Yuba Community College after student arrest threatened for sharing the Gospel

Posted on September 30, 2008
?When a student can be threatened with a citation and expulsion while peacefully sharing a Christian message, American colleges can no longer be considered a marketplace of ideas.?

Suit filed over ?forced prayer? in the military

Posted on September 30, 2008
PR-USA.net carries this press release from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation: “A nonreligious Kansas soldier today sued his boss, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, after being forced to attend mandatory military events where fundamentalist Christian prayers violated his constitutional rights ...

Cong. Barney Frank?s fingerprints all over financial fiasco?

Posted on September 30, 2008
Barney Frank, a Congressman who openly claims to practice homosexuality, has taken center stage in the financial bailout fiasco.  The Boston Globe - Frank’s fingerprints are all over the financial fiasco The Boston Herald - Herald readers put blame on Barney Frank The National Ledger (warning objectionable ads) - Barney Frank and the Bailout Boondoggle The Boston Herald - [...

?The National Security Agency courts openly gay employees?

Posted on September 30, 2008
Advocate.com reports (dated October 21, 2008 by Neal Broverman): McNaught earns a living lecturing to companies on how to foster safe environments for LGBT employees . . .  Before the lecture, McNaught had lunch with Inglis, who made it clear the agency welcomes gay civilian employees — but they must be out ...

?Victory Fund endorses 100 candidates?

Posted on September 30, 2008
Gaypolitics.com reports:  The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund today announced it has endorsed 100 openly LGBT political candidates in 2008, making this endorsement slate the group?s largest ever. ?I think reaching this milestone is a testament to a new attitude in our community about how to achieve political change...

?Bailout marks Karl Marx?s comeback?

Posted on September 30, 2008
Martin Masse has this article in the National Post that carries this byline: “Marx?s Proposal Number Five seems to be the leading motivation for those backing the Wall Street bailout. ” It begins:  In his Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, Karl Marx proposed 10 measures to be implemented after the proletariat takes power, with the aim of centralizing all [...

10th Circuit upholds child pornography conviction

Posted on September 30, 2008
The 10th Circuit has issued a ruling in U.S. v. Schene, No. 07-6177 (10th Cir. Sept. 30, 2008) that begins:  Defendant Jay Martin Schene was convicted by a jury of five counts of knowingly possessing material that contained an image of child pornography that was produced using materials that had been mailed, shipped, or transported in interstate commerce, in [...

Tennessee: Lambda Legal sues over police disclosure of alleged perps in sex sting

Posted on September 30, 2008
Lambda Legal has issued this press release that reports: “Today Lambda Legal is filing a federal lawsuit in Tennessee on behalf of Kenneth Giles against Johnson City and its police chief. The lawsuit centers on the fact that the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD), in a highly unusual action for that Department, released photos of [...

Understanding $700,000,000,000.00

Posted on September 30, 2008
Have you tried entering $700,000,000,000 into your calculator? Many ordinary household calculators won’t accept that many numbers. Today Rush Limbaugh discussed this Wizbang blog post on his radio show: The Bottom Line: If the Treasury simply took the $700 Billion and started paying off taxpayer mortgages, they could pay off every mortgage in the country worth less than [...

Russia Sees 64 Percent of Its Pregnancies End in Abortion, Causing Infertility Issues

Posted on September 30, 2008
LifeNews.com reports: “Russia has long been a world leader in terms of the percentage of pregnancies that end in abortion and experts say those figures are still high. They say the abortion epidemic is leading to a problem of hundreds of thousands of women suffering from infertility...

A More Modest Ohio Supreme Court

Posted on September 30, 2008
Jonathan Adler has this post on the Volokh Conspiracy.  He writes:  The court has abandoned its effort to force the legislature to rebuild the state school funding system from the ground up, and has upheld legislative education reforms against constitutional challenge...

Levi Jeans Funds Push for Homosexual ?Marriage? in California

Posted on September 30, 2008
LifeSiteNews.com reports: “Levi Strauss & Co. is joining with Google, Pacific Gas & Electric and Hollywood activists Brad Pitt and Steven Spielberg in the effort to push homosexual ‘marriage’ in California.” Visit Site » Share This

Canadian Prime Minister Harper: Not Now, Not Ever Will Conservative Government Protect Unborn Children

Posted on September 30, 2008
LifeSiteNews.com reports: “In his strongest statements in support of unlimited abortion on demand in Canada, Prime Minister Harper today told reporters that his government would not only not open the abortion issue itself, but would prevent anyone else from raising it...

Mark Earley: The Logical Result of Domestic Partnerships

Posted on September 30, 2008
Mark Earley has this commentary on Breakpoint. He writes:  The Boston Globe recently reported that ?a number of scholars are seeking to shore up friendship in a surprising way: by granting it legal recognition.? . . .  the idea would be that friends could get the kind of rights and benefits traditionally granted to married couples...

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