Religion & Law

Tuesday's Religious Events At The Democratic National Convention

Posted on August 27, 2008
Here are the religious events (full schedule) that took place on Tuesday in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. At noon, the first Faith Caucus, moderated by Rev. Jim Wallis, was held. The theme of the first panel was "Common Ground on Common Good...

British Prosecutor Says Religious Flagellation Was Child Cruelty

Posted on August 27, 2008
In Manchester, England, Syed Mustafa Zaidi is on trial for child cruelty after he encouraged two young boys to flog themselves with a 'zanjeer' (bladed whip) at a Matam ceremony held in Manchester last January. The ceremony, observed by some Shi'a Muslims, involves self-flagellation as part of a mourning period in the Muslim calendar...

Recent Prisoner and Institutionalized Persons Free Exercise Cases

Posted on August 27, 2008
In Lewis v. Ryan, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64335 (SD CA, May 1, 2008), a California federal district judge accepted the recommendations of a federal magistrate judge set out in a lengthy opinion at Lewis v. Mitchell, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64333 (SD CA, March 6, 2008)...

Presidential Nominating Conventions and the Establishment Clause-- An Analysis

Posted on August 26, 2008
As the Democratic Party at its National Convention this week reaches out to religious voters, the question arises as to whether the Establishment Clause places any limits on religious activity at Presidential nominating conventions. (See Don Byrd's recent posting at Blog from the Capital...

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USCIRF Issues New Report On Vietnam Religious Freedom Concerns

Posted on August 26, 2008
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday released a 32-page report on religious freedom in Vietnam (full text). The report, which includes findings from USCIRF's 2007 trip to Vietnam, concludes that "religious freedom conditions in Vietnam continue to be mixed, with improvements for some religious communities but not for others; progress in some provinces but not in others; reforms of laws at the national level that are not fully implemented or are ignored at the local level; and still too many abuses of and restrictions on religious freedom affecting most of Vietnam's diverse religious communities...

6th Circuit Upholds Ohio Funeral Picketing Ban In Challenge By Church

Posted on August 26, 2008
In Phelps-Roper v. Strickland, (6th Cir., Aug. 22, 2008), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Ohio's Funeral Protest Provision (ORC Sec. 3767.30) which prohibits picketing or other disruptive protest activities within 300 feet of a funeral service during the service and for a one-hour window on either side of it...

Dems' Convention Begins and Ends With Christian Prayer Urging Social Justice

Posted on August 26, 2008
Former Colorado state senator Polly Baca gave the invocation opening the Democratic National Convention Monday afternoon in Denver. Her invocation (full text) asked for God's guidance and focused on commitment to "the poor, the sick, the disabled, the stranger, the immigrants...

Church-State Quiz Designed For Christian Leaders

Posted on August 26, 2008
Christianity Today's Leadership Journal has posted a "Church & Politics Quiz". It is designed to help Christian leaders plot on a graph where they stand on church-state issues:Combining the two axis scores will place a person in one of the four political quadrants...

Irish Cardinal Says EU Referendum Defeat Was Reaction To Anti-Religious Culture

Posted on August 26, 2008
Ireland's Catholic Church leader, Cardinal Sean Brady, said in a speech last Sunday that one reason Irish voters in June refused to approve the EU Lisbon Treaty is Europe's culture that tends to keep religion out of the public domain. According to yesterday's EU Observer, Brady speaking about the results of the only referendum held in Europe on the treaty criticized "a fairly widespread culture in European affairs which relegates manifestations of one's own religious convictions to the private and subjective sphere...

FLDS Members Challenge Trustee's Power Over UEP Trust Property

Posted on August 26, 2008
The Salt Lake Tribune reported yesterday that three FLDS Church members are challenging the right of a court-appointed fiduciary to sell land belonging to the FLDS United Effort Plan Trust without court approval. Bruce R. Wisan, court appointed fiduciary who is to reform the UEP Trust, says that he has a buyer who will pay $3 million for a large tract of farm land known as Berry Knoll...

United Arab Emirates Law Reduces Work Hours During Ramadan

Posted on August 26, 2008
Ramadan this year begins approximately Sept. 1. Today's Kaleej Times reports that in the United Arab Emirates, under Article 65 of the Federal Labour Law, working hours are reduced to 6 hours per day (instead of the normal 8 hours) during Ramadan. The reduction applies to all workers regardless of their religion and regardless of whether or not they are fasting...

Dems' Convention Opens With Interfaith Event and Some Controversy

Posted on August 25, 2008
Both the AP and CQ report on the first official event of the Democratic national Convention-- an interfaith service held yesterday in a theater inside the Convention Center. The event included talks and readings from Christians, Muslims, Jews and a Buddhist...

HHS Issues Proposed Rules To Protect Conscience Rights of Health Care Workers

Posted on August 25, 2008
Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services formally released for comment proposed regulations (full text) designed to enforce federal provisions that protect conscience rights of doctors and other health care providers participating in programs receiving HHS funding...

Recent Articles and Recent Book of Interest

Posted on August 25, 2008
From SSRN:Raghav Sharma, Rajarshi Sen & Adarsh Ramanujan, Affirmative Action for Muslims in the Indian Jurisprudential, Social, Economical and Political Context: A Constitutional Conundrum?, (June 17, 2008).Brigham Daniels, Revitalizing Zion: Nineteenth-Century Mormonism and Today's Urban Sprawl, (Journal of Land, Resources & Environmental Law, Forthcoming...

Campus Poster With Suggestive Picture of Jesus Tests Harassment Rules

Posted on August 25, 2008
At Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, members of the campus Activists for Atheism club find that they are testing the scope of the school's anti-harassment rule that includes a prohibition on illustrations that mock or ridicule race or religion...

Church of England Issues Guides To Prevent Bogus Marriages By Immigrants

Posted on August 24, 2008
Under British law, a foreigner who marries a resident of the European Union is generally allowed to stay in Britain. Today's London Telegraph reports that bishops of the Church of England have issued confidential guidelines to try to cut down on the number of bogus marriages performed by Anglican priests at the behest of immigrants who are merely trying to obtain British residency...

Times Features Science Teacher's Methods on Evolution

Posted on August 24, 2008
Today's New York Times carries a fascinating front page article on how Florida science teacher David Campbell teaches evolution to a skeptical science class. He captures their attention by using Walt Disney's changes over time to the Mickey Mouse character...

Court Dismisses Minister's Suit Against Church Placement Agency

Posted on August 24, 2008
In Thibodeau v. American Baptist Churches of Connecticut, 2008 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1858 (CT Super. Ct., July 29, 2008), a Connecticut trial court, applying the "ministerial exception" doctrine, dismissed for lack of jurisdiction a suit by an ordained Baptist minister against American Baptist Churches of Connecticut (ABCC)...

South Carolina High School Football Coaches Often Mix Religion With Coaching

Posted on August 24, 2008
Yesterday's Florence (SC) Morning News carried an article on the fine church-state line being walked by some South Carolina high school football coaches. Many pray with their teams before each game. This summer, many coaches and players attended a three day Fellowship of Christian Athletes football camp at University of South Carolina-Upstate in Spartanburg...

Kentucky County Tries To Delay Paying Attorneys Fees In 10 Commandments Case

Posted on August 23, 2008
Earlier this month, a Kentucky federal district judge made permanent the temporary injunctions against 10 Commandments displays in two Kentucky counties that had been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. Now however McCreary County, Kentucky is attempting to delay the ability of the ACLU to recover attorneys fees in the case by preventing the judgment from becoming final...

Palm Beach Neighborhood Dislikes Jewish Synagogue Meeting In Private Home

Posted on August 23, 2008
Yesterday's Palm Beach Post reports on a land use controversy in the Indian Wells neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida. An Orthodox Jewish congregation, Anshei Chesed, is holding servies each Friday evening and Saturday morning in a private home that apparently was purchased primarily for that use...

Biden's Views On Religion and Church-State Issues Are Examined

Posted on August 23, 2008
Now that Barak Obama has picked Sen. Joseph Biden as his vice-presidential running mate, bloggers are already examining Biden's views on church-state issues and his religious values. America: The National Catholic Weekly today posted a a piece titled Joe Biden's Catholicism...

Religiously-Grounded Substance Abuse Programs Eschew Government Funding

Posted on August 23, 2008
One of the most controversial aspects of federal and state funding of faith-based social services relates to organizations that use prayer and religious teachings as an integral part of substance abuse treatment. Today's Louisville Courier-Journal reports that one such group-- Teen Challenge of Kentucky-- has voluntarily relinquished most of a $50,000 federal grant after Americans United for Separation of Church and State complained to the U...

School District Cuts Off All Community Flyers To End Bias Against Religious Messages

Posted on August 23, 2008
As previously reported, a federal lawsuit has been filed against the the Hudson (NH) School District challenging its policy on flyers that may be sent home with students. The school district has allowed flyers from nonprofit community organizations, but has excluded material with religious content...

3rd Circuit Rejects Free Exercise Challenge To PA Home-Schooling Regulation

Posted on August 22, 2008
In Combs v. Homer-Center School District, (3rd Cir., Aug. 21, 2008), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges by six families to record-keeping requirements showing that they met the instructional hours and subject matter requirements, and to subsequent portfolio review, imposed by Pennsylvania's Act 169 (24 PS 13-1327...

Virginia Episcopal Diocese Loses On Two More Issues In Property Disputes

Posted on August 22, 2008
On August 19, a Fairfax County, Virginia trial court issued two more "Letter Opinions" in In re Multi-Circuit Episcopal Church Property Litigation-- the contest over property ownership between eleven break-away congregations and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia...

TRO Issued To Stop Army Construction At Comanche Religious Site

Posted on August 22, 2008
In Comanche Nation v. United States, (WD OK, Aug. 18, 2008), an Oklahoma federal district court granted a temporary restraining order barring the U.S. Army from starting construction of a warehouse on the Ft. Sill Military Reservation. The Comanche Tribe claimed that the construction site at the edge of Medicine Bluffs is a significant religious and ceremonial site protected by federal law from disruption or interference...

Missouri Governor Implementing Faith-Based Disaster Relief Initiative

Posted on August 22, 2008
Yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on Missouri Governor Matt Blunt's proposed Faith-Based Missouri Disaster Relief Initiative. The state's Emergency Management Agency and the University of Missouri Extension Service are organizing meetings around the state to recruit churches and train religious leaders in emergency response...

Christian Groups Enter China, Evading Ban on Foreign Missionaries

Posted on August 22, 2008
The Associated Press reported yesterday that a number of Christian groups came into China to proselytise during the Olympics, despite the Chinese ban on foreign missionaries. They entered on tourist visas, and told authorities they were involved in sports or cultural activities...

Cleric-Penitent Privilege Held Inapplicable Where Pastor Is Not A Spiritual Advisor

Posted on August 22, 2008
In State of New Jersey v. J.G., (NJ App. Div., Aug. 20, 2008), a New Jersey appellate court held that a conversation between a clergyman and a father accused of sexually abusing his children was not protected by the state's cleric-penitent privilege. The children's mother reported the abuse to Pastor Glenford Brown who then contacted the father...

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