Religion & Law

In Spain, Prosecutor's Office Removes Nativity Scene After Objections

Posted on December 18, 2008
Argument over nativity scenes and church-state separation are not limited to the United States. a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iZ4kn16WhWrSJRN03qOZSKIuT0SA"AFP reported /ayesterday that in Madrid, Spain, a small nativity scene at the state prosecutor's office led to objections from a top judge who objected that it violated the church-state separation guaranteed by Spain's 1978 Constitution...

Namibia High Court Holds Newspaper Liable For Defaming Church

Posted on December 18, 2008
The a href="http://www.superiorcourts.org.na/high/default.asp"High Court of Namibia /alast week awarded the equivalent of about $6,000 (US) for injury to reputation to a church that was defamed by an article published in a Namibian weekly newspaper, the Southern Times...

Mukasey Recusal From Madoff Case In Part Because of Ties To Defrauded Jewish Organizations

Posted on December 18, 2008
In yet another twist, reported yesterday by the a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/mukasey-recuses-himself-from-madoff-investigation/"New York Times/a and a href="http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/3530"Cityfile/a, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has recused himself from all Justice Department investigations into the massive Bernard Madoff securities fraud...

Emory Law and Religion Lectures Available For iPods

Posted on December 17, 2008
In its latest e-mail newsletter, Emory University's Center for the Study of Law and Religion announces that a series of more than 75 lectures on law and religion that were delivered over the last five years are now available free-of-charge as downloadable MP3 files through a href="http://www...

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Indian Political Leader Fired From State Cabinet Over Conversion of Convenience

Posted on December 17, 2008
In the a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haryana"Haryana/a state in northern India, Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan has been thrown out of the cabinet after he converted from Hinudism to Islam in order to marry a second woman. As reported by the a href="http://www...

Justice Department Asked To Investigate Georgia Courthouse Exclusion of Hijabs

Posted on December 17, 2008
According to a a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Georgia-Muslims-Barred-From-Court/story.aspx?guid=%7BDFBBC2B7-B26F-40BA-902E-F4217C4F7367%7D"release /ayesterday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the group has asked the U.S. Justice Department to look into a series of incidents in Georgia in which Muslim women were prevented from entering courtrooms wearing Islamic headscarves (a href="http://en...

Wisconsin Suit Will Challenge Nativity Scene At Courthouse

Posted on December 17, 2008
The a href="http://ffrf.org/index.php"Freedom from Religion Foundation/a plans to file a lawsuit today challenging a nativity scene displayed on the courthouse lawn in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. a href="http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=9533831"WBAY-TV News /areported yesterday that the display has been up every year for the last 62 years...

Justice Department Gives Records To US Holocaust Museum

Posted on December 17, 2008
On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey spoke at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2008/ag-speech-081216.html"full text of remarks/a) to draw attention to the Justice Department's donation to the Museum of more than 50,000 pages of records from 40 denaturalization, extradition, and removal cases against World War II Nazi war criminals...

Sikhs Challenge French Ban on Turbans At UN Human Rights Commission

Posted on December 17, 2008
A petition was filed Monday with the United Nations Human Rights Commission against the French government by the advocacy group United Sikhs. The petition, on behalf of three individuals, challenges a French law that bans the wearing of turbans in schools, and in photos for government identification documents...

USCIRF Issues New Report on Religious Freedom In Iraq

Posted on December 16, 2008
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today issued a report on religious freedom concerns in Iraq, and (over the dissent of four commissioners) recommended that Iraq be designated as a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act...

Correction

Posted on December 16, 2008
Earlier today I had up a posting on a US House resolution honoring Christmas. That was a resolution passed last year, not this year. The post has been removed. Sorry for the confusion.

Establishment Clause Challenge to AIG Bailout Cites Shariah-Compliant Products

Posted on December 16, 2008
A press release from the Thomas More Law Center announced the filing yesterday of an Establishment Clause challenge to the federal bailout of the giant AIG insurance company (American International Group, Inc.). At issue is the $40 billion in federal taxpayer funds given to AIG in exchange for preferred stock...

President Hosts Annual White House Hanukkah Reception

Posted on December 16, 2008
Yesterday evening, President Bush hosted his annual Hanukkah reception in the Grand Foyer of the White House. In his remarks (full text), the President said in part:This Hanukkah we celebrate another miraculous victory -- the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel...

7th Circuit: Muslim Lawyer's Discrimination Claim Should Go To Trial

Posted on December 16, 2008
In Hasan v. Foley & Lardner LLP, (7th Cir., Dec. 15, 2008), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an Illinois federal district court's grant of summary judgment for defendant in a religious/ national-origin employment discrimination case...

Newsweek Cover Story Challenges Biblical Opposition To Gay Marriage

Posted on December 16, 2008
The issue of Newsweek dated Dec. 15 carries a cover story by Lisa Miller on the battle over gay marriage from a different perspective. It challenges the notion that there is strong opposition to gay marriage in the Bible. Arguing that there are few examples of the so-called "traditional family" in the Bible, Miller goes on to contend that the passages which condemn homosexuality are marginal or misunderstood...

Pope Visits Italian Embassy To Mark Upcoming Lateran Treaty Anniversary

Posted on December 16, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI yesterday visited the Italian embassy to the Holy See to mark February's upcoming 80th anniversary of the Lateran Treaty. The Treaty established Vatican City as an independent state, separating it from Italy. Zenit reports that Benedict is the fourth pope to make such a visit...

Christmas 2008 At the White House-- Theme and Cards

Posted on December 15, 2008
Again this year the White House website has a section devoted to Christmas activities of the first family. This year's theme is "A Red, White and Blue Christmas." According to the website, the theme "celebrates the patriotic spirit that unites us as Americans...

Newdow Loses Defamation Action Against Minister

Posted on December 15, 2008
A release from the Thomas More Law Center last week reported that a California state trial court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit that activist Michael Newdow had filed against Reverend Austin Miles. Newdow is best known for his lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance containing the words "under God...

Australian State's Schools Will Add Humanism As Alternative Class

Posted on December 15, 2008
In the Australian state of Victoria, public grade-schools allot 30 minutes per week to religious instruction taught by accredited volunteers. Students now have a choice of classes taught by Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and Baha'i instructors. The Age reported yesterday that the state's accrediting agency is about to approve a curriculum approved by the Humanist Society of Victoria as yet an additional alternative...

Recent Articles and Book of Interest

Posted on December 15, 2008
From SSRN:Stephen A. Newman, From John F. Kennedy's 1960 Campaign Speech to Christian Supremacy: Religion in Modern Presidential Politics, (New York Law School Law Review, Forthcoming).Brian D. Galle, The LDS Church, Proposition Eight, and the Federal Law of Charities, (Northwestern University Law Review, Forthcoming)...

Indonesian Cult Leader Arrested, Charged With Blasphemy

Posted on December 15, 2008
In Indonesia, cult leader Lia Aminuddin (also known as Lia Eden) was arrested this morning and charged with blasphemy, according to the Jakarta Post. Some 23 of her Kingdom of Eden followers were also taken into custody. Already convicted of blasphemy in 2006 and sentenced to two years in prison, she is now charged with distributing books, pamphlets and CDs with her message that God wants every religion annulled...

Supreme Court To DC Circuit: Reconsider Gitmo Case Involving Religious Harassment

Posted on December 15, 2008
Today the U.S. Supreme Court told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision in a case brought by Guantanamo detainees alleging arbitrary detention, torture and violations of their religious rights. Among other things, the detainees alleged that they were interrupted as they prayed, that they were denied copies of the Qur'an and prayer mats, that a copy of the Qur'an was thrown in a toilet and that they were forced to shave their beards that they wore for religious reasons...

Gov. Palin's Wasilla Church Hit By Suspected Arson

Posted on December 14, 2008
Today's Anchorage Daily News reports that in Wasilla, Alaska, a fire of suspicious origin caused $1 million damage to the Wasilla Bible Church Friday night. Damage is mostly confined to the back corner of the building. The church became well known during the recent presidential elections as the church attended by Gov...

New Alabama Christian Youth Facility To Give Judges A Placement Option

Posted on December 14, 2008
The non-profit group, Youth Reach, is opening a 9-bed Christian-based group foster home outside Summerdale, Alabama tomorrow. A second 9-bed facility is under construction. They are designed for long-term stays by troubled boys ages 12 to 21. A girls' facility is planned for the future...

New Texas Sheriff Reaches Out To Sikhs In Light of Recent Incident

Posted on December 14, 2008
Friday's Houston Chronicle reports on efforts by Adrian Garcia, the new sheriff-elect of Harris County, Texas, to reach out to the local Sikh community after Sikh Coalition criticized the handling of an incident by deputies under outgoing sheriff Tommy Thomas...

Witch Sues University of Nebraska For Employment Discrimination

Posted on December 14, 2008
AP reported yesterday on a state court lawsuit filed earlier this month by a woman, identified only as Jane Doe, who claims she was fired by the University of Nebraska because of her religion. The woman alleges that she was removed as director of a youth program when the University discovered that she was a witch...

Publications Charge Army With Improper Aid To Missionaires Filming TV Show

Posted on December 14, 2008
Jason Leopold at The Public Record yesterday, following up on a claim in the weekly newsletter of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, charges that the U.S. Army was improperly entangled in the filming of an episode of the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Christian reality TV series titled Travel the Road...

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

Posted on December 14, 2008
In Parks v. Brooks, (9th Cir., Dec. 2, 2008), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment and ordered a prisoner's claim that he was wrongly denied kosher meals to go to trial. The court held that the sincerity of plaintiff's religious beliefs is a question of fact that cannot be decided by summary judgment...

Suits Says False Story of No Circumcision Is Libelous

Posted on December 13, 2008
The New York Times earlier this week focused on an interesting complaint (full text) filed last month in a New York federal district court. John F. Singer of Queens says that Centropa (the Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation), an oral history project based in Europe, in 2005 published an article on its website about his family...

Ohio School Board Sued By Teacher Who Wants To Divert Union Dues To Charity

Posted on December 13, 2008
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation announced in a press release last week that it had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of an Ohio elementary school teacher who wants her compulsory union dues diverted to charity because of her religious objections to her union's positions on abortion and gay rights...

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