Religion & Law

N.C. city officials try to resolve Christian flag conflict

Posted on November 02, 2010
Christian Post: "King City Manager John Cater said the 4-0 vote on Monday authorizes Mayor Jack Warren to work with the city's attorneys, along with the Christian legal firm Alliance Defense Fund to develop the policy."

Vatican envoy implores UN to recognize bias, threats against Christians

Posted on November 02, 2010
CatholicCulture.org: "The Vatican?s representative at the UN denounced discrimination against Christians in an emotional address on November 1."

Switzerland: Christians, Muslims gather to build a common future

Posted on November 02, 2010
Christian Post: "Christian and Muslim leaders are gathered in Geneva for a high-level interfaith dialogue on how to build strong and sustainable relationships between the two groups and how the religious communities can use their resources to transform their communities...

OH: ACLU urges elections officials to keep Delaware County polls open later

Posted on November 02, 2010
ACLU of Ohio: "According to news reports, hundreds of voters were not informed that their traditional polling location had been changed. When the voters arrived at New Hope Church in Powell, there was a sign posted on the door directing them to new locations based on their ward...

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Kenya: ?Polygamy is one thing, marrying sisters is another?

Posted on November 02, 2010
Daily Nation: "Polygamy is not news in Kenya, except when somebody like Akuku Danger marries over 46 wives and sires over 200 children. But the case of one Elisha Koli is rather unique. He has four wives... and two of them are biological sisters."

OH: Shelby ordinance to allow prayer fails by tie-breaking vote

Posted on November 02, 2010
WMFD: "A proposed ordinance to allow an innvocation before Shelby City Council meetings was defeated Monday night by a tie-breaking vote from Mayor Marilyn John."

Coalition of KS school districts sues state over education funding

Posted on November 02, 2010
KansasCity.com (AP): "Lawyers for a coalition of Kansas school districts have filed a lawsuit against the state over the way public education is funded."

Virginia?s worst university speech code? George Mason University

Posted on November 02, 2010
A. Barton Hinkle writing in the Richmond Times-Dispatch: "Yet when it comes to Orwellian regulation of thoughtcrime, Tech remains a rank amateur next to George Mason University. GMU maintains a speech code that prohibits 'any form of bigotry . . . . whether verbal, written, psychological, direct, or implied...

US to spend $200 mn a day on Obama?s Mumbai visit

Posted on November 02, 2010
MBTV: "The US would be spending a whopping $200 million per day on President Barack Obama's visit to the city."

King City Council approves decision for Christian flag

Posted on November 02, 2010
WFMY News 2: "At Monday's meeting, council voted to approve a 'Limited Public Forum Approach' for the memorial, which includes developing a policy that will recognize faith traditions at the memorial . . . The city is working with a group called the Alliance Defense Fund to draft the policy...

Supreme Court weighs tax credits for AZ school choice program

Posted on November 02, 2010
Liberty Counsel: "Tomorrow the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Kathleen M. Winn. This case involves a challenge to an Arizona school choice law that provides dollar-for-dollar tax credits to taxpayers who make contributions to independent organizations, which in turn grant scholarships to students attending private schools...

NM: Lesbian custody case may trigger legislation to define ?parent?

Posted on November 02, 2010
ABQJournal: "It cuts across all of that ? stepparents, divorced parents, live-in relations, baby sitters, nannies," says Rep. Al Park, an Albuquerque Democrat, who along with Sen. Mark Boitano, an Albuquerque Republican, plans to introduce a bill next legislative session to more clearly define what legally constitutes a parent...

Switzerland: Doctor on trial for assisted suicide

Posted on November 02, 2010
World Radio Switzerland: "Canton Neuchâtel?s former head doctor went on trial today for having helped an incurably ill patient end her days."

Australia?s Green leader raps Catholic stand against euthanasia

Posted on November 02, 2010
The Age: "THE Greens have taken on the Catholic Church, accusing the church hierarchy of trying to tell parishioners how to vote in this month's Victorian election and wanting to 'dictate' to the terminally ill that they should suffer."

Obama Admin threatens Catholic colleges on birth control, abortion

Posted on November 02, 2010
Patrick Reilly writing at LifeNews: "The regulations issued Friday effectively force many states to increase oversight of postsecondary education through state chartering or licensing, which is a necessary condition for colleges to participate in federal student aid programs...

Damaging words cost pastor his pulpit but land him big bucks

Posted on November 02, 2010
The ABA Journal: "A jury agreed and awarded Tubra $355,000 in damages after it found officials falsely accused him of stealing from the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in Vernonia, Ore.The judge differed with the jurors, though, and threw out the award...

Wisconsin family planning program expands

Posted on November 02, 2010
Superior Telegram: "This week, Wisconsin expanded a Medicaid program aimed at preventing unintended pregnancy and disease."

Israel Security Agency: Hamas turning Gaza into Islamic sharia law state

Posted on November 01, 2010
Israel Defense Forces: "The Israel Security Agency (ISA) reported last week that Hamas began to intensify its use of the Internet for spreading Islamic values and religion, in an effort to shape the Gaza Strip as it wants it, according to the spirit of the strategic Islamization process plan gradually imposed, in order to turn Gaza into a state governed by Islamic religious law...

FL: ?Gays push Jacksonville for anti-discrimination ban?

Posted on November 01, 2010
WINK News: "Jacksonville gay rights activists are meeting with business leaders to get their support for a measure that would ban discrimination based on sexual preference."

UK: NHS defends teenage contraceptive scheme

Posted on November 01, 2010
AFP: "A scheme launched on Monday to provide girls as young as 13 with access to the contraceptive pill without their parents' knowledge has been defended by the NHS primary care trust running the service."

Australia: Church ?too Christian? for citizenship ceremony

Posted on November 01, 2010
The Queensland Times: "Immigration officials ordered a citizenship ceremony be moved from a church hall ? because the venue may offend non-Christians. The Rosewood Lions Club has been organising citizenship ceremonies in the town?s Uniting Church Hall for the past nine years with no complaints...

Vandals target Jewish center on Illinois campus

Posted on November 01, 2010
The Jewish Chronicle: "A Chabad house at a prestigious American university has been vandalised. Attackers broke the bulbs and one branch of a statue of a menorah outside the Jewish centre, which serves students at the Northwestern University campus in Illinois...

New rules worry Christian colleges

Posted on November 01, 2010
Christianity Today: "Today the Department of Education (DOE) will finalize a new set of regulations that have many private colleges and universities concerned and religious institutions downright alarmed. Formulated in response to allegations of financial-aid fraud at some for-profit institutions, these 80-odd pages of rules contain 14 different directives, one of which could provide a back-door threat to the ability of Christian colleges to control curriculum, admissions, and hiring standards...

Anger over Isle of Wight contraception pill scheme

Posted on November 01, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Girls as young as 13 on the Isle of Wight may be given a month?s supply of contraceptive pills without being referred to a doctor or informing their parents, under a divisive new scheme."

Netanyahu raps U.N. body over religious sites? ruling

Posted on November 01, 2010
Jewish Times: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision of a United Nations body to define the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel?s Tomb as Palestinian 'absurd.'"

Law Review: Reining in the Government-Speech Doctrine Through a New and Restrictive Approach

Posted on November 01, 2010
When Leviathan Speaks: Reining in the Government-Speech Doctrine Through a New and Restrictive Approach Carl G. DeNigris, 60 Am. U. L. Rev. 133 (2010) "This Comment will argue that current government-speech tests lead to inconsistent results, do not sufficiently focus on the concerns that led to the creation of the government-speech doctrine and, most importantly, do not ensure political accountability and provide adequate safeguards for private speech rights...

Azerbaijan: A religiously tolerant country?

Posted on November 01, 2010
Forum 18: "Five Baptists in Azerbaijan were yesterday (31 October) given five day jail terms after a police raid the same day on a Harvest Festival celebration in a private home, Forum 18 News Service has learned."

Catholic leaders and immigration

Posted on November 01, 2010
OneNewsNow: "An immigration reform activist is pleased Pope Benedict recently issued a statement supporting the right of nation states to protect their borders and regulate immigration. But he's concerned that many Catholic priests have condoned illegal immigration ...

Alaska poll shows Joe Miller comeback against Murkowski

Posted on November 01, 2010
LifeNews: "The most recent poll from the state of Alaska finds pro-life Senate candidate Joe Miller coming back against pro-abortion candidates Lisa Murkowski and Scott McAdams. Miller now holds a 37-30-30 percentage point lead in the controversial contest, according to a new survey from the PPP polling firm...

Matthew J. Franck: Is originalism dead?

Posted on November 01, 2010
Matthew J. Franck writing at Public Discourse: "No originalist claims that all questions of the Constitution?s original meaning, or of its appropriate application in new settings, are easily answered. But Strauss surely exaggerates the magnitude of these difficulties, and fails to come to grips with the form of originalism that is prevalent today?the search for original meaning, which holds that the text of the Constitution has a meaning of its own, independent of the views (either the intentions or the understandings) of any particular individuals involved in making or ratifying its provisions...

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