Religion & Law

Egypt: The financial burden of marriage and its societal repercussions

Posted on December 15, 2010
Al Masy Al Youm: "Egyptian fathers and sons are expected to save 100 percent of their joint salaries for 3 to 8 years in order to save for marriage, according to Singerman. But with Egyptian saving rates currently at around 17 percent, it can take a father and son duo anywhere from 16 (highest income bracket surveyed) to 43 (lowest income bracket surveyed) years to come up with sufficient marriage funds...

Young Canadians increasingly shunning religious institutions

Posted on December 15, 2010
Globe and Mail: "More than half of Canadians in the 15-to-29 age cohort either have no religion or never attend a service of worship, says Statistics Canada. Only 22 per cent say religion is very important to them, down from 34 per cent in 2002. And in a recent poll done by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail, just one in five of the under-30 age group say they are the generation of their family that attends weekly religious services...

Palestinian official: Western Wall not Jewish

Posted on November 24, 2010
Associated Press: "An official Palestinian report claiming that a key Jewish holy site - Jerusalem's Western Wall - has no religious significance to Jews evoked an angry response from Israelis Wednesday, threatening to further inflame tensions over the disputed city...

FL: Orange approves anti-discrimination rules for ?gays?

Posted on November 24, 2010
Orlando Sentinel: "Orange County leaders joined the ranks of most other urban areas in Florida on Tuesday by voting 6-1 to expand anti-discrimination protections for gay people in the private sector."

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Abused sisters stand as witnesses to harms of polygamy

Posted on November 24, 2010
Vancouver Sun: "This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find objectionable. When lawyers talk about the harms of polygamy, there's scarcely one that Kathleen and Rena Mackert haven't personally endured. The sisters have had front-row seats in B...

Will time run out for DADT repeal?

Posted on November 24, 2010
Washington Blade: "Supporters of 'Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell' repeal continue to fret about having enough time to pass a measure to overturn the military?s gay ban before year?s end even as Senate leadership has committed to a vote on the issue during the lame duck session of Congress...

Does denying opposite-sex couples access to civil partnership violate their equality rights?

Posted on November 24, 2010
Sherry F. Colb writing at FindLaw: "Plainly, gay people in the U.K. would like to have the same ability to marry as straight people have. As it turns out, at least some straight couples also object to the existing regime and would like to be able to enter into civil partnerships, just as gay couples can...

Canada: Polygamy court reference 101

Posted on November 24, 2010
Global News: "References are brought to determine whether controversial legislation is constitutional. Such reference cases aren't technically binding, but the decision will constitute a legal precedent, the same way decisions of criminal cases do. Other courts would likely adopt the eventual ruling, particularly if it is heard by the Supreme Court of Canada...

Christian Legal Society considering options

Posted on November 24, 2010
OneNewsNow: "The Christian Legal Society (CLS) is facing another setback in its religious liberty case against the University of California's Hastings College of the Law, which refused to recognize a chapter of the society because of its Christian beliefs...

CO: Americans United issues warning to DougCo School District

Posted on November 24, 2010
Free Range Longmont: "The Douglas County School District (DougCo) is earnestly considering a voucher program . . . Beyond the evidence that charter schools fail to substantiate their proponents assertions, American United for the Separation of Church and State (AU) has registered their concerns with the Douglas County school board on the religious school component of this proposed Option Certificate Program...

Author: God?s design for marriage the best

Posted on November 24, 2010
OneNewsNow: "Just published, The Truth About Marriage: Defending God's Design for the Family lays out why marriage, as God made it, is indispensable to human civilization. Author Robert Knight, a family policy expert and senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries, delves into what God says about marriage and homosexuality in an attempt to confront attacks on traditional marriage...

Pro-life views spark violence in Netherlands

Posted on November 24, 2010
OneNewsNow: "A Dutch journalist and a Catholic bishop are facing criticism and death threats for promoting a pro-life view. Joseph Meaney, spokesman for Human Life International (HLI), tells OneNewsNow a worldwide double-standard exists when it comes to conservative views and pro-life issues...

UK: Second straight couple refused civil partnership by Register Office

Posted on November 24, 2010
Bristol 24-7: "A heterosexual couple from Bristol are to start a legal challenge after their application for a civil partnership was refused . . . Their bid is part of the Equal Love campaign, which seeks to overturn the twin prohibitions on gay marriages and heterosexual civil partnerships...

?Gay lobby? propagandizes for ?school bullying? legislation

Posted on November 24, 2010
John Guardiano writing at The Daily Caller: "Did you know that many American public schools have knowingly adopted policies to promote the harassment and persecution of gay students? You didn?t? Well neither did I until I read a piece by one Alex Morgan at FrumForum ...

DOJ appeals lesbian?s reinstatement to Air Force; Lambda Legal objects

Posted on November 24, 2010
Associated Press: "A lesbian flight nurse discharged under 'don't ask, don't tell' can rejoin the Air Force Reserve, even as the government appeals a judge's ruling that returned her to the job, her lawyers said Tuesday . . . The Justice Department did not immediately say why it did not seek a stay of Leighton's ruling...

Org. for Security and Cooperation in Europe report: ?Hate crime? remains a serious problem in Europe and North America

Posted on November 24, 2010
Human Rights First: "The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) today released its annual report for 2009 ?Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region ? Incidents and Responses,? concluding that hate crime continued to be a serious problem in many of the 56 countries in North America, Europe, and the former Soviet Union...

Catholic nurse can?t sue hospital that forced her to assist abortion: court

Posted on November 24, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "Today the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Catholic nurse who was forced by a New York hospital to participate in an abortion does not have the right to sue her employer . . . Alliance Defence Fund (ADF) attorneys had filed two suits in the case ? one federal, filed in July 2009, and another state, filed earlier this year...

UN General Assembly Committee passes new version of resolution urging nations to forbid defamation of religion

Posted on November 24, 2010
Ilya Somin writing at The Volokh Conspiracy: "The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee recently passed another resolution urging nations to ban defamation of religion [HT: Elizabeth Cassidy of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which criticized the resolution here] ...

American court refuses to honor Lebanese Islamic court child custody order

Posted on November 24, 2010
Via The Volokh Conspiracy: "The case is Charara v. Yatim (Mass. Ct. App., decided today) [opinion can be accessed at this link]: 'Following a trial, a judge of the Probate and Family Court concluded that no deference was due the custody order issued by a Jaafarite religious tribunal (Jaafarite Court) in Lebanon...

FIRE: ?Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act? threatens free speech on campus

Posted on November 24, 2010
FIRE: "An 'anti-bullying' bill introduced in Congress last week gravely threatens free speech on America's college campuses. Despite the bill's admirable intention of preventing future tragedies, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has determined that the bill is at odds with the Supreme Court's carefully crafted definition of harassment and would require colleges to violate the First Amendment...

Book Review: Sarrazin?s challenge to German liberalism

Posted on November 24, 2010
David Goodhart reviews Germany Abolishes Itself: How we are putting our country at risk by Thilo Sarrazin in Prospect Magazine: "The message of the book, in headline form, is that Germany is becoming smaller (thanks to the familiar story of a falling birthrate among native Germans) and stupider (thanks to the fact that educated Germans are having fewer children and the fastest growing part of the population are poorly-integrated Muslim immigrants)...

Pakistan president urged not to pardon Christian woman

Posted on November 24, 2010
"Two prominent Pakistani Muslim leaders threatened Wednesday to call for nationwide protests if the president pardons a Christian woman sentenced to death for insulting the Muslim prophet Mohammed."

Lesbian major dismissed under DADT being reinstated

Posted on November 24, 2010
CNN: "A decorated flight nurse dismissed under the 'don't ask, don't tell' military policy will be reinstated with the U.S. Air Force, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington said."

Another House Democrat concedes in NY

Posted on November 24, 2010
New York Times / The Caucus: "Make that an even 63 ? for now at least. That would be the net number of House seats Republicans have picked up so far in this year?s midterms, after Representative Dan Maffei of New York became the second Democratic incumbent in as many days to throw in the towel...

GOP weighs changes in how the House runs

Posted on November 24, 2010
Washington Examiner: "While Republican leaders spent the last three weeks preparing an agenda for their Jan. 5 takeover of the House, a separate group of about two dozen GOP lawmakers have been scrutinizing the day-to-day operation of the House and are planning potentially significant changes aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiency, including a longer work week...

Conservatives can reclaim choice, federalism, and results in education

Posted on November 24, 2010
Jennifer A. Marshall, director of domestic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation, writing at ConservativeHome: "Conservatives can set a bold new course on education, beginning with these three priorities for federal reform: Stop the Spending Spree ...

Indonesian cleric jailed for marrying 12-year-old

Posted on November 24, 2010
Associated Press: "An Indonesian Muslim cleric who sparked a national outcry by marrying a 12-year-old girl was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison."

The Desolate Wilderness: A chronicle of the Pilgrims? arrival at Plymouth

Posted on November 24, 2010
Wall Street Journal: "Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof."

GOP lawmakers under pressure to decline government health plan

Posted on November 24, 2010
The Hill / Healthwatch: "Congressional Republicans who assailed the Democrats? healthcare law in the run-up to the midterm elections are facing pressure to decline government-provided coverage when they take office. GOP Reps.-elect Bobby Schilling (Ill...

Poll finds 61% oppose new airport security measures

Posted on November 24, 2010
Los Angeles Times / Money & Company: "On the eve of one of the nation's busiest travel days, a poll has found that 61% of likely voters oppose the newly enhanced security measures at the country's airports. The poll by Zogby International of 2,032 likely voters also found that 48% said they would probably seek alternatives to flying because of the new measures...

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