Religion & Law

9th Circuit Hears Arguments In CLS Challenge To Hastings Law School Rules

Posted on March 11, 2009
Yesterday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in Christian Legal Society v. Kane. A recording of the full oral argument is available online. In the case, a California federal district court below held that Hastings Law School may apply its policy against discrimination on the basis of religion and sexual orientation to a student religious group seeking formal recognition...

California Civil Court Asked To Confirm Bet Din's Ruling On Torah Scrolls

Posted on March 10, 2009
Yesterday's Los Angeles Times reports on an unusual suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in which the widow of an Orthodox rabbi is asking a civil court to confirm an award by a Jewish religious tribunal. A hearing is scheduled for April 3. The case, Pauker vs...

India's Prime Minister Says No Right To Criticize Other Religions

Posted on March 10, 2009
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaking today to a group of Muslim girls on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi ("Birth of the Prophet"), made an interesting assertion about the scope of free speech in the country. Press Trust of India reports that he said: "Our Constitution gives full freedom to the people to practice any religion of their choice, but it does not give anyone the license to criticize or run down other religions...

City Hearing on Anti-Discrimination Law Generates Religious Arguments

Posted on March 10, 2009
The Kalamazoo (MI) Gazette reports on a hearing held last night by a subcommittee of the Kalamazoo City Commission on a proposed ordinance that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Originally City Commission adopted the ordinance in December, but a month later rescinded it pending further consideration, after petitions protesting the law were submitted...

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10th Circuit Refuses Release Pending Appeal of Marijuana Church Founders

Posted on March 10, 2009
In United States v. Quaintance, (10th Cir., March 3, 2009), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by Mary and Danuel Quaintance-- founders of the Church of Cognizance-- for release from prison pending appeal of their convictions for allegedly religious use of marijuana...

Court Says Religious Tattoo Was Relevant In Penalty Phase of Murder Trial

Posted on March 10, 2009
In Robles v. Quarterman, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17126 (SD TX, March 6, 2009), a Texas federal district court rejected a convicted murderer's free exercise challenge to evidence introduced in the penalty phase of his state court trial. The prosecution introduced into evidence defendant's tattoo that depicted a demon eating Christ's brain...

10th Circuit Hears Arguments In Utah Highway Patrol Cross Case

Posted on March 10, 2009
The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard oral arguments in American Atheists, Inc. v. Duncan. (AP). The case involves an Establishment Clause challenge to crosses placed on public property by the Utah Highway Patrol Association to memorialize state Highway Patrol officers who died in the line of duty...

Saudi Court Sentences Elderly Widow To Prison and Lashes For Meeting With Men

Posted on March 10, 2009
Saudi Arabia's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and local Saudi courts are again under attack for their strict enforcement of Islamic law. CNN and the London Telegraph yesterday reported on the conviction of a 75-year old widow who was charged by religious police with meeting in her home with two unrelated 24-year old men-- one of whom was her deceased husband's nephew...

Israeli Traffic Court Says Hebrew Birthday Can Count

Posted on March 10, 2009
Arutz Sheva reported last week on an interesting Traffic Court decision in the Israeli city of Nazareth. Under Israeli law, drivers under the age of 21 may carry no more than two passengers. Chaim Frankel was stopped for a random check and charged with violating this law because he had four passengers in his car...

New Survey of U.S. Religious Identification Released

Posted on March 10, 2009
Trinity College has released its American Religious Identification Survey 2008. The study, based on questions posed to over 54,000 individuals in English and Spanish, revealed that the number of adults identifying themselves as Christian has slipped to 76% (down 10% since 1990)...

Former Catholic Schools Try To Still Teach Values As Public Charter Schools

Posted on March 09, 2009
Today's New York Times reports on the effort to maintain Catholic values in seven Washington, D.C. parochial schools that converted to publicly funded charter schools this year. Instead of opening each day with the Lord's Prayer, students recite the school's honor code...

Connecticut Bill Would Reform Financial Management of Catholic Parishes

Posted on March 09, 2009
In Connecticut, the Catholic Church is strongly criticizing a bill introduced in the state legislature last week to reform oversight of finances in Catholic parishes. Yesterday's Stamford (CT) Advocate reports that Raised Bill No. 1098 (full text) was introduced in response to the conviction of a Darien (CT) priest who stole $1...

Catholic Group Says Austalian Abortion Law Violates International Treaty

Posted on March 09, 2009
Last October, the Australian state of Victoria passed the Abortion Law Reform Act of 2008. Section 8 of the Act provides thatIf a woman requests a registered health practitioner to advise on a proposed abortion, or to perform, direct, authorise or supervise an abortion for that woman, and the practitioner has a conscientious objection to abortion, the practitioner must? (a) inform the woman that the practitioner has a conscientious objection to abortion; and (b) refer the woman to another registered health practitioner in the same regulated health profession who the practitioner knows does not have a conscientious objection to abortion...

Illinois Senate Committee Tables Proposed Change In Moment of Silence Law

Posted on March 09, 2009
As previously reported, an appeal is pending in the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in a case which found Illinois' current moment of silence law an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause. Last month, Sen. Kimberly Lightford, sponsor of the original bill, introduced an amendment to make the provision more clearly neutral and less likely to be seen as supporting prayer as the preferred alternative during the moment of silence...

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

Posted on March 09, 2009
From SSRN:Brian M. Lusignan, The Clause Less Taken: Pleasant Grove City v. Summum and the Establishment Clause of the Utah Constitution, (March 3, 2009).Frederick Mark Gedicks, Truth and Consequences: Mitt Romney, Proposition 8, and Public Reason, (March 5, 2009)...

President Reverses Policy on Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research

Posted on March 09, 2009
Today President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order (full text ) lifting the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. In remarks (full text) delivered before signing the Order, the President referred to the religious debate that has surrounded the issue:[I]n recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values...

Ireland Proposing to Relax Ban On Religious Advertising

Posted on March 08, 2009
Today's London Times reports that Ireland's Communications Minister Eamon Ryan plans to introduce amendments to a broadcasting bill currently being considered by the Oireachtas (Ireland's Parliament) to relax the ban on religious advertising. Currently the Broadcasting Act bans all ads "directed towards a religious end...

Globe Publishes Interview With Geert Wilders

Posted on March 08, 2009
Today's Boston Globe carries an interview with Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament known for his anti-Muslim views. Last month the British government denied Wilders entry to the country after he was invited to show his controversial video "Fitna" in the British Parliament...

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

Posted on March 08, 2009
In Smithback v. Crain, (5th Cir., March 5, 2009), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a prisoner's religious exercise was not substantially burdened by a prison rule that prohibits drawings or messages-- including religious ones-- on the outside of envelopes being mailed from prison...

Canadian Conscientious Objector Is Prosecuted For Refusing To File Census Form

Posted on March 07, 2009
In Brockville, Ontario, religious conscientious objector Todd Stelmach is defending himself in a prosecution under Canada's Statistics Act. Yesterday's Brockville Recorder & Times reports that Stellmach refused to file his 2006 census form because the software and data processing equipment for Canada's 2006 census was supplied by a subsidiary of U...

New Information Shows Reagan Pressed Gorbachev On Religious Issues

Posted on March 07, 2009
Today's Wall Street Journal carries a fascinating article disclosing previously unreleased information about negotiations in 1988 between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In their fourth summit meeting, Reagan made a strong plea for religious tolerance inside the Soviet Union and then moved to try to convince Gorbachev that he should personally believe in God.

D.C. Circuit Upholds Firefighters' Victory In Challenge To Ban On Beards

Posted on March 07, 2009
In Potter v. District of Columbia, (DC Cir., March 6, 2009), a case brought under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment barring enforcement of a grooming rule against firefighters who wear beards for religious reasons...

Connecticut Catholic Conference Wants Protections For Objectors To Same-Sex Marriage

Posted on March 07, 2009
On Friday, the Connecticut General Assembly's Joint Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Raised Senate Bill No. 899 that was introduced last month to implement the state Supreme Court's 2008 decision validating same-sex marriages. (Bill status.) (See prior posting...

German Court Orders Berlin's Anti-Scientology Poster Removed

Posted on March 06, 2009

Proposed Oklahoma Resolutions Criticize Pro-Evolution Teaching At State University

Posted on March 06, 2009

Vatican Tells ICANN That Religious gTLDs Are a Problem

Posted on March 06, 2009

Save the National Day of Prayer Effort Begun

Posted on March 06, 2009

Lithuania Will Pay Compensation For Confiscated Jewish Property

Posted on March 06, 2009

Minnesota License Photo Bill Objected To By Muslims

Posted on March 05, 2009

Yemeni Jewish Commuinty Protests Verdict In Murder Trial

Posted on March 05, 2009

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