White House Faith-Based Office Finally Has A Web Presence

Finally the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has a presence on the White House website. At the heart of the new web presence is director Joshua DuBois' Partnerships Blog. The site also offers other relevant resources and information, including links to Centers for Faith-Based and Neighborhood partnerships at ten federal departments and agencies. Relevant press releases from the White House Press Office are featured on the OFBNP home page.

Court Tentatively Holds High School Student Not Liable For Teacher's Attorneys' Fees

While high school student Chad Farnan was found liable for court costs in the aftermath of his lawsuit against his high school history teacher who he accused of making anti-Christian remarks (see prior posting), in a preliminary ruling last Friday a Californa federal court concluded that he is not liable for his teacher's $378,000 of attorneys' fees. According to yesterday's Orange County Register, the court held that Farnan's suit was not a frivolous, baseless or vexatious claim justifying an award of attorneys fees under 42 USC Sec. 1988. (Background.) In the suit, the court found that one remark by the teacher violated the Establishment Clause, but Farnan was entitled to neither damages nor injunctive relief. A hearing was scheduled for yesterday for the parties to respond to the proposed decision on fees before the court finalizes its opinion.

French Busineses Have Concerns Over Accommodating Muslim Religious Practices

Europe News yesterday reports on difficulties faced by companies in France as they are increasingly asked to accommodate religious needs of Muslim employees. Many managers oppose employees wearing head scarves. Larger companies have set up prayer rooms. When significant numbers of employees seek to take time off for Eid, some companies face staffing problems. The most accepted kinds of accommodation involve Ramadan. Often schedules are adjusted, long breaks are provided to break the fast and restaurants remain open later, offering halal soup, milk and fruit. France's anti-discrimination agency has ruled that religious accommodation can be refused only if it would interfere with providing business services.

Federal Magistrate Says Sectarian Invocations Violate Establishment Clause

In Joyner v. Forsyth County, North Carolina, (MD NC, Nov. 9, 2009), a federal magistrate judge recommended that the court issue a declaratory judgment finding that sectarian invocations opening Forsyth County Board of Commissioners meetings violate the Establishment Clause. While the county's official policy called for inviting clergy from all congregations with a presence in the local community, in application invocations referred to Jesus in an overwhelming number of cases. Non-Christian deities were never invoked. The court concluded that while the selection process strives to include a wide variety of speakers from diverse religious faiths, "it is the prayers themselves that the public 'sees and hears,' not the selection policy." ACLU of North Carolina issued a press release saying that it is "pleased today for our clients and all religious minorities in Forsyth County who have felt shut out and alienated by their own government because of its public stance in favor of Christianity." Yesterday's Winston-Salem Journal reported on the decision.

Board Fires Head of "Feed the Children"

The board of the Christian charity, Feed the Children, has terminated its president, Larry Jones, according to a report yesterday in the Christian Post. For the last year, a power struggle has been going on between Jones and the charity's board of directors. Last December Jones removed several directors, including his daughter Lari Sue Jones. They sued and a judge ordered them reinstated. Larry Jones placed microphones in their offices before they returned, though apparently he never obtained recording equipment to use with them. Jones' attorney says the microphones were to record conversations between Jones and the directors who Jones felt in the past had misrepresented him. The board's announcement gave no reasons for Jones' dismissal, but Jones says he believes it is because he obtained a court order this week temporarily barring the directors from using organizational funds to pay for legal fees. Jones plans to file a lawsuit next week challenging his dismissal.

2009 "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign" Launched By Liberty Counsel

Liberty Counsel announced today that it is launching its Seventh Annual "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign." The campaign is designed to encourage government officials, schools and private businesses to explicitly recognize and publicly celebrate Christmas. A page on the group's website features two legal memos, one on public Christmas celebrations and the other on celebrating Christmas in the workplace. It also offers buttons and bumper stickers, sample ads, and links to Liberty Counsel's "Naughty & Nice List". That list names retailers who either celebrate Christmas or, on the other hand, merely use generic "holiday season" references. This year, the Christian Educators Association International is joining in the "Friend or Foe" campaign.

Muslim Soldiers In US Military Face Complex Situation

In the wake of the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas by Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, today's New York Times explores the complications facing Muslims serving in the U.S. military. The military has been actively recruiting Muslims with the linguistic skills and cultural understanding needed to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However Muslims in the service face suspicion by some of their officers. Muslim soldiers are concerned about killing fellow Muslims in fighting and they hear condemnations of such killing in their mosques when they return from service. Adding to these issues is the discomfort when fellow soldiers use demeaning anti-Muslim terms to describe the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan.

House Health Care Bill Tracks FICA Exemption For Religious Objectors

The House version of the health care bill passed Saturday, HR 3962, imposes a 2.5% penalty tax on anyone who fails to obtain acceptable health care coverage. (Internal Revenue Code Sec. 59B(a) [pg. 297 of PDF]). However the bill does provide a "conscience exemption" for members of religious sects whose tenets reject insurance benefits. The exemption in Section 501of the bill [IRC Sec. 59B(c)(5) at pg. 299 of PDF] tracks the exemption from payment of social security and self-employment taxes for members of groups such as the Old Order Amish, described in Section 1402(g) of the Internal Revenue Code. (See prior related posting.)

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• See Hoon Peow, History of Islamic Law in Malaysia - A Critical Reconsideration ,(November 1, 2009).
• Andrew F. March, The Uses of Fitra (Human Nature) in the Legal and Political Theory of ‘Allal Al-Fasi: Natural Law or 'Taking People as They Are'?, (November 4, 2009).
• Robert A. Kahn, Flemming Rose, the Danish Cartoon Controversy, and the New European Freedom of Speech, (U of St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper No. 09-24 (Oct. 2009)).
• Marci A. Hamilton, The Constitutional Limitations on Congress's Power Over Local Land Use: Why the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is Unconstitutional, (July 31, 2009).
• Geoffrey P. Miller, Origin of Obligation: Genesis 2:4b-3:24, (NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 09-60 (Oct. 2009)).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Gregory C. Downs, Religious Liberty That Almost Wasn't: On the Origin of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, 30 University of Arkansas Little Rock Law Review 19-29 (2007).
• Shannon McSheffrey, Sanctuary and the Legal Topography of Pre-Reformation London, 27 Law & History Review 483-514 (2009).
• Najwa Shihab & Yanuar Nugroho, The Ties That Bind: Law, Islamisation and Indonesia's Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), [abstract], 10 Australian Journal of Asian Law 233-267 (2008).
• Karin Carmit Yefet, What's the Constitution Got To Do With It? Regulating Marriage in Pakistan, 16 Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy 347-377 (2009).
• Steven H. Sholk, A Guide To Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations-- 2009 Edition, in PLI Course Handbook for Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings (2009).

Some Israeli Marriage Registrars Refuse To Accept Conversions By Chief Rabbinate

YNet News today reports that particularly in the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Rishon LeTzion, marriage registrars employed by Israel's Chief Rabbinate are refusing to recognize the legitimacy of conversions to Judaism performed by the Chief Rabbinate for many immigrants during their military service in the IDF. Apparently at a meeting of chief rabbis of various Israeli cities three months ago, ultra-Orthodox members urged cities to refuse to accept the validity of Orthodox conversions where, subsequently, the individual involved does not observe all aspects of Jewish religious law. Marriage registrars who disagree with the more liberal conversion policy applied by the Chief Rabbinate following the report of the Ne'eman Committee in 1998 are advising couples to register in another city. (See prior related posting.)

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Rider v. Yates, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101009 (ED CA, Oct. 27, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge recommended that an inmate be permitted to move ahead with a free exercise, due process, equal protection and RLUIPA challenge to the destruction of his copy of The Book of Shadows, a sacred Satanist text. However the court found insufficient allegations regarding a discriminatory policy against pagans.

In Collins v. Levenhagen, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101390 (ND IN, Oct. 29, 2009), an Indiana federal district judge rejected an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA were infringed when Native American religious services were scheduled on Wednesdays at the same time he voluntarily worked in a prison job.

Bowen v. Florida Parole Commission, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102880 (MD FL, Oct. 20, 2009), was a habeas corpus action brought by an inmate who was re-imprisoned for violating the conditions of his early release. A Florida federal district judge held that the habeas action was not the proper mode for considering plaintiff's claim that his free exercise rights had been violated by the requirement that he use no alcohol or intoxicants. Plaintiff, a Catholic, argued that this prevented him from taking wine during communion. Plaintiff's rearrest was not based on a violation of this condition, but instead on violations of other conditions of his release.

In Pappas v. Oakland County, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102946 (ED MI, Nov. 5, 2009), a Michigan federal district court accepted the recommendation of a federal magistrate judge (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102951, Oct. 15, 2009), to dismiss a claim against the county by an inmate who alleged that while in a special jail unit for at-risk inmates, he was denied the opportunity to attend church services.

Abuse Victims Agree To Delay In Trials Against Delaware Catholic Parishes

On Friday, according to AP, attorneys in 78 clergy abuse lawsuits that have been filed in Delaware agreed to delay going to trial. The suits name the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and various parishes. The Diocese recently filed for bankruptcy (see prior posting) and a stay was placed on litigation against it. However the bankruptcy filing did not cover parishes that were named as co-defendants. Friday's agreement extends the delay in litigation to them as well, though not to five cases in which the diocese is not a co-defendant. In exchange, the diocese agreed to furnish plaintiffs with the personnel files of a dozen suspected priests, and to disclose information on liability insurance coverage. The agreement will allow the diocese to focus on the bankruptcy proceedings. Plaintiffs will be allowed to take depositions from seven of the accused priests in January, and the trial in a suit by one gravely ill victim is proceeding.

House Passes Health Care Bill With Anti-Abortion Funding Amendment

In an historic vote tonight, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act by a vote of 220-215. (New York Times.) Paving the way for the favorable vote was the passage of the Stupak-Ellsworth-Pitts-Kaptur-Dahlkemper-Lipinski-Smith Amendment (full text) by a vote of 240-194. (Christian Science Monitor background.) That amendment assures that federal funds will not be used to pay for abortions (except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother). Abortion coverage will be available through non-subsidized private health plans. Supplemental policies may be purchased with an individual's own funds or with state or local funds other than state or local matching Medicaid funds. Any private company offering an unsubsidized plan through the insurance Exchange that covers abortion must also offer an identical plan that excludes abortion coverage. In letters to members of Congress today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops strongly supported the amendment. [Updated.]

New Book Suggests British Catholic Royals Would Have Place to Pray

According to Friday's London Telegraph, a forthcoming book has created a stir in Britain by arguing that Queen's Chapel, built between 1623 and 1625 as part of St. James Palace, is still legally available for use as a Catholic church by any member of the Royal Family that should desire to do so, despite the 1701 Act of Settlement that bars a British monarch from being a member of the Catholic Church or marrying a Catholic. Author David Baldwin argues in his book, Royal Prayer, that the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1661 is still in force. Negotiated in anticipation of the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza , the treaty provides: "Her Majesty and whole Family shall enjoy the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, and to that purpose shall have a Chapel, or some other place, set apart for the exercise thereof."

Christian Group Lacks Standing To Vacate Florida School's Consent Decree

A Florida federal district judge has largely rejected an attempt by the Christian Educators Association International to challenge the high profile and contentious consent decree entered into in March by the Santa Rosa County Florida school board to settle litigation brought by the ACLU challenging religious practices in the county's schools. (See prior posting.) In Minor Doe I v. School Board for Santa Rosa County, Florida, (ND FL, Oct 30, 2009), the court held that Christian Educators lacks standing to seek to totally vacate the consent decree because neither the organization nor its members suffered a legal injury that would be remedied by permitting the schools to again violate the Establishment Clause. The court postponed for a hearing next month the question of whether the organization could show it has standing to seek a modification of the consent decree on the ground that it impacts the free speech or free exercise rights of teachers or employees. Today's Pensacola News-Journal reports on the court's decision.

Pennsylvania County Plans To Tax Closed Church Builidings

Today's Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times-Leader reports that Luzerne (PA) County officials are likely to follow the lead of several other Pennsylvania counties and remove the property tax exemption from closed churches and religious schools. Pennsylvania's tax code allows exemptions only for "actual places of regularly stated religious worship." (72 P.S. § 5453.202 [LEXIS link]). The new policy will primarily impact the Catholic Diocese of Scranton which is closing 45 churches plus some schools in the county. The move will likely lead to disagreements over the value of the closed buildings. After Northampton and Carbon counties took similar steps, the Diocese of Allentown filed suit claiming that the buildings remain exempt under a provision exempting owned by institutions of public charity.

Teacher Sues Arguing Fingerprint Requirement Violates Her Free Exercise Rights

A kindergarten teacher in Dallardsville, Texas, has filed suit challenging a provision added to the Texas Education Code in 2007 (S.B. 9) requiring school teachers to submit their fingerprint so that a criminal background check can be run on them. The complaint (full text) in McLaurin v. Texas Education Agency, (ED TX, filed 10/30/2009), alleges that teacher Pam McLaurin, who has been teaching for over 20 years, is a devout Christian and believes that submitting a fingerprint is barred by verses in the Book of Revelations that caution against receiving the mark of the beast. Plaintiff claims that the requirement is unconstitutional under the free exercise and due process clauses, and violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Courthouse News reports on the case. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Required Immunization of School Children Does Not Infringe Free Exercise

In Workman v. Mingo County Schools, (SD WV, Nov. 3, 2009), a West Virginia federal district court upheld West Virginia's compulsory vaccination program for school children. In the case, a mother of two school-age children asserted free exercise, equal protection and due process challenges. The court concluded that the free exercise clause does not require states to provide a religious exemption form the immunization requirements.

After Ft. Hood Massacre, Shooter's Religious Background Explored

Today's Washington Post reports that Army psychiatrist Major Nidal M. Hasan, who opened fire yesterday at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and wounding 30 was a devout Muslim. (Details of shootings.) The Washington Post also reports on the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, where Hasan prayed regularly when he was stationed in Washington, DC. The mosque's chairman, Arshad Qureshi, fielded many phone calls, emphasizing that the Center stands for peace. It has been active in offering community services, such as an extensive medical clinic for the uninsured operated by volunteers. The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement yesterday condemning the Ft. Hood shootings.

First Conviction From Raid on FLDS Texas Ranch Is Handed Down

Yesterday, a jury in a state court in Texas convicted FLDS Church leader Raymond Jessop of sexually assaulting a 16-year old who he had taken as one of his nine wives. The New York Times and Salt Lake Tribune report on the conviction, the first resulting from the raid by Texas authorities of the sect's Yearning for Zion Ranch. During the trial, the defense argued that the raid on the FLDS compound which produced documents crucial to Jessop's conviction were illegally seized. The raid was triggered by a phone call that later was found to be a hoax. Jessop will be sentenced after a hearing before the jury on Monday. He faces up to 20 years in prison. (See prior related posting.)

9th Circuit Will Rehear Catholic League's Suit Againt San Francisco En Banc

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday granted an en banc rehearing in Catholic League for Religious and Civil and Rights v. City and County of San Francisco (full text of order). In June, a 3-judge panel handed down an opinion in the case rejecting an Establishment Clause challenge to a strongly worded resolution passed by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. The resolution criticized a directive from Catholic Cardinal William Levada instructing Catholic social service agencies to not place children in need of adoption with same-sex couples. (See prior posting.) The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the 9th Circuit's action.

Jersey City Parking Lot Ends Discounts For Jehovah's Witnesses

In Jersey City, New Jersey, the privately owned Square Parking parking garage has ended its practice of giving discounts to Jehovah's Witnesses, who worship in a nearby theater. A press release issued Tuesday by FFRF and a report yesterday in the Jersey Journal indicate that the discount was stopped after the city followed up on a letter sent to the parking lot by FFRF. FFRF contended that the discount violates federal, state and local non-discrimination laws. Apparently other parking lots in the area are still offering discounts to Jehovah's Witnesses.

Senate Committee Holds Hearing On ENDA; Religious Exemption Discussed

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on S. 1584, the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Sec. 6 of the Act would exempt the same religious institutions that are exempt from the religious discrimination provisions of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. After opening remarks by committee chairman Tom Harkin, seven witnesses testified. The Committee has posted the full text of their statements.

Craig L. Parshall, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel of the National Religious Broadcasters argued that the bill threatens the constitutional rights of religious employers. (Full text of testimony.) He claimed that the exemption in Sec. 6 is inadequate. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (full text of testimony) reported that under the Illinois Human Rights Act that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, only a handful of sexual orientation claims have been filed against religious institutions. Bay Windows reports on the hearing.

Chechnya Will Pay For Hajj Trips For 400 Residents

In Russia's Chechnya region, Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov has ordered the government to pay for 400 residents to go to Mecca on this year's Hajj. Reuters reported yesterday that trips will be financed for those who cannot afford to go, for the single and the young, out of a fund Kadyrov has created to honor father who was assassinated in a bomb blast in 2004. Kadyrov has previously awarded prizes for newborns named after the Prophet Muhammad, has banned alcohol and required women to wear headscarves in government offices in this predominately Muslim region of Russia. He is now planning to build "the world's most beautiful mosque." Recently suicide bombs and armed attacks on Chechen police have shattered a few years of calm.

Sanctions Imposed On Attorney In Client's Suit Against Jews For Jesus

Rapp v. Jews for Jesus, Inc. is a long running case in the state courts of Florida filed by Edith Rapp who claimed that Jews for Jesus published a false report from her missionary stepson that she had joined the organization. (See prior posting.) The courts determined that Rapp may have a cause of action for defamation by implication, and in a short decision issued last February, the state court of appeals remanded the case to the trial court, ordering Edith Rapp to "succinctly replead her claims, without excessive editorialization." Now, in an Order issued on Oct. 29 (full text), the trial court ordered Edith Rapp's attorney to pay for attorney's fees and costs incurred by defendant in arguing that the latest pleadings still contain excessive editorialization. The court concluded that the pleadings which continued to include redundant, immaterial and scandalous content that the court had previously ordered stricken involved bad faith litigation conduct on the part of plaintiff's attorney, Barry M. Silver, and not misconduct by plaintiff herself. Liberty Counsel, which is defending Jews for Jesus, yesterday issued a release on the decision.

CAIR Gets TRO Forcing Return of Purloined Documents

In Council on American-Islamic Relations v. Gaubatz, (D DC, Nov. 3, 2009), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a temporary restraining order to CAIR to prevent the use by defendants of various documents and e-mails that were surreptitously taken from CAIR's offices. Defendant Paul Gabautz publishes a blog devoted to "exposing Islamic terrorist operations in America." A number of postings on the blog accuse CAIR, a Muslim advocacy group, of being a front for the Muslim Brotherhood and of supporting Al Qaeda. Paul Gabautz implemented a plan to get his son, Chris, hired as an intern at CAIR under an assumed name. Chris copied or removed various documents and recorded various meetings and conversations at CAIR. Many of the materials were either posted on Paul's blog, or included in a book co-authored by Paul that was published last month titled Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America. Among the blog postings were lists of CAIR employees and donors (with personal contact information). The TRO, along with its broader bans, specifically ordered removal of these and return of the lists to CAIR. Here is an account of the decision and background on it from World Net Daily that published Gaubautz's book and is defending the Gaubautz's in the lawsuit.

Missouri Taxes Yoga; Some Claim Religious Exemption Should Apply

Missouri's sales tax statute (MRS 144.020) imposes a 4% tax on admission or fees paid to "any place of amusement, entertainment or recreation, games and athletic events." According to reports today from AP and Columbia's Missourian, state Department of Revenue officials have notified yoga and Pilates centers that beginning Nov. 1 they have to collect the tax. Yoga instructors, however, say that they should be exempt. Some argue that it would be unconstitutional to tax yoga because it is a spiritual practice with roots in ancient Indian meditation. MRS 144.030(2)(19) exempts sales by religious institutions from sales tax. A Missouri Revenue Department spokesman said it will consider religious exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

Challenge To "In God We Trust" On Currency Is Rejected

In a brief opinion in Kidd v. Obama, (D DC, Oct. 30, 2009), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to use of "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency, brought by a plaintiff who described himself as an atheist. The suit against the President and the Federal Reserve Board Chairman sought to have all currently circulating currency replaced with bills carrying no religious inscriptions. The court quoted a 9th Circuit opinion stating that use of the motto on currency: "is of a patriotic or ceremonial character and bears no true resemblance to a governmental sponsorship of a religious exercise."

Arkansas Superintendent Pondering Complaint Over Gideons In Classrooms

Today's Arkansas Times reports that the Superintendent of the Benton, Arkansas schools is "trying to figure out what to do" about a parent's complaint over religious activity at Ringgold Elementary School. For at least six years, school principal Ann Kerr has gone into 5th grade classrooms with members of Gideons International. The Gideons speak about their evangelical work and leave copies of the New Testament (plus Psalms and Proverbs) behind that students can pick up. The principal apparently believed that the practice was legal so long as Bibles were not actually handed to students.

All-Christian Private Prison Planned For Oklahoma

The Tulsa (OK) World reported Monday on plans by a non-profit prisons ministry, Corrections Concepts Inc., to build a private all-Christian prison in Wakita, Oklahoma. The 600-bed facility will be for men near the end of their sentences who volunteer to be housed there and agree to participate in its program. Unlike faith-based or Christian units in state prisons, this one plans to employ only Christians as administrators and staff. Oklahoma or other states will pay $42.80 per day for inmates to be housed in the facility. Inmates will be required to participate in Christ-centered literacy and life-skills classes, though attendance at religious services and Bible study will be voluntary. Bill Robinson, founder of the Dallas-based Corrections Concepts, says he has legal opinions indicating that as a religious organization the ministry can limit hiring to Christians. Robinson says the born-again staff will see this as a mission. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

British Court Says Catholic Diocese Is Responsible for Abuse At Community Home

Today's London Times reports that a High Court judge in Leeds has ruled that the Middlesbrough Catholic Diocese, rather than the De La Salle Order of lay brothers, is responsible for damages to 142 people who allege physical and sexual abuse at the St. Williams Community Home in Market Weighton. The home's former headmaster, Brother James Carragher, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for abusing boys at St. Williams that housed boys between 10 and 16 years old who had behavioral and emotional problems. The systematic abuse of children at the home in the English county of East Yorkshire took place from 1960 until 1992. The court said that the Diocese had management responsibility for the home. However the court granted the Diocese leave to appeal. The Diocese claims that the De La Salle Order is responsible for what could be damages of up to £8 million.

Road Protection Law Would Infringe Mennonites' Religious Beliefs

Howard County, Iowa is considering a road protection ordinance that would ban steel-wheel vehicles on hard surfaced roads. According to Rochester, Minnesota's AgriNews, at a hearing on Monday an Elizabethtown College sociologist testified that the ban would create problems for members of the Old Order Groffdale Mennonite Conference. When the Groffdale Conference accepted the use of tractors for farm work, it required they have steel wheels or steel cleats. The Conference was concerned that use of rubber tires would lead to use of the tractors for transportation, and eventually to the use of automobiles, which would break up the Mennonites' close-knit communities. The requirement to use steel cleats or wheels is part of the Conference's Ordnung, and anyone who violates the rule could face excommunication.

AU Asks IRS To Investigate Mayoral Endorsement By Pennsylvania Pastor

Americans United yesterday (press release) asked the Internal Revenue Service (full text of letter) to investigate whether Bethel Village AME Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania violated IRS regulations applicable to non-profits by supporting one of the city's mayoral candidates. AU cites an introduction by the church's pastor of Linda Thompson, the current city council president who was the Democratic candidate for mayor. Thompson then spoke from the pulpit for ten minutes. In the introduction, Pastor Martin Odom praised Thompson as "a person who knows the ins and outs of city government," and referred to her as "the next mayor of the city of Harrisburg." Thompson won the mayoral election on Tuesday. (Harrisburg Patriot-News.)

New Zealand OKs Cola Ad Portraying Humorous Confessional Exchange

The New Zealand Advertising Standards Complaint Board has rejected a complaint that a television ad by Demon Drinks, Ltd. violates provisions in its Advertising Code of Ethics barring any ad "which in the light of generally prevailing community standards is likely to cause serious or widespread offence"or which is prepared without "a due sense of social responsibility." Yesterday's New Zealand Catholic reports that the ad, for Illicit Cola, portrays a young man in a confessional telling a supposed priest: "Father, I've sinned. I'm seeing this girl, but I also want her sister." The priest responds:"Don't be shy, my son; date them both." Then the young man refers to Illicit Cola and says: "It's good to be bad." The Board ruled that the ad contains obvious hyperbole and humor and thus does not cause serious or widespread offense.

Obama, Other Officials Meeting With Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch

Yesterday, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, leader of worldwide Orthodox Christians, met at the White House with President Obama. (White House press release.) Fox News reports that the Patriarch, who is a leader in the environmental movement, will also meet this week with Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton and Congressional leaders. The government of Turkey has refused to recognize Bartholomew as the leader of the Eastern Orthodox church. The White House statement indicated that the President supports the reopening of the Halki Seminary in Istanbul. The seminary was closed down over thirty years ago after Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that parts of the country's Private University Law were unconstitutional. President Obama urged reopening of the seminary as part of his speech before Turkey's Parliament last April. (Background).

Jehovah's Witnesses Denied Recognition By Nagorno-Karabakh Court

Forum 18 reported yesterday that in Nagorno-Karabakh, the General Court of First Instance in Stepanakert has upheld the denial of registration under the country's Religion Law to Jehovah's Witnesses. The country's Department for Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs refused the registration application because Jehovah's Witness charter allows proselytism. Under the Religion Law only the Armenian Apostolic Church may proselytize outside its own religious community. Unrecognized religious communities are banned from meeting together for religious activities, though so far authorities are not interfering with religious meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses. Nagorno-Karabakh is an internationally-unrecognized self-governing area of Azerbaijan.

Utah High Court Hears Arguments In FLDS Leader's Appeal

Yesterday the Utah Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of State v. Jeffs, an appeal by Warren Jeffs, former head of the FLDS Church. Jeffs was convicted of rape as an accomplice (see prior posting) for his role in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old to her 19-year-old cousin. (Audio of oral arguments.) Today's Dallas Morning News summarizes the arguments. Members of the FLDS Church practice polygamy in arranged marriages. Defense attorney Walter Bugden argued that the state charged Jeffs with a crime that does not fit the facts. He asserted:"This is an unpopular religion, and the state decided to find a way to bring down this unpopular religious figure."

European Court Says Crucifixes In Italian Classrooms Violate Human Rights Convention

In Lautsi v. Italy, (ECHR, Nov. 3 2009) [judgment in French], the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that crucifixes in public school classrooms in Italy violate the European Convention on Human Rights' protections of thought, conscience and religion (Art. 9) and the right of parents to educate their children according to their convictions (Protocol 1, Art. 2). The Court's press release on the decision recounts that the challenge was brought by a mother who wished to raise her children as secularists. It summarizes the court's conclusions:

The presence of the crucifix ... could easily be interpreted by pupils of all ages as a religious sign and they would feel that they were being educated in a school environment bearing the stamp of a given religion. This could be encouraging for religious pupils, but also disturbing for pupils who practised other religions or were atheists, particularly if they belonged to religious minorities. The freedom not to believe in any religion (inherent in the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Convention) ... extended to practices and symbols which expressed a belief, a religion or atheism.... The State ... was required to observe confessional neutrality in the context of public education, where attending classes was compulsory irrespective of religion, and where the aim should be to foster critical thinking in pupils.

The court awarded damages of 5000 Euros to plaintiff. According to Zenit yesterday, the Italian Bishops Conference issued a statement saying that the decision:

ignores or neglects the multiple meaning of the crucifix, which not only is a religious symbol, but also a cultural sign. It does not take into account the fact that, in reality, in the Italian experience, the display of the crucifix in public places is in harmony with the recognition of the principles of Catholicism as part of the historical patrimony of the Italian people, confirmed by the Concordat of 1984.

AKI reports on the court's decision, giving additional background. [Thanks to Dott. Pasquale Annicchino for the lead.]

UPDATE: According to CNA (Nov. 4) , Italy's Minister of Education, Mariastella Gelmini, rejected the ECHR decision, saying: "Nobody, much less a European court that is steeped in ideology, will be allowed to strip our identity away."

UPDATE 2: The Nov. 7 Christian Post reports that Italy plans to appeal the ruling of the 7-judge panel to the ECHR's 17-judge Grand Chamber.

British Tribunal Says Environmentalism Is Protected Under "Religion or Belief" Regulations

Britain's Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of religion or belief. In Graingner PLC v. Nicholson, (EAT, Nov. 3, 2009) [full text, Word.doc], Britain's Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that:

A belief in man-made climate change, and the alleged resulting moral imperatives, is capable, if genuinely held, of being a philosophical belief for the purpose of the 2003 Religion and Belief Regulations. The belief must be of a similar cogency or status to a religious belief, the ECHR jurisprudence is directly material and the limitations on the concept and extent of a philosophical belief can be derived from that, without the need to place any additional limitation on the nature or source of the belief.

The company claims that Tim Nicholson, a former executive of the real estate company Grainger, was dismissed for operational reasons and not because of his environmental beliefs. The case now goes back to the Employment Tribunal for a hearing on this issue. The Independent today reports on the case.

Two Employment Discrimination Suits Filed Recently Charge Religious Harassment

Two unrelated lawsuits, both alleging religious discrimination in employment, have been filed recently. In one, yesterday the EEOC sued Administaff, Inc. and Conn-X, LLC (a Baltimore cable provider) alleging religious harassment of two brothers who are Jewish. The complaint alleges unusually harsh anti-Semitic harassment by managers and co-workers, including anti-Jewish slurs, defacing one of the brother's work vehicles with a swastika and and forcing him into a trash bin to the amusement of managers who watched on a surveillance camera calling the action "throw the Jew into the dumpster." Trading Markets reprints the EEOC's press release on the case. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

In Atlanta last week, James Bara, a former employee of Google's data center who is a practicing Wiccan, filed suit charging both religious and gender discrimination. According to the complaint (full text) in Bara v. Google, Inc. (ND GA, filed 10/29./2009), after Bara objected to remarks made by his supervisor about a newly hired transgender employee, the supervisor retaliated against Bara in setting his working conditions, and also subjected him to "a steady discourse of comments and 'jokes' regarding witches, witchcraft and witch trials." Tech Crunch yesterday reported on the case.

Maine Voters Reject Same-Sex Marriage

In a referendum yesterday, Maine voters rejected the state's recently-enacted law to permit same-sex marriage. The New York Times reported early Wednesday morning that with 87% of the precincts reporting, 53% of the voters had voted in favor of repeal. The Catholic Church was one of the primary supporters of the repeal referendum. It asked parishes to pass a second collection plate at Sunday Mass to support the repeal effort. The website of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland features a strong rebuke to a group of Catholics who had taken out an ad favoring marriage equality. It also features a Homily (full text) delivered in October, which supports legal recognition of domestic partnerships, but opposes same-sex marriage:

It is not discrimination to call things by their own names. We have different names for different things. A cat is not a dog; an oak tree is not a rose..... It is not discrimination to call one person a husband and another person a wife. It is not discrimination to say that one person is heterosexual and another person is homosexual. It is not discrimination to call the union of a man and a woman marriage and to call the committed relationship of homosexual persons something else -- you pick the word. It is difficult to believe that Maine people, much less Christian people, see no difference between marriage and homosexual unions, even when homosexual unions are perceived as desirable. There remains a difference and the difference should have its own name.

Marriage is an absolutely unique and irreplaceable relationship. Other relationships can be loving; other relationships can be committed; other relationships can even be permanent, but still not be marriage, but something else. Marriage is the miracle of the coming together to a man and a woman whose love and commitment is open to overflow to create the new life of a new person.