Religion & Law

Pope Visits With Leaders of Other U.S. Religions

Posted on April 18, 2008
Yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI met with Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist religious leaders in Washington, DC. The Washington Times reports that the religious leaders as a group presented the Pope with gifts, and then split off for separate meetings with him...

Court Rejects Ministerial Exception Defense Raised By Catholic School

Posted on April 18, 2008
In Coulee Catholic Schools v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, (WI Ct. App., April 17, 2008), a Wisconsin state court of appeals held that the "ministerial exception" does not preclude a first-grade teacher at a Catholic elementary school from bringing an age discrimination case...

Pastors Council Files IRS Charges Against Americans United

Posted on April 18, 2008
The Houston (TX) Area Pastor Council has decided to turn the tables on a group that has complained to the IRS about churches becoming involved in partisan politics. A release issued Monday by the Liberty Legal Institute says a complaint has been filed with the IRS against Americans United...

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE: RELIGION CLAUSE IS ON A SHORT BREAK. LOOK FOR THE NEXT NEW POSTINGS ON TUESDAY MORNING.

Posted on April 18, 2008

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Pope Addresses United Nations-- Focuses On Human Rights

Posted on April 18, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI this morning addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York Beginning hs speech in French, he continued in English. (Full text.) A significant portion of his remarks focused on human rights issues as Benedict noted that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

Passover Begins Tomorrow Night; Court Upholds Passover Food Limits At Federal Prison

Posted on April 18, 2008
The Jewish festival of Passover begins tomorrow evening. On Wednesday, just in time for the holiday, a Connecticut federal district court dismissed a challenge by Agnes Kole, a Jewish inmate at Danbury federal prison, to the reduced number of kosher for Passover items available for inmates to purchase this year...

DC Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Navy Chaplain's RFRA Claim

Posted on April 18, 2008
In Klingenschmitt v. Winter, (DC Cir., April 14, 2008), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Navy chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt. After the Navy refused to accept a change of endorsing organizations for Klingenschmitt's chaplaincy, Klingenschmitt resigned...

President Speaks At National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

Posted on April 18, 2008
President Bush this morning attended the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel, along with a number of members of Congress, Chief Justice John Roberts, Solicitor General Paul Clement and others. His remarks (full text) focused on a number of issues of concern to U...

Court Awards Nominal Damages and Attorneys Fees In Religious Display Case

Posted on April 17, 2008
In Doe v. Parish of St. Tammany, (ED LA, April 16, 2008), a Louisiana federal district court awarded nominal damages and attorneys' fees to plaintiff in a case challenging the display of a picture of Jesus in the foyer of the Slidell, Louisiana City Court...

Religion Clause Blog-- 3 Years Old Today!

Posted on April 17, 2008
Today is the third birthday of Religion Clause. Since "blog years" are even longer than "dog years," Religion Clause has at least reached puberty, if not adulthood. "It takes a village" to sustain a blog. So I want to thank my loyal community of readers for your nourishment and encouragement...

Pope Expresses Concern to Bishops Over Proper Catholic Input On Public Policy

Posted on April 17, 2008
Yesterday afternoon, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to about 300 U.S. bishops gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. While much of the coverage, such as this CNS story, focused on the Pope's remarks on the priest sexual abuse scandals, the full transcript also reveals interesting comments on religion an public life in the United States...

Ohio School Teacher Refuses To Remove Bible From Student View

Posted on April 17, 2008
In Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Mt. Vernon Middle School teacher John Freshwater is battling school officials who last week told him to remove the Ten Commandments from the door to his classroom and remove the Bible on his desk from the view of students. Yesterday's Columbus Dispatch reports that Freshwater, who is known for teaching his students about intelligent design, complied with the directive to remove the Ten Commandments, but refused to move his Bible...

French Prime Minister Honors Anniversary of Jewish Consistories

Posted on April 17, 2008
The European Jewish Press today reports that this is the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's creation of Jewish consistories in France, set up by imperial decree to organize the life of the Jewish community in the empire. In a speech in Paris' main synagogue marking the bicentennial, French Prime Minister François Fillon emphasized the importance of "secularism" in protecting freedom of worship...

Hearing On Custody of FLDS Children Is Chaotic

Posted on April 17, 2008
A hearing-- generally described in an AP report as "chaotic"-- began today in San Angelo, Texas on the fate of the 415 children being held in temporary custody by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services after last week's raid on an FLDS ranch where they lived...

House Passes Religious Worker Visa Extension Act

Posted on April 17, 2008
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate H.R. 5570, the Religious Worker Visa Extension Act of 2008. The bill extends until January 1, 2010 the eligibility of certain religious workers for visas, but also requires the Department of Homeland Security by the end of this year to issue final regulations to eliminate or reduce fraud by applicants for religious worker visas...

Claims Against Permit Requirement For Feeding Homeless In Park Move Ahead

Posted on April 17, 2008
In First Vagabonds Church of God v. City of Orlando, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30842 (MD FL, March 31, 2008), plaintiffs claim that the City of Orlando (FL) violated their religious exercise, expression and assembly rights by enacting an ordinance requiring them to obtain a permit to conduct any "large group feeding" in the city's Greater Downtown Park District...

Pope Welcomed In Elaborate White House Ceremony

Posted on April 16, 2008
The New York Times reports on this morning's elaborate welcome on the South Lawn of the White House for Pope Benedict XVI. Some 13,500 guests watched as both President Bush and the Pope delivered remarks (full text). The President said in part:Here in America you'll find a nation that welcomes the role of faith in the public square...

10th Circuit Says RFRA Gives Defense, Not Immunity From Trial

Posted on April 16, 2008
In United States v. Quaintance, (10th Cir., April 15, 2008), defendants who were members of the Church of Cognizance, were indicted for possession of marijuana and related offenses. They raised a defense under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The trial court, after a hearing, refused to dismiss the indictment and refused to permit defendants to raise a RFRA defense at trial because they had not shown the existence of a sincerely held religious belief...

3rd Circuit Upholds Ban on Coach's Pre-Game Prayer

Posted on April 16, 2008
In Borden v. School District of the Township of East Brunswick, (3d Cir., April 15, 2008), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court and upheld the East Brunswick, New Jersey School District?s policy prohibiting faculty participation in student-initiated prayer...

Georgian Party Wants To Create Orthodoxy As Official Religion

Posted on April 16, 2008
In the western Asian nation of Georgia, the Christian Democratic Party is seeking to obtain 200,000 signatures on a petition to Parliament asking it to to amend the country's Constitution. The Messenger yesterday reported that the proposal is aimed at making Christian Orthodoxy the "official religion" of Georgia...

White House Proclamation Marks Rebbe's 106th Birthday

Posted on April 16, 2008
Yesterday in the Oval Office, joined by a number of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, President George W. Bush signed a proclamation declaring April 16, 2008 as Education and Sharing Day. As reported by Chabad.org News, the day is the 106th anniversary of the birth of Chabad's now deceased Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson...

Dutch Court Rejects Religious Objections of Marriage Registrars

Posted on April 16, 2008
In the Netherlands, the Equal Treatment Commission (CGB) ruled yesterday that the country's Equal Treatment Act is not violated when a municipality insists that applicants for the position of marriage registrar be willing to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies as well as heterosexual ceremonies...

Pope Greeted Upon Landing By President; Tomorrow's Schedule Announced

Posted on April 15, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI landed at Andrews Air Force Base today to begin his six-day visit to the United States. ABC News reports that in a rare honor, President and Mrs. Bush left the White House to greet the Pope at Andrews. This is the first official Papal visit to the U...

Mt. Soledad Cross Challenge Back In Court

Posted on April 15, 2008
After 19 years of litigation, the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego (CA) is still in court. Yesterday a California federal district court heard arguments in a case brought by the Jewish War Veterans. (See prior related posting.) Yesterday's San Diego Union-Tribune reports that now the litigation is against the U...

Kentucky Judge Rejects Divorced Dad's Objection To Catholic School For Son

Posted on April 15, 2008
In La Grange, Kentucky yesterday, an atheist father lost his bid to prevent his divorced wife from sending their son to a Catholic high school in Louisville that the boy prefers. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Oldham County family court judge Tim Feeley implemented his decision that attending St...

British Vicar Will File Employment Rights Lawsuit

Posted on April 15, 2008
In the English village of Trumpington, Rev. Dr. Tom Ambrose, the vicar of St. Mary and St. Michael Church, says he will file a civil suit in the High Court and in an employment tribunal to challenge his firing by the Church of England. An article from yesterday's Cambridge News reports that Ambrose apparently angered his parishioners by his proposals to build a new bathroom in the church and through his use of Power Point slides in his sermons...

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

Posted on April 15, 2008
In Gelford v. Frank, (7th Cir., March 12, 2008), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with prison authorities that they could deny Wiccan plaintiffs the right to acquire tarot cards, runes, Ogham sticks, pendulums, scrying mirrors, and I Ching coins or sticks...

ACLU Will Not Challenge Tax Incentives For Tennessee Bible Park

Posted on April 15, 2008
The ACLU of Tennessee has decided that, at least for now, it will not challenge the tax incentives provided by a Tennessee county for construction of Bible Park USA . Yesterday's Murfreesboro Daily News Journal reports that the decision was disclosed in a letter to individuals who complained to the ACLU that the tax incentives might violate the Establishment Clause...

Cert. Denied In RLUIPA Zoning Case

Posted on April 15, 2008
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme court denied certiorari in Greater Bible Way Temple v. City of Jackson, MI, (Case No. 07-1080) (Order List). In the case (see prior posting), the Michigan Supreme Court rejected a RLUIPA challenge to a refusal to rezone church property...

Massachusetts High Court Says Nudity to Support Christmas Can Be Prosecuted

Posted on April 14, 2008
In Commonwealth v. Ora, (MA Sup. Jud. Ct., April 10, 2008), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court permitted a prosecution for "open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior" to proceed, reversing a trial court's holding that the law that bans public nudity is facially unconstitutional...

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