Religion & Law

Cuba Withholds Visas From USCIRF Delegation

Posted on April 16, 2009
Last Monday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced that the government of Cuba has prevented a USCIRF delegation from visiting by withholding visas. The trip, which had been planned for many weeks, was intended to include meetings with various religious groups and with Cuban government officials to discuss freedom of religion in Cuba...

Court Upholds Jury's RLUIPA Verdict and Constitutionality of RLUIPA

Posted on April 14, 2009
In Rocky Mountain Christian Church v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, Colorado, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30623 (D CO, March 30, 2009), a Colorado federal district court upheld a jury verdict handed down last year under RLUIPA in favor of Rocky Mountain Christian Church...

Roy Moore Likely To Run For Alabama Governor

Posted on April 14, 2009
CQ Politics reported yesterday that former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore says he is very "inclined" to enter the race for Alabama Governor in 2010. Moore was removed as state chief justice in 2003 after he refused to comply with a federal court order to take down a large 10 Commandments monument that Moore had placed in the State Judicial Building...

Pakistan's President Signs Approval of Islamic Law In Swat Valley Area

Posted on April 14, 2009
BBC News and The Hindu report that Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday signed Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009, implementing Islamic law in the Malakand division of the Northwest Frontier Province. The signing followed passage of a resolution by Parliament's lower house, the National Assembly, urging Zardari to approve the regulation...

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

Health Care Facility Settles Suit Alleging Shaving of Sikh Man

Posted on April 14, 2009
In Westchester County, New York, a medical care facility has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of an Alzheimer's patient, an elderly Sikh man, whose beard, eyebrows, and mustache were cut by a nurse who had not been trained to understand the patient's religious preferences...

Lebanese Begin To Use New Right To Have Religion Removed From ID's

Posted on April 14, 2009
In Februrary, Lebanon's Interior Minister issued a circular permitting any citizen to have his or her religious affiliation removed from Civil Registry Records. (See prior posting.) According to today's Daily Star, the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth urged people to use last Saturday as a day to request removal of affiliation from their ID's, and over 200 did so...

Vermont's Gay Marriage Law Contains Strong Religious Exemptions

Posted on April 14, 2009
Last week, Vermont's legislature overrode the veto of Gov. Jim Douglas and became the fourth state to authorize same-sex marriages. As the Burlington Free Press reported last week, this is the first time that gay marriage has been approved legislatively, rather than by the courts...

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE: LOOK FOR THE NEXT NEW POSTINGS ON RELIGION CLAUSE ON THURSDAY NIGHT

Posted on April 14, 2009

Public School Courses From Kabbalah Center Draw Criticism

Posted on April 14, 2009
In Los Angeles, church-state questions are being raised by a Spirituality for Kids course that is being offered at nine elementary schools and three community sites. Today's Los Angeles Times reports that the course was developed by Karen Berg, who leads the Los Angeles Kabbalah Centre, with her husband, Rabbi Philip Berg...

School Board Grants Grooming Exemption For Native American High Schooler

Posted on April 14, 2009
The Somerset (TX) Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Monday to grant an exemption from the district's grooming policy for high schooler Jesus Figueroa. Today's Houston Chronicle reports that the vote came after a judge had ordered school officials to permit the boy to return to the classroom while his case was being litigated...

Tangipahoa Parish School Board Adopts Minor Changes In Policy On Invocations

Posted on April 14, 2009
Today's Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate reports that the Tangipahoa Parish (LA) School Board has made minor modifications in its policy on invocations preceding Board meetings. A lawsuit is pending against the Board broadly challenging its invocation policy which is based on a Model Policy developed by the Alliance Defense Fund...

Tajikistan Islamic Leader Resigns From Parliament In Protest of Religion Law

Posted on April 14, 2009
In Tajikistan, Muhammadsharif Himmatzoda, spiritual leader of Tajikistan's Islamic Revival Party, has resigned his seat in Parliament. Taiwan News reports today that the resignation came in protest of the country's new Religion Law. The controversial law was signed by Tajikistan's president last month...

Sikh Group Wants Army To Accommodate Turbans, Unshorn Hair and Beards

Posted on April 13, 2009
Tomorrow the Sikh Coalition will begin a campaign to convince the U.S. Army to permit Sikhs to serve in the military while wearing a turban, unshorn hair and a beard. Announcing the campaign, the Sikh Coalition said that currently Sikhs are required to choose between their religion and military service...

Murder Suspect's Husband Criticizes Police For Bareheaded Mugshot

Posted on April 13, 2009
In Orland Park, Illinois, police have arrested 26-year old Nour Hadid on charges of beating her 2-year old niece to death over a four day period, according to Friday's Southtown Star. Prosecutors say she has confessed to the crime. However Nour's husband, Alaeddin Hadid, says his wife is innocent and that police have insulted their Muslim religion by releasing a mug shot of his wife without her head covered...

Modified EU Draft Directive on Discrimination Raises Concerns

Posted on April 13, 2009
Sunday's London Telegraph reports on changes that were made this month by the European Parliament in the EU Anti-Discrimination Directive that was drafted last year by the European Commission. The directive bans discrimination in offering of goods and services...

Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases

Posted on April 13, 2009
In Ortiz v. Downey, (7th Cir., April 1, 2009), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the district court should not have dismissed prior to discovery a Catholic inmate's claim that he was denied a rosary and prayer booklet in violation of his free exercise rights...

Organization of Islamic Conference Creates New Human Rights Commission

Posted on April 13, 2009
Al Arabiya reports that The Organization of Islamic Conference met at its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday to create a new OIC Human Rights Commission. The 57-member OIC will seek assistance from the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Geneva Institute for Human Rights in setting up its new independent Commission...

School District Settles Suit Over Bullying of Muslim High Schooler

Posted on April 12, 2009
USA Today reported last Wednesday that the Washoe County (NV) School District will settle lawsuits alleging that administration officials failed to protect a Muslim high schooler from bullying. Jana Elhifny dropped out of high school after death threats and harassment for wearing a Muslim headscarf...

Egyptian Court Revokes Magazine's License Over Blaspehmous Poem

Posted on April 12, 2009
In Egypt last Tuesday, a Cairo administrative court rescinded the publishing license of Ibdaa, a government-funded magazine, finding that it had published a blasphemous poem by Egyptian poet Helmi Salem. M&C reports that the court's order comes in a "hesbah" lawsuit, a suit brought by a private party against anyone publishing anti-Islaimic teachings...

Afghan Law Recognizing Shiite Beliefs Raises Protest From Women's Rights Advocates

Posted on April 12, 2009
Yesterday's Washington Post reports on the furor that has been ignited over a new law in Afghanistan that was supposed to have been the vehicle to recognize the religious beliefs of the country's minority Shiites. However the law has been widely denounced by human rights activists, Western governments and some Afghan cabinet members...

Court Orders Discovery On Equal Access Act Claim

Posted on April 12, 2009
In Youth Alive v. Hauppauge School District, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29017 (ED NY, April 6, 2009), a New York federal district court dismissed as moot most of the claims asserted by two high school students regarding difficulties in organizing and operating a Bible club at their school...

Partial Reversal In Case of Woman Injured During Altar Call

Posted on April 12, 2009
In Dadd v. Mount Hope Church and International Outreach Ministries, (MI Ct. App., April 9, 2009), a Michigan appellate court affirmed a jury's negligence award, but reversed its award in false light, libel and slander claims. The suit was brought by a Lansing, Michigan woman against her church and its pastor for injuries she suffered when, answering a call to the altar, she was "slain in the spirit" and collapsed...

California Civil Court Overturns Jewish Religious Court Decision

Posted on April 12, 2009
In a California civil suit seeking confirmation of a Jewish religious court's judgment, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has held that one of the rabbis on the Bet Din (religious court) had an apparent conflict of interest. Thursday's Los Angeles Times reported on the case in which the widow of Rabbi Norman Pauker claimed ownership of four Torah scrolls that had been in the possession of her late husband's assistant, Rabbi Samuel Ohana, for over a decade...

Obama's Easter Plans Unclear; Weekly Address Focuses On Holidays

Posted on April 12, 2009
The New York Times on Friday speculated broadly on what church the Obama family might attend for Easter services. At Friday's White House press briefing (full text), press secretary Robert Gibbs refused to disclose President Obama's choice. Meanwhile, the President's weekly address yesterday (full text) focused in part on Easter and Passover, saying that both holidays are "occasions to think more deeply about the obligations we have to ourselves and the obligations we have to one another...

Developments In Obama's Faith Based Partnerships Program

Posted on April 11, 2009
JTA reported Tuesday on the White House briefing earlier this week for the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Advisory Council and a wide spectrum of religious leaders-- including advocates of church-state separation. (See prior posting...

Court Allows Students Warned Against Prayer To Proceed With Claims

Posted on April 11, 2009
In Kyriacou v. Peralta Community College District, (ND CA, March 31, 2009), a California federal district court refused to dismiss a number of constitutional challenges brought by two students who were threatened with dismissal from a community college for disruptive behavior...

Appeal Filed In Suit Challenging Inaugural Oath and Prayers

Posted on April 11, 2009
On Thursday, a notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit was filed in Newdow v. Roberts, according to a release from the American Humanist Association. In the case, the trial court dismissed on standing grounds a challenge to the Chief Justice administering the oath of office at President Obama's inauguration using the phrase "so help me God" and to clergy delivering an invocation and benediction at the ceremony...

Tony Alamo Ministries Sues Arkansas Human Services Department

Posted on April 11, 2009
In an Arkansas federal court lawsuit filed Thursday, Tony Alamo Ministries and two of its members sued the Arkansas Department of Human Services , claiming that it has engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against the church. State children's services officials have removed 36 children from the church's compound in Arkansas, saying that the children are endangered by practices such as underage marriages and beatings for ignoring church rules...

Obama Beomes First President To Host A White House Seder

Posted on April 11, 2009
On Thursday, Barack Obama became the first President to host a Passover seder at the White House. According to Politico, the origins of the event were a year ago when a year ago some of Obama?s campaign staff held an impromptu seder in the basement of the Sheraton in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania...

Vatican Rejects US Ambassador Names Because of Their Positions on Abortion

Posted on April 08, 2009
The Washington Times reported yesterday that the Vatican has rejected at least three names that President Obama has put forward as possible candidates for ambassador to the Vatican because of the individuals' support abortion rights. The failure to find an ambassador could become embarrassing as Pres...

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