Religion & Law

Attack on mosque in north-west Pakistan ?kills 55?

Posted on November 05, 2010
BBC: "At least 55 people have been killed and nearly 100 injured in a suicide bomb attack on a mosque in north-west Pakistan, local officials say . . . The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for such attacks in the past and have been particularly active in recent years in and around Peshawar...

Legal status foreseen for Christianity in Buddhist Bhutan

Posted on November 05, 2010
Compass Direct: "For the first time in Bhutan?s history, the Buddhist nation?s government seems ready to grant much-awaited official recognition and accompanying rights to a miniscule Christian population that has remained largely underground."

Joel Oster on The Georgene Rice Show: Christian woman allowed to seek female Christian roommate?for now

Posted on November 05, 2010
ADF Attorney Joel Oster appeared on The Georgene Rice Show to discuss this: Christian woman allowed to seek female Christian roommate?for now | MP3 audio runs 8:59 mins

Matt Bowman on ?In the Market? with Janet Parshall: Parents stopped from forcing Texas teen to have abortion

Posted on November 05, 2010
ADF Attorney Matt Bowman appeared on In the Market with Janet Parshall to discuss this: Parents stopped from forcing Texas teen to have abortion | MP3 audio runs 9:01 mins

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

Beijing denounces Nobel prize as a Western tool

Posted on November 05, 2010
Associated Press: "The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a jailed democracy activist is a political attack on China, a Chinese leader said Friday, warning that countries acknowledging the honor would 'bear the consequences.'"

Pro-life groups make tax-funded abortion ban priority for Congress

Posted on November 05, 2010
LifeNews: "Leading pro-life organizations . . . want the pro-life leaders who are expected to run the Congressional chamber to take up a bill that would prohibit taxpayer funding of abortions across the board with respect to all federal government departments and programs...

Next year?s gerrymandering free-for-all

Posted on November 05, 2010
John Fund writing at the Wall Street Journal: "The most significant long-term political consequences of Tuesday's elections have nothing to do with GOP House or Senate gains. What matters for the shape of politics over the next decade is that Republicans will hold more seats in the 50 state legislatures than at any time since before the Great Depression...

No, Pentagon says, Obama will not be guarded by 34 ships

Posted on November 05, 2010
AFP: "President Barack Obama will not be protected by a vast armada of 34 US warships when he visits Mumbai this weekend, officials said, calling reports from India on security preparations 'comical.'"

SCOTUSblog: Ten Commandments issue ? again

Posted on November 05, 2010
Lyle Denniston writing at SCOTUSblog: "Two Kentucky counties that want to include the Ten Commandments in a courthouse wall display along with historic plaques ? a plea turned down by the Supreme Court five years ago ? are back with a new appeal, aimed at a changed Court...

Casey Mattox: Palm Beach State: No written words between consenting adults

Posted on November 05, 2010
ADF Attorney Casey Mattox writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "No student can hand another student anything in writing on campus at Palm Beach State University. Of course, some are willfully allowed to slip through the cracks. A blood drive just occurred on campus and students handed out literature advertising it (and evidently the educational mission of the school escaped unscathed)...

Jordan Lorence: Hear an ADF attorney arguing a case in court! Christian sorority denied recognition

Posted on November 05, 2010
ADF Attorney Jordan Lorence writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "[A]udio recording of an ADF attorney arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on November 1, 2010 in Pasadena, California. This was the first appellate court to hear a case on the right of campus religious groups to select their own members and officers since the Supreme Court?s disappointing decision last June in Christian Legal Society v...

Greg Baylor: Washington Post agrees with ADF on school choice

Posted on November 05, 2010
ADF Attorney Gregory S. Baylor writing at Speak Up Movement / University: "The Washington Post editorial board agrees with ADF that Arizona's school choice tax credit is constitutionally permissible . . . The key line in the Post editorial: 'The program is driven by a series of private choices that do not involve the government...

HUD dismisses complaint against woman for ad seeking ?Christian roommate?

Posted on November 05, 2010
Fox News: "'Clearly this woman has a right to pick and choose who she wants to live with,' [ADF Attorney Joel Oster] said. 'Christians shouldn't live in fear of being punished by the government for being Christians. It is completely absurd to try to penalize a single Christian woman for privately seeking a Christian roommate at church -- an obviously legal and constitutionally protected activity...

Editorial: A flag compromise

Posted on November 05, 2010
Winston-Salem Journal Editorial: "We?d recommend caution to any municipality that considers entering into a partnership with the ADF. It?s a conservative Christian organization with causes, such as opposing same-sex marriage and abortion, that divide taxpayers...

ADF, citizens still defending Christian flag

Posted on November 05, 2010
OneNewsNow: "'This time the furor was over a Christian flag that was part of a veterans memorial, and it was a much beloved symbol with the residents of the town,' [ADF Attorney Joe Infranco] explains. 'They did not view this as an establishment of Christianity...

Attorneys: Supreme Court favored school choice

Posted on November 05, 2010
OneNewsNow: "'They had tried to argue that this was somehow government money,' [ADF Attorney David Cortman] explains. 'But, of course, the argument we made [was that] it was private people making private donations to private organizations -- and simply because religious schools participate [in the program], it doesn't violate the Constitution...

University of Cambridge forum: Making babies in the 21st century

Posted on November 05, 2010
Guardian: "This week, the University of Cambridge centre for gender studies hosted a public forum, Making Babies in the 21st Century: the Rise of Reproductive Technologies, in association with the Guardian and supported by Cambridge University Press."

Evangelical leader warns Christians on U.S. economy, debt

Posted on November 05, 2010
Christian Post: "Turning Point minister Dr. David Jeremiah painted a picture of a plummeting U.S. economy during a Thursday night mass meeting and urged Christians to remain vigilant and put their houses in order."

America at the Crossroad: An evening with Bill Bennett and Alan Sears

Posted on November 05, 2010
American at the Crossroad: "Considered by many to be the most important election of our time, America at the Crossroad is a special evening to examine the impact of this election cycle on our country and our basic liberties. Dr. William Bennett and Alan Sears will offer unique insight on the direction of America and the crossroads we face...

Utah Poll: Many think same-sex attractions can be changed

Posted on November 05, 2010
Salt Lake Tribune: "In a random survey of 625 registered voters conducted Oct. 25-27, 44 percent said it is possible for those with same-sex attraction to change it, while 25 percent said they were unsure. Nearly a third said change isn?t possible, an opinion consistent with most scientific research...

MEP sues UK Independence Party over ?homophobia?

Posted on November 05, 2010
Birmingham Mail: "The UK Independence Party (Ukip) is to be taken to the High Court by the West Midlands MEP claiming it discriminated against her because she is gay. Nikki Sinclaire is taking action over Ukip withdrawing the whip from her in the European Parliament and preventing her standing for the Commons as a candidate for the party...

Gender identity discrimination law reviewed in Haverford, PA

Posted on November 05, 2010
Main Line Media: "A proposed anti-discrimination ordinance that would add provisions for sexual orientation and gender identity/expression sparked lively discussion at Monday?s work session, when it was reviewed in preparation for the Nov. 8 commissioners meeting...

David French on tax-credit voucher programs

Posted on November 05, 2010
At Bench Memos, ADF Attorney David French responds to Robert VerBruggen on tax-credit voucher programs: "Taxpayers give money to nonprofit organizations based upon shared beliefs and shared goals. Arizona has chosen to further incentivize one segment of charitable giving (in the arena of education, which is a public and private function) by giving a relatively modest tax credit...

David Cortman on NPR: Supreme Court arguments in the AZ school choice case

Posted on November 05, 2010
ADF attorney David Cortman appeared on NPR's "All Things Considered". The report by Nina Totenberg summarizes oral arguments in the Arizona school choice litigation.  | MP3 audio 4:33 mins

CO: Douglas County School District considers starting voucher program

Posted on November 05, 2010
Denver Post: "The Douglas County School District is examining starting a voucher program to give students state money to attend private or religious schools."

Okla. Islamic law ban could block Ten Commandments, too

Posted on November 05, 2010
USA Today (AP): "Joseph Thai, a professor at the University of Oklahoma's College of Law, said the ballot measure is 'an answer in search of a problem.' "

1st Circuit considers whether spiritual healing is a qualified reason for family leave

Posted on November 05, 2010
Law.com: "Does the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permit caregivers to accompany sick family members who travel seeking spiritual healing? That was one of two issues before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on Nov. 4. The other was whether the employee filed adequate certification supporting her leave request...

Malaysia?s Christians stand firm despite Muslim pressure

Posted on November 05, 2010
CBN: "A two-hour journey from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur revealed an isolated encampment where some Christian converts say they've been taken in order to be forced back to Islam." (includes video)

MA: Burger King shouldn?t replace church, Haverhill commission says

Posted on November 05, 2010
Wicked Local: "Preservationists say it would be a Whopper of a mistake for a Haverhill congregation to sell its 163-year-old church to a developer who wants to tear it down and build a Burger King."

Boehner under fire: First cut should be lawmakers? salaries

Posted on November 05, 2010
The Hill: "Soon-to-be Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) is being pressed by taxpayer groups to slash the salaries of House lawmakers."

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