|
|
|
|
|
Religious News & Views 2009-10 |
|
|
|
|
|
Religious News & Views 2009-10 |
Religious Persecution in America
|
Religious News & Views 2009-10 Religious News & Views from 2007 Religious News & Views from 2006 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Religious News & Views 2009-10 Click headline for full story August 2010 NEW YORK Judge OKs Prayers by N.Y. Town Council
08-09-10 -- A federal judge has ruled that a town board in upstate New York isn't doing anything unconstitutional by opening its meetings with a brief prayer. . . . The judge signed an order Thursday tossing out a lawsuit filed by two residents of the town of Greece who had complained that prayers held at the start of town council meetings favored Christians and violated the separation of church and state.
Advocates of Anti-Shariah Measures Alarmed by Judge's Ruling
08-05-10 -- A New Jersey family court judge's decision not to grant a restraining order to a woman who was sexually abused by her Moroccan husband and forced repeatedly to have sex with him is sounding the alarm for advocates of laws designed to ban Shariah in America. . . . Judge Joseph Charles, in denying the restraining order to the woman after her divorce, ruled that her ex-husband felt he had behaved according to his Muslim beliefs -- and that he did not have "criminal desire to or intent to sexually assault" his wife. . . . According to the court record, the man's wife -- a Moroccan woman who had recently immigrated to the U.S. at the time of the attacks -- alleged: . . . "Defendant forced plaintiff to have sex with him while she cried. Plaintiff testified that defendant always told her "this is according to our religion. You are my wife, I c[an] do anything to you. The woman, she should submit and do anything I ask her to do."
July 2010
Court Upholds Expulsion of Counseling Student Who Opposes Homosexuality
07-28-10 -- A federal judge has ruled in favor of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counseling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday's ruling, according to Julea Ward's attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views. . . . “It’s a very dangerous precedent,” Jeremy Tedesco, legal counsel for the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, told FOX News Radio. “The ruling doesn’t say that explicitly, but that’s what is going to happen.” . . . U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Ward’s lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. She was removed from the school’s counseling program last year because she refused to counsel homosexual clients. . . . The university contended she violated school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics.
Lawsuit Claims College Ordered Student to Alter Religious Views on Homosexuality, Or Be Dismissed
07-27-10 -- A graduate student in Georgia is suing her university after she was told she must undergo a remediation program due to her beliefs on homosexuality and transgendered persons. . . . The student, Jennifer Keeton, 24, has been pursuing a master's degree in school counseling at Augusta State University since 2009, but school officials have informed her that she'll be dismissed from the program unless she alters her "central religious beliefs on human nature and conduct," according to a civil complaint filed last week. . . . "[Augusta State University] faculty have promised to expel Miss Keeton from the graduate Counselor Education Program not because of poor academic showing or demonstrated deficiencies in clinical performance, but simply because she has communicated both inside and outside the classroom that she holds to Christian ethical convictions on matters of human sexuality and gender identity," the 43-page lawsuit reads.
07-08-10 -- Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and the Foundation for Moral Law, a religious liberties legal organization in Montgomery, Alabama, filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit today defending the federal statute creating the National Day of Prayer, 36 U.S.C. § 119. The Foundation argued that the Wisconsin federal district court that struck down the statute, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation that brought this lawsuit, are wrong in considering the National Day of Prayer to be a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which requires that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Such days of national prayer are not an establishment of religion, they have been officially declared since the time of our first congresses and presidents, and they represent an American philosophy of government that depends on the blessings of Almighty God.
Read the Foundation's brief in
Appeals court rules against Plano principals in candy cane case
07-02-10 -- Two Plano school principals violated students' constitutional rights if they confiscated Christian-themed materials, including candy cane pens, that students planned to hand out at school, an appeals court has said. . . . The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Wednesday that the principals could be held liable for taking away the items. The principals had argued that the First Amendment doesn't extend to students distributing noncurricular items at school. . . . "They are wrong," the judges wrote. . . . The principals "had fair warning that the suppression of student-to-student distribution of literature on the basis of religious viewpoint is unlawful under the First Amendment," three judges concluded in a sometimes strongly worded decision. . . . Josh Skinner, the principals' attorney, said he was disappointed by the ruling and might appeal it.
June 2010 Shocking Setback for Religious Freedom in Supreme Court
06-30-10 -- On June 28, the Supreme Court handed down a deeply-disturbing decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez that sets back religious freedom in this country. This case was nothing more than the Court expressing outright hostility to a group because of its orthodox Christian beliefs. . . . Christian Legal Society (CLS) is an association of Christian lawyers and law students. In 2004 it was denied recognition as a student group at Hastings College of the Law (part of the University of California), making CLS the only group ever denied recognition by the school. . . . It was denied recognition because of Hastings’ nondiscrimination policy. That policy forbids discrimination on the basis of a number of factors such as race and gender, and includes sexual orientation. . . . CLS policy requires all its voting members to sign its statement of faith, covering core areas of orthodox Christian belief such as accepting the divine nature of Jesus Christ and that the Bible is the Word of God. Based on biblical teachings on sexuality, CLS also believes that sexual conduct is reserved for marital relationships, with marriage being the union of one man and one woman. . . . CLS believes that sex outside of marriage is sinful, and persistent, ongoing, unapologetic extramarital sex makes someone ineligible to be a voting member or a leader in CLS. Although CLS welcomes all people to attend its Bible studies and hear its messages, those living in such a way—including sexually-active gays—are ineligible to lead those Bible studies or have voting power to set policy or elect CLS officers. . . . For that reason, Hastings informed CLS that they could not be a student organization, with access to all the resources and forums that student organizations receive. Hastings has over 60 active organizations, and CLS is the only one to ever be denied recognition. Eventually, CLS sued. . . . This case made it to the Supreme Court, where in a shocking decision the Court held 5-4 that there’s nothing wrong with Hastings’ decision.
Supreme Court Upholds Law School's Anti-Discrimination Policy
06-29-10 -- The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a state law school's anti-discrimination policy that requires recognized student groups to admit "all comers" as members, over the objection of a religious group that did not want to allow nonadherents to join. The Christian Legal Society chapter at the University of California Hastings College of the Law argued that the policy violated its First Amendment rights to free expression, free exercise of religion and freedom of association by requiring it to allow members who do not share their religious beliefs. . . . But the high court ruled, 5-4, that the policy is a "reasonable and viewpoint-neutral" condition placed on becoming a recognized group, which entitles organizations to certain funding and access to campus facilities. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted that the religious group is free to exclude nonadherents if it forgoes recognized status. "Hastings ... is dangling the carrot of subsidy, not wielding the stick of prohibition," Ginsburg wrote. She dismissed concerns voiced by the society that the policy would encourage "hostile takeovers" of groups like theirs by nonadherents whose aim is sabotage. "This supposition strikes us as more hypothetical than real," she wrote. "Students tend to self-sort." Supreme Court Upholds Law School Policy Requiring Student Groups to Admit ‘All Comers’
By Debra
Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal 06-28-10 -- The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a law school’s policy requiring all comers to be admitted to officially recognized student groups. . . . Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion (PDF), SCOTUSblog reports. She was joined by four other justices. . . . The Christian Legal Society had contended its First Amendment rights of free association were violated when the University of California's Hastings College of the Law refused to recognize the group. The case had pitted the law school’s right to enforce its nondiscrimination policy against the right of a Christian legal group to exclude gays and nonbelievers.
Church-state separation: Judge helpful, but still wrong
06-04-10 -- When the Bill of Rights was ratified Dec. 15, 1791, Connecticut and a number of other states had official religions. The framers of the Constitution knew this when they wrote: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..." The key word is "Congress." There would be no national religion as there was in Great Britain. But the Constitution did not ban state religions. . . . Over the years, one state after another dropped its official religion; Connecticut did so in 1818. Its constitution protects religious freedom for individuals but does not specifically limit transactions involving religious and government organizations. . . . As in most things, an accumulation of case law has broadened federal authority to the point where a choice the framers left to the states literally became a federal case pitting anonymous plaintiffs against Enfield public schools. U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall ruled Monday that the Enfield Board of Education violated the First Amendment by scheduling commencement exercises for Enfield and Fermi high schools at First Cathedral, a large Christian church in Bloomfield.
The case of the rosary in school
06-04-10 -- A rosary is a rosary is ... a gang-related symbol? Thirteen-year-old Raymond Hosier was suspended for a week from Oneida Middle School in Schenectady recently for refusing to take off the rosary that he and his mother said he wears in memory of his brother and uncle. . . . On Tuesday, Syracuse lawyer Raymond Dague sued on behalf of the conservative Christian American Center for Law and Justice, contending that the suspension violated Hosier’s First Amendment rights to free speech and religious expression. Within hours, a federal judge in Albany ordered Hosier reinstated pending a hearing. . . . The issue here is not so much one of constitutional rights as it is common sense. School children in New York state and throughout the country are subject to dress codes that legitimately limit “free speech” and “religious expression” — including sexually provocative clothing, T-shirts emblazoned with slogans, and yes, gang-related symbols. Schools that require uniforms go even further.
Federal judge dismisses Summum suit against Pleasant Grove
06-04-10 -- The Seven Aphorisms of Summum will not join the Ten Commandments on display in a Pleasant Grove park. . . . A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the city that claimed it violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution by allowing a Ten Commandments monument but rejecting one showing the Salt Lake-based religious sect's beliefs. The clause in the First Amendment prohibits government from adopting a national religion. . . . Pleasant Grove built the monument in Pioneer Park 39 years ago for historical, not religious, reasons, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball wrote. "Moreover, there is no evidence that anyone in Pleasant Grove government had any idea what Summum's religious beliefs were, and thus it cannot be said that the Pleasant Grove government demonstrated a preference for one religion over another." . . . The decision effectively ends for now a prolonged legal battle, part of which was fought in the U.S. Supreme Court. Kimball dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning Summum could file a claim in state court.
Christians, Jews Outraged Over Comedy Central Jesus Parody
06-03-10 -- Jewish, Christian, and conservative leaders are lambasting JC, the new Comedy Central parody about Jesus Christ, as a "vile and offensive" example of anti-Christian bigotry. . . . The Citizens Against Religious Bigotry organization announced Thursday it has sent letters of protest to over 250 leading television advertisers, imploring them not to sponsor the JC show. The letter describes the program as "blasphemous." . . . "We are urging you to hold back your advertising dollars from such an abomination purported to be entertainment," the letter states. . . . L. Brent Bozell III, the founder and president of the Media Research Council conservative watchdog organization, said on a media conference call Thursday: "Anyone who advertises on this show will be a sponsor of anti-Christian bigotry in our view." . . . He said the program "is designed to mock, and designed to ridicule, and designed to be offensive to Christians. At this point, we say enough is enough." . . . According to a recent column by Bozell, the program depicts "Jesus trying to live a normal life in New York City to escape his 'powerful but apathetic father.' God is preoccupied with playing video games while Christ is the 'ultimate fish out of water.'" . . . Social conservatives say the program seeks to ridicule Christian beliefs by poking fun at Christ. . . . The Citizens Against Religious Bigotry organization is circulating a petition imploring Comedy Central to cancel the program, which is now in script-development stage.
Judge Denies Church Graduation Ceremonies
06-01-10 -- A federal judge has ruled that graduation ceremonies for Enfield High School in Connecticut cannot be held at a local church. US District Judge Janet Hall, who toured the church—First Cathedral in Bloomfield—ruled that even if the church covered all of the overt religious symbols, holding the secular ceremony in the church would violate the Constitution: . . . “A reasonable observer attending the 2010 Enfield graduations would perceive the message that Enfield endorsed the readily perceptible religious views of First Cathedral based upon the character of that forum,” Hall wrote. . . . Proponents of holding the graduation at the non-denominational church still contend that they can make the Cathedral religiously neutral, but USA Today points out that “de-Jesusing” the building would be tough, pointing to large crosses on the building’s roof and over the main entrance. The building itself is one large religious symbol that cannot be disguised as anything but. . . . This is a huge, dove-shaped building with a lobby fountain shaped like Jesus’ tomb, with multi-story cross-emblazoned stained glass window. . . . The school has held its graduation ceremonies at the church the past two years without incident. The school board voted this year to hold the ceremony at the school but was dissuaded from their decision by the right wing religious group the Family Institute of Connecticut who “assured the board that the American Center for Law and Justice would fund any legal defense.”
May 2010
Illinois Cross Draws Tourists, Ire From Atheist
Judge To Hear Arguments About Cathedral Graduations
05-24-10 -- A federal judge today will hear arguments from the American Civil Liberties Union and the attorney for the board of education on the issue of holding next month's high-school graduations at First Cathedral in Bloomfield. . . . The lawsuit filed May 5 by the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State seeks a court order to stop the graduation ceremonies of the town's two high schools from taking place at the church June 23 and June 24. The injunction hearing is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. in federal court in Bridgeport. It will continue Tuesday and Thursday, if necessary. . . . Conferences last week failed to produce a settlement in the case. . . . The ACLU and Americans United argue that having graduation ceremonies in a church forces religion on students and their families. . . . But the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington-based evangelical Christian law center, argues that graduations at First Cathedral do not constitute an endorsement of religion because the church makes an effort to remove religious symbols for secular ceremonies.
Mojave Cross replaced, then removed
05-21-10 -- The Mojave Cross saga took yet another unexpected turn Thursday, when the contested symbol that vanished last week reappeared briefly before being taken down by federal officials. . . . National Park Service officials learned Thursday morning that a cross again was on top of Sunrise Rock, about 10 miles south of Interstate 15 near Cima Road, a sparsely traveled route into the Mojave National Preserve. It's about 30 miles east of Baker. . . . Some version of the cross has stood there for 75 years as a tribute to fallen World War I soldiers. Vandals made off with the cross May 9, 10 days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it could remain pending the outcome of a decade-long court battle over whether it should be permitted on public land. Thieves Steal Mojave Desert Memorial Cross in Nighttime Heist
05-11-10 -- The 7-foot-tall metal cross in a 75-year-old war memorial that withstood the heat of the Mojave Desert and a blazing battle in the Supreme Court over its legality was ripped down and stolen Sunday night, according to federal officials. . . . The 7-foot-tall metal cross in a 75-year-old war memorial that withstood the heat of the Mojave Desert and a blazing battle in the Supreme Court over its legality was ripped down and stolen Sunday night, according to federal officials. . . . "This is an outrage, akin to desecrating people's graves," said Kelly Shackelford, president of the Liberty Institute, which represents the caretakers of the Mojave Desert War Memorial. "It's a disgraceful attack on the selfless sacrifice of our veterans. We will not rest until this memorial is re-installed." . . . The National Park Service says someone cut the metal bolts holding the metal-pipe cross to the top of the memorial's Sunrise Rock and made off with it Sunday night or before dawn on Monday.
D.C. Circuit Rules Against Challenge to 'So Help Me God'
05-10-10 -- A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Friday dismissed as moot a challenge to the religious components of last year's inaugural ceremony, including the inaugural prayer and presidential oath, and the court said the plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the 2013 and 2017 inaugurations. . . . Michael Newdow, a prominent atheist and lawyer, unsuccessfully sought an injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. from delivering the phrase "so help me God" to President-elect Barack Obama in January 2009. Newdow claimed, among other things, the phrase is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment when it is delivered by the Chief Justice of the United States. Two private ministers, Revs. Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery, spoke at the inauguration.
April 2010
Divided High Court Lets Mojave Cross Memorial Stand
04-29-10 -- In a fractured church-state opinion with no majority consensus, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of a federal law that preserved a Christian cross memorial to World War I veterans amid federal land in California's Mojave Desert. . . . "Although certainly a Christian symbol, the cross was not emplaced on Sunrise Rock to promote a Christian message," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the lead opinion in Salazar v. Buono (pdf). "Rather, those who erected the cross intended simply to honor our nation's fallen soldiers." . . . The high court opinion, which included writings by six of the nine justices, sent the long-running litigation back to Judge Robert Timlin of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with instructions to give greater weight to the 2004 law that was aimed at ending litigation over the cross, first planted in the ground in 1934. The statute called for selling the land immediately surrounding the cross to the Veterans of Foreign Wars so that it would no longer be on federal property.
Sorry, your honor, National Day of Prayer is constitutional
04-29-10 -- With this year's National Day of Prayer looming on Thursday, a federal judge has ruled that the law establishing it is unconstitutional. . . . The lawsuit, filed by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, argued that the statute -- calling on the president to designate one day other than Sunday "on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups and as individuals" -- is a violation of the Establishment Clause. . . . Judge Barbara Crabb said the National Day of Prayer -- created by Congress in 1952 and proclaimed by every president since then -- "goes beyond mere 'acknowledgment' of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context." . . . Crabb's ruling is flawed. . . . The Establishment Clause bars the government from passing legislation to create an official religion or preferring one religion over another. The prayer proclamation makes no attempt to do either. In fact, the 2009 National Day of Prayer proclamation signed by President Barack Obama makes reference to "all great religions."
Supreme Court Rules Against Offended Park Ranger in Mojave Cross Case
04-28-10 -- In a fractured decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned an injunction that prevented the government from transferring parkland containing a cross to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. . . . . The court found park service employee Frank Buono had standing to sue, but said a federal court was wrong to bar transfer of the land now in the Mojave National Preserve. Buono had asserted he was offended by the cross and had contended the land deal was aimed at bypassing the establishment clause. . . . . Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the plurality decision, saying the district court did not examine the relevant issues before issuing an injunction. He said the district court should conduct a "proper inquiry" on remand. Two of the five justices who agreed the lower court erred, however, based their decision on another reason: Their view was that Buono had no standing to sue. . . . There were four dissenters who would have supported the injunction, the Associated Press reports. SCOTUSblog had an early summary of the holding. . . . Kennedy said the district court that issued the injunction did not acknowledge the significance of the cross. It was erected to honor servicemen who died in World War I, rather than to promote a Christian message, he said in a portion of the plurality opinion (PDF) that was joined by two concurring justices.
Judge dismisses nativity lawsuit
04-28-10 -- A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit Freedom From Religion Foundation filed objecting to a nativity display on Manitowoc County Courthouse grounds. . . . In granting summary judgment, U.S. Eastern District of Wisconsin Judge William C. Griesbach stated in his 14-page document that the county's enactment of a revised written public display policy has rendered the Madison foundation's complaint moot. . . . Since 1946, the Manitowoc County Catholic Women's Club annually had erected a nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus Christ on the grounds until courthouse construction last year prompted its move to the St. Boniface Faith Formation Center on 10th Street. . . . Griesbach ruled the county did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. . . . Griesbach said that "history suggests that the county did not discriminate even before a formal policy was adopted" and that there was "hardly a record of religious discrimination." 64% Say Judges More Anti-Religious Than Founding Fathers Intended
04-23-10 -- Only 21% of Americans think that rulings by judges in recent years regarding religion in public life have correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. . . . Sixty-four percent (64%) of adults believe the judges’ rulings have been more anti-religious than the Founding Fathers intended. Fifteen percent (15%) aren’t sure. . . . But only 46% say the U.S. Supreme Court has been too hostile towards religion, a view unchanged from a survey nearly five years ago. Thirteen percent (13%) say the high court has been too friendly towards religion, down 10 points from the earlier survey. Thirty-three percent (33%) feel neither characterization of the court is accurate. 60% Support Government-Recognized National Day of Prayer
04-23-10 -- A federal judge in Wisconsin recently struck down the National Day of Prayer, declared by Congress in 1952, as unconstitutional, following a court challenge by an atheist group. . . . But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Americans favor having the federal government recognize a National Day of Prayer. Just 28% are opposed. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure. . . . Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, a Baptist minister from Louisiana and president of the Interfaith Alliance, which includes representatives of many religious faiths, praised the judge’s decision, saying, “Maintaining clear boundaries between religion and government only serves to strengthen both.” . . . Forty-seven percent (47%) of Americans agree with Geddy’s statement, while 31% disagree. Twenty-one percent (21%) are not sure.
Obama will appeal Day of Prayer ruling
04-23-10 -- The Obama administration said yesterday it will appeal a court decision that found the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. . . . US District Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison ruled last week the National Day of Prayer that Congress established 58 years ago amounts to a call for religious action. . . . The Justice Department said it will challenge the decision in the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. The notice came after about two dozen members of Congress condemned the ruling and pressed for an appeal. . . . The case was brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison-based group of atheists and agnostics who argue the National Day of Prayer violates the separation of church and state. Its co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said she was disappointed in the decision to appeal. . . . “I would have expected something better from a legal scholar,’’ she said, referring to President Obama’s background as a law professor.
Supreme Court Arguments Turn Heated in Case Over Christian Law Student Group
04-20-10 -- The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a key church-state dispute over the status of a Christian group at a state university law school. But the discussion quickly devolved into a testy debate over the factual record in the case and what it was all about. . . . "What is the case that we have here?" Justice Anthony Kennedy asked early in the hourlong argument. His is a crucial and unpredictable vote in the case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. . . . Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. bared his temper in exchanges with former Solicitor General Gregory Garre, who counts Roberts as his mentor from the days when both worked at Hogan & Hartson. Garre, now chairman of the appellate practice at Latham & Watkins, held his ground as he defended the University of California Hastings College of the Law's handling of the Christian group. . . . The San Francisco law school denied official recognition to the society because of its bylaws, which require members and leaders to adhere to its religious views and bars membership those who advocate or participate in homosexual conduct. Those requirements, the university argued, violate the university's nondiscrimination policy, which says recognized student organizations must admit any student regardless of their "status or beliefs." Martyred: 176,000 Christians in 1 year New partnership presenting Web seminar to draw attention to the persecuted
04-20-10 -- A new ministry partnership has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the fact that an estimated 176,000 Christians around the world were martyred – killed for their faith – in a one-year period from the middle of 2008 to the middle of 2009. . . . That's 482 deaths per day, one every three minutes. . . . Martyrdom didn't go away with the Middle Ages, according to reports from Open Doors USA, which now has combined efforts with actor Kirk Cameron of "The Way of the Master" ministry as well as evangelist Ray Comfort of Living Waters ministry to focus on those who are being persecuted for their faith. . . . The groups have announced a webinar on Thursday, an interactive Internet-based seminar, featuring Cameron, Comfort and Carl Moeller, the president of Open Doors USA. . . . Registration is open to the public and free of charge. . . . Emeal Zwayne, executive vice president of Living Waters, said that few Christians in the U.S. are even aware "that an estimated 176,000 Christians were martyred from mid-2008 to mid-2009.
Court blasts city's ban on sound of church bells Ordinance violates 1st, 14th Amendments to Constitution
04-20-10 -- A federal judge in Arizona has struck down a Phoenix noise ordinance against sounds generated by religious worship – settling one part of a dispute that erupted when city officials convicted a bishop and sentenced him to a suspended jail sentence and several years of probation because someone complained about the ringing of his church bells. . . . "Churches shouldn't be targeted and punished for ringing their bells as a public expression of faith that's been done for centuries," said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which worked on the case. . . . "The federal court has made the right decision by declaring that the city's noise ordinance violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments," he said. . . . The federal judge, Susan R. Bolton, ruled that the city's ordinance was being used to prohibit "sound generated in the course of religious expression," even while it contained an exemption for ice cream trucks to blare their promotions.
National Day of Prayer ruled unconstitutional Federal judge strikes down law signed by President Truman
04-15-10 -- A federal district court in Wisconsin today ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. . . . U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb issued the decision in a case filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist and agnostic group that challenged the constitutionality of a 1988 federal law. . . . The law gives the president the authority to designate the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer. . . . Crabb, appointed to the court in 1979 by President Carter, determined the statute violates the First Amendment's establishment clause, which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." . . . In her opinion, Crabb wrote that in her view of case law, "government involvement in prayer may be consistent with the establishment clause when the government's conduct serves a significant secular purpose and is not a 'call for religious action on the part of citizens,'" citing a high-profile Ten Commandments case, McCreary County, Kentucky v. ACLU. . . . "Unfortunately," she wrote, the National Day of Prayer law "cannot meet that test."
Judge allows man in interfaith divorce to take daughter to church Estranged couple allowed to have girl on Christian and Jewish holidays
04-14-10 -- A Cook County judge has ruled that a father can take his 3-year-old daughter to Mass at a Roman Catholic church, even though her mother is raising her in the Jewish faith. . . . Judge Renee Goldfarb said Tuesday that Joseph Reyes can take his daughter to "church services during his visitation time if he so chooses." The judge also ordered that Joseph have visitation with his daughter every year on Christmas and Easter. . . . Likewise, the order stipulated that Rebecca Reyes always have their daughter on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Passover. . . . "I have to be very, very happy that I got additional time with my daughter and got to expose (her) to all of who I am," Joseph Reyes said. . . . Goldfarb declined to keep Reyes from taking his daughter to church as long as no evidence exists that doing so would harm the child. Though Rebecca Reyes testified that contrary religious teachings could confuse the preschooler, Goldfarb avoided doctrinal questions, saying it was not the court's place "to focus on or attempt to interpret or judge official religious doctrines." . . . "She is 3 years old and, according to Joseph, while at church, she waves at the other children, looks around and giggles," Goldfarb wrote. "This court found that testimony credible."
Advocacy Groups Split in Supreme Court Case Over Christian Law Student Group Dozens of amicus briefs filed in Christian Legal Society case
04-12-10 -- Law schools don't just turn out lawyers. In recent years, they have also produced litigation that finds its way onto the U.S. Supreme Court's docket. . . . In 2003, the University of Michigan Law School was the focus of a major affirmative action case, Grutter v. Bollinger. A coalition of law schools that barred military recruiters from campuses figured in Rumsfeld v. FAIR in 2006. . . . On April 19, the Court will hear arguments in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which will make the University of California Hastings College of the Law the next law school in the spotlight. A Christian student group challenged the San Francisco school for requiring it to adopt the university's nondiscrimination policy if it wants to become a registered student organization. The Christian Legal Society, represented by former appeals court judge and Stanford Law School professor Michael McConnell, claims the state school's requirement to allow nonadherents to join and even lead the group as a condition of recognition violated its freedom of association.
5th Circuit Hears Suit Over Elementary School Students' Religious Gifts
04-12-10 -- The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ventured into the "culture war" on Wednesday, hearing an interlocutory appeal by two public school principals who say they are immune from liability in a civil suit that alleges they prevented the distribution of religious gifts by students in public elementary schools. . . . Doug Morgan, et al. v. Lynn Swanson, et al. involves an issue of first impression for the 5th Circuit: Does the free-speech clause of the First Amendment protect student-to-student distribution of religious, noncurricular materials in public elementary schools?
N.J. Court Widens Cleric-Penitent Privilege, Using 'Objectively Reasonable' Standard
04-12-10 -- New Jersey's high court on Wednesday adopted a new, broader definition of the cleric-penitent privilege and used it to exclude from evidence a criminal defendant's inculpatory statements to an acquaintance who was also a minister. . . . The Supreme Court ruled that the privilege applies if, given all the circumstances, an "objectively reasonable" person would believe that a communication was made in confidence to a cleric and in the cleric's professional character or role as a spiritual adviser. . . . "Rather than focus on the subjective views of a penitent or cleric in deciding whether the privilege applies, judges are to consider the objectively reasonable expectations of the penitent in light of all the circumstances," Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote for the 6-1 majority in State v. J.G., A-44-08.
Law Prof Is Member of Opus Dei, Says Whipping Only ‘Stings a Bit’
04-12-10 -- The Da Vinci Code was a public relations disaster for the Catholic organization Opus Dei, with its portrayal of a fictional, murdering monk. . . . A lay member of the organization, Seton Hall law professor John Coverdale, told the Washington Post that a goal of Opus Dei is to offer Christians a path to a holier life without being a priest or a nun. A tax professor, Coverdale has published a book on the growth of Opus Dei and co-hosted a series for the Eternal Word Television Network about the group’s founder, according to the Seton Hall website. . . . Members of Opus Dei go to daily Mass, and sometimes fast or give up a treat or pleasure, the Post says. And yes, there is “corporal mortification,” the story says, but not the way it’s depicted in The Da Vinci Code.
School principals appeal ruling in lengthy Plano free speech case
04-08-10 -- The court case over candy canes continued Wednesday as the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals listened to arguments on the liability of two Plano principals named in the lawsuit. . . . Three judges heard appeals in a packed courtroom at Southern Methodist University, where the court is based this week. The candy cane case arose in 2003, when administrators at Plano's Thomas Elementary School stopped an 8-year-old boy from distributing candy cane pens with religious messages on them. A year later, with assistance from the Plano-based Liberty Institute, the boy's family and three other families sued the district on free speech grounds. . . . Plano ISD later revised its policies to allow students to pass out religious materials at designated times and locations. Last December, the appeals court ruled that the district's new policy was constitutional. But it allowed a district court to determine the liability of the principals. That court ruled against them. Wednesday's session was their appeal.
Conservatives wonder how N.J. Attorney General Paula Dow sided against the Christians
04-01-10 -- Imagine you were some naïve, trusting, pro-faith, pro-family type who voted for Chris Christie last year on the assumption he shared your views. . . . And imagine you watched as he appointed a Democrat from Essex County to the single most important post in his new administration. . . . And imagine some cynical soul had said to you, “Don’t hold your breath waiting to find out she’s a loony left-winger.” . . . How long would you have had to go without oxygen? . . . Not all that long, it turns out. Just 20 days. Paula Dow took the oath of office on Feb. 23. On March 15, she filed a brief adopting the position of some of the looniest left-wingers on both coasts against a group of conservative Christians. . . . The case is called Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. It arises out of a controversy in San Francisco, that beautiful-but-batty city by the sea. . . . The case began when the authorities at Hastings Law School, which is part of the publicly funded University of California, denied recognition to a group of law students professing Christian beliefs on the grounds that the group discriminates on the basis of religion. This seemed to make no sense. The school had granted recognition to other religious-based student groups, such as the Hastings Association of Muslim Law Students and the Hastings Jewish Law Students Association. Also recognized were associations based on race and ethnicity, such as La Raza Law Students Association; the Chinese Law & Culture Society; the Black Law Students and so on. . . . The society sued and the case worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. At this point you’re probably asking yourself the same question I’m asking myself: What the heck does this have to do with New Jersey? . . . Dow’s office didn’t return my call. So I can’t tell you. But I did read the friend-of-the-court brief in which she came out on the same side of the case as Martha Coakley. Yes, that Martha Coakley, the attorney general who proved herself to be too left-wing for even the people of Massachusetts in that recent U.S. Senate race won by Scott Brown.
March 2010 Five Years Later, Pro-Life Leaders Remember Terri Schiavo's Murder
On the fifth anniversary of the court-ordered death by starvation and dehydration of Terri Schindler Schiavo, Terri’s family, pro-life leaders and anti-euthanasia advocates have united to call attention to the silent abuse of people with disabilities, and the new dangers posed by the recently-passed federal health care reform legislation. . . . The Christian Defense Coalition, Faith and Action and Generation Life announced they will pray and leave a single rose on the public sidewalk in front of the Pennsylvania Ave. NW side of the White House to commemorate Terri's death. The groups also reminded Americans that President Obama later called it a "mistake" that, as a U.S. Senator, he had supported Congress' decision to try to save Terri from death. . . . "End of life issues are a deep concern in this new health care legislation," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition and one of the leaders who worked to save Terri's life in Florida, in a press release Tuesday. . . . "Simply put, how can the American public trust the President and his Administration to deal compassionately with end of life issues when he considered it a 'mistake' to have intervened in attempting to keep a young woman from being starved and dehydrated?"
Judge says seizing 'Million Dollar Bill' tracts illegal Tactics against Ray Comfort message brought 'disrepute' to law enforcement
A federal judge has ruled the seizure of thousands of Gospel tracts from a Texas ministry by U.S. Secret Service agents not only was illegal, it violated Fourth Amendment protections against an overbearing and intrusive government. . . . The decision yesterday by Judge Jorge Solis of the Northern District of Texas came in the long-running dispute over a tract deliberately made to look like a $1 million bill. . . . The Million Dollar Bill tract was created by evangelist Ray Comfort, who also is author of "Nothing Created Everything: The Scientific Impossibility of Atheistic Evolution," and "You Can Lead An Atheist to Evidence, but You Can't Make Him Think." . . . "The Million Dollar Bill, taken as a whole, poses no reasonable risk of deceiving an honest, sensible, and unsuspecting person," the judge wrote. "First and foremost is the fact that the Million Dollar Bill purports to be worth a million dollars. There is no genuine currency in this amount. . . . "More importantly, the amount the bill purports to be worth would lead any unsuspecting, honest, and reasonable person to become suspicious of the [bill's] genuineness. Though many people would readily accept a one-hundred dollar bill without thinking there was a need to even give the bill a cursory examination, a reasonable and honest person would suspect that a bill purporting to be worth a million dollars is not genuine." . . . Further, the judge ruled that the agents who confiscated 83 packets of the Gospel tracts from the Denton, Texas, offices of the Great News Network violated the U.S. Constitution.
Law School Groups Back Hastings in High Court Fight With Christian Student Group
03-22-10 -- Law school organizations are lining up behind the University of California Hastings College of the Law in the upcoming Supreme Court argument pitting the school against the Christian Legal Society. . . . The Association of American Law Schools and the Society of American Law Teachers have filed amicus briefs in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which is scheduled for argument on April 19. The American Bar Association also joined the fray last week with an amicus brief in support of the law school. . . . The case stems from a 2004 decision by Hastings to deny the Christian Legal Society funding and status as a registered student organization on the grounds that it excludes gays and lesbians. Society members must sign a statement of faith that the group's national chapter has interpreted to bar people with a "sexually immoral lifestyle." Hastings said the Christian Legal Society violates the school's non-discrimination policy.
Reinhardt Stands Alone on 9th Circuit's Pledge of Allegiance 'Under God' Ruling
03-12-10 -- Stephen Reinhardt and Dorothy Nelson have been simpatico on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for 30 years. One former Reinhardt clerk says they have a good personal relationship. . . . But Nelson handed Reinhardt a bitter defeat by siding with conservative Judge Carlos Bea in an opinion upholding the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The ruling, handed down Thursday, is the latest episode in a case that has brought scorn on the 9th Circuit from across the country, and has highlighted Reinhardt as an unapologetic -- yet increasingly solitary -- iconoclast. . . . In a 132-page dissent, Reinhardt said he doubts the constitutional protections at stake will evoke much concern in the political world. . . . "Instead, to the joy or relief, as the case may be, of the two members of the majority, this court's willingness to abandon its constitutional responsibilities will be praised as patriotic," Reinhardt wrote, "and may even burnish the court's reputation among those who believe that it adheres too strictly to the dictates of the Constitution or that it values excessively the mandate of the Bill of Rights."
California Board Still Wants Teacher to Remove 'God' Banners
03-11-10 -- A federal court told the board it could not censor classroom signs. . . . . Board members of the Poway Unified School District voted to appeal a ruling siding with math teacher Brad Johnson, whom the board ordered to take down two banners with references to God, including "In God We Trust" and "God Bless America." . . . . U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez ruled that the San Diego, Calif., teacher's constitutional rights were violated. . . . . Johnson's signs had been hanging in his classroom for more than 25 years. . . . . The board ordered Johnson to remove the banners in 2007, because they said "over-emphasized" God and "might make a Muslim student uncomfortable." . . . . However, in other classrooms, images of Buddha, a poster with lyrics from a song with an anti-religious theme and a poster of Muslim leader Malcolm X were left untouched by the district. . . . . Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, is critical of the school district's hypocrisy.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Order to Remove Religious Materials From Manchester Post Office Counter
03-04-10 -- The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand an appellate ruling last summer that settled a dispute in Manchester involving government and religion. . . . The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals had ordered a small, church-operated post office in Manchester to clear its postal counter of religious materials such as prayer cards and a collection box supporting an outreach mission among the poor. . . . The ruling was limited to the small, storefront post office on Main Street operated, under contract with the United States Postal Service, by the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church. . . . In 2003, Bertram Cooper, a postal patron and Manchester resident who is Jewish, sued the postal service, saying that the display of religious materials offended him and violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits government from giving preference to one religion over another.
Ten Commandments monument to come down soon This follows news that the U.S. Supreme Court won't hear the case.
03-02-10 -- A Ten Commandments monument erected on Haskell County courthouse grounds in 2004 could be removed within the week, an attorney representing the county said. . . . The news comes after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a dispute over the religious marker. . . . The justices let stand a lower court decision that the monument must go. A federal appeals court ruled last year that it amounts to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the county commission. . . . U.S. District Judge Ronald White of the Eastern District of Oklahoma had ordered the monument removed from the property in a document dated in August. White originally had ruled the monument constitutional, but his ruling was overturned by the appeals court. . . . "Obviously, it's got to come down," said Kevin Theriot of the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the Haskell County commissioners. "The commissioners have already taken steps to comply with that."
Teacher wins major victory for God in school Judge scolds district for trying to scrub America's Christian heritage
03-01-10 -- A federal judge in California has handed down a scathing ruling against a school that required one of its teachers to remove signs celebrating the role of God in American history from his classroom walls. . . . As WND reported, math teacher Bradley Johnson had banners hanging in his classroom at Westview High School in San Diego, Calif., for more than 17 years with phrases like "In God We Trust" and "All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed by Their Creator," only to have the principal order them torn down during the 2007 school year. . . . But Johnson filed a lawsuit alleging the order a violation of his constitutional rights, and the teacher has now been rewarded with a court victory and a powerfully-worded ruling. . . . "May a school district censor a high school teacher's expression because it refers to Judeo-Christian views, while allowing other teachers to express views on a number of controversial subjects, including religion and anti-religion?" posited U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez in his judgment. "On undisputed evidence, this court holds that it may not." . . . He continued, "That God places prominently in our nation's history does not create an Establishment Clause violation requiring curettage and disinfectant for Johnson's public high school classroom walls. It is a matter of historical fact that our institutions and government actors have in past and present times given place to a supreme God." . . . The judge further reprimanded the school, stating that while teachers at the district "encourage students to celebrate diversity and value thinking for one's self, [they] apparently fear their students are incapable of dealing with diverse viewpoints that include God's place in American history and culture."
February 2010
Judge: DE School Can Allow Moment of Silence
02-24-10 --
A federal judge has ruled that the Indian River School Board in
Wilmington, Del. can continue to open its meetings with a prayer or
moment of silence. . . . U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.
declared that it is constitutional for the board to open meetings
with prayer and threw out a lawsuit over the issue. . . . "Although
reasonable people can differ as to whether the board's policy is
wise, could be more inclusive, or is actually necessary to solemnize
board meetings, 'too much judicial fine-tuning of legislative prayer
policies risks unwarranted interference in (a legislative
Ash Wednesday observance subject of objection
02-18-10 -- The age-old question of separation of church and state played itself out in a Marshall County courtroom Wednesday. . . . After a lunch recess while prosecuting a trial for attempted murder, Assistant County Attorney Paul Crawford returned from lunch with ash on his forehead. He is Catholic and celebrating Ash Wednesday is something millions of people all around the world do. . . . Before the jury was brought back into the courtroom, Aaron Hawbaker, the attorney for the defense, objected to the ash being on Crawford's forehead. . . . "He is representing the state of Iowa," Hawbaker said. . . . Hawbaker said he was not objecting for any personal or religious reasons, but feared the jury could be influenced either for or against the prosecution's case by the display. . . . "I tend to agree with that, Mr. Crawford," said Judge Michael Moon. "I tend to think it should be removed." . . . The issue is one that has a great deal of uncertainty and gray area, according to Rob Boston, a spokesperson for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. . . . "The judge would have the power to ask the prosecutor to remove the ash, but whether the prosecutor would be compelled to do so is another question," Boston said.
January 2010
Case on Christian Law Student Group Gets Supreme Court Star Power
01-15-10 -- In the Supreme Court battle between the Christian Legal Society and the University of California Hastings College of Law -- a potentially major First Amendment challenge on this term's docket -- both sides have added star legal talent to handle the likely April arguments. . . . Christian Legal Society has brought on board, as lead counsel, former federal appellate judge Michael McConnell, who is now director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. Hastings has added former Solicitor General Gregory Garre, chair of Latham & Watkins' Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group. And the Hastings gay and lesbian student organization, Hastings Outlaw, has brought in Paul Smith, chair of the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice at Jenner & Block. . . . The high court case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, asks the justices whether a public university law school with a non-discrimination policy can refuse to fund a religious student group because the group requires its officers and voting members to agree with its core religious beliefs, thereby excluding gay and lesbian students. What were 2009's worst attacks on Christianity? Anti-defamation group catalogs top 10 list of bigotry, discrimination
01-04-10 -- A nonprofit organization devoted to advancing religious liberty for Christians has scoured the news, sought the opinion of its e-mail subscribers and selected a list of "the top 10 incidents of anti-Christian defamation, bigotry and discrimination in the U.S. from last year." . . . "It is arguable that anti-Christian hatred has spilled over into material forms of persecution in 2009," said Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. "Christians were killed and bullied for their witness, ministers and churches threatened with violence and vandalized for standing for marriage and Christians were fired for not compromising their faith. If these are not bona fide examples of persecution, than I wonder what more it might take?" . . . CADC subscribers chose from a list of 20 stories – both those that made headlines and those that were conspicuously absent from wide media coverage – to pick their top 10. . . . The winners included a wide array of events deemed to insult, injure or marginalize Christianity. They included acts of violence, laws and judgments, actions by schools against students and decisions by the Obama administration to promote causes and leaders at odds with Christian teaching.
December 2009 Obama's Christmas tree graced by Chairman Mao, transvestite White House décor also includes president on Mount Rushmore By Bob Unruh, © 2009 WorldNetDaily 12-22-09 -- The face of China's Mao Zedong, blamed for the deaths of 50 to 80 million of his countrymen, graces an ornament on the White House Christmas tree for President Obama's first holiday season in residence. . . . According to BigGovernment.com, the tree also features an ornament adding Obama to Mount Rushmore. . . . The images, such as the "transvestite" character "Hedda Lettuce," are attributed to the work of Simon Doonan, creative director of Barney's New York, whose previous projects have included Margaret Thatcher as a dominatrix and Dan Quayle as a ventriloquist's dummy, according to the New York Times. . . . "Why let a holiday season come between the White House and making some political statements," Big Government's report asked. "These photos of ornaments on the White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room were taken just days ago. Of course, Mao has his place in the White House."
Judges reviewing legality of name-calling by city San Francisco board's formal 'hostility' Catholics challenged
12-18-09 -- Judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals now are deciding whether a formal government document condemning Catholics as "hateful," "insulting" and "defamatory" and urging members to defy church beliefs is permissible under the U.S. Constitution's ban on government hostility toward religion. . . . The city of San Francisco formally adopted a resolution that condemned the Catholic church specifically for its moral teachings. The resolution was challenged by the Thomas More Law Center, a national Christian legal advocacy group based in Ann Arbor, Mich. . . . Oral arguments were presented to the 11 judges of the circuit appeals court yesterday in a case expected to "flush out what the U.S. Supreme Court means when it proclaims that the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not permit hostility toward religion." . . . The formal statement from the San Francisco Board of Supervisers attacked the church's belief because it prohibits the adoption of children by homosexual duos.
Judge: N.C. Law Barring Sex Offenders from Church Unconstitutional
12-18-09 -- A year-old state law in North Carolina was found by a Superior Court judge to be unconstitutional because it prevents certain registered sex offenders from going to church, according to a ruling Thursday. . . . While Judge Allen Baddour acknowledged the need to protect children, he said "there are less drastic means for achieving the same purpose." . . . Presently, state law prohibits certain sex offenders from being within 300 feet of "any place where minors gather for regularly scheduled educational, recreational or social programs," including areas that are part of a larger facility, though the law doesn't specify whether that 300-foot radius ends at the borders of the larger facility. . . . It also doesn’t specify whether children actually have to be present for an offender to be in violation, making it unconstitutionally vague, according to Baddour. . . . “There are a host of protected religious activities abridged by this statute," the judge wrote in Thursday's ruling. . . . Thursday’s decision comes after registered sex offenders James Nichols and Frank DeMaio challenged the state law, saying it was too broad and denied them their right to attend the church of their choice.
Tab for refusing to photograph lesbians: $6,600 Company to appeal judge's order to violate owner's Christian beliefs
12-17-09 -- A district judge in New Mexico has affirmed a state Civil Rights Commission order that a small photography company pay $6,600 for refusing to violate the owners' Christian beliefs by photographing a lesbian "ceremony," even though same-sex marriage isn't legal in the state. . . . Word of the decision by District Judge Alan M. Malott comes from the Alliance Defense Fund, which promised an immediate appeal of the decision against the Christian photographer and her husband. . . . "Christians in the marketplace should not be subject to predatory legal attacks for simply abiding by their beliefs," said ADF senior counsel Jordan Lorence. "The Constitution prohibits the state from forcing unwilling artists to promote a message they disagree with and thereby violate their conscience. . . . "Should the government force a videographer who is an animal rights activist to create a video promoting hunting and taxidermy? American small business owners do not surrender their constitutional rights at the marketplace gate, nor can the government make people choose between their faith and their livelihood," he said. . . . The commission had ruled that a small photography company, Elane Photography, run by a young Christian husband and wife, was guilty of "sexual orientation" discrimination under state antidiscrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex "commitment ceremony."
D.C. Circuit Hears Atheists' Suit Over Presidential Oath
12-16-09 -- Atheist lawyer Michael Newdow, who has unsuccessfully challenged religious trappings of presidential inaugurations past, took his latest dispute -- this one involving Barack Obama's inauguration -- to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday. . . . A little background: Last December, Newdow and his fellow plaintiffs sued the Presidential Inaugural Committee and Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., among others, in an effort to block Roberts from feeding then President-elect Obama the line "so help me God" at the end of the oath of office and Obama from repeating it. The plaintiffs say the phrase violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. . . . The plaintiffs are also suing over other religious remarks by clergy during the larger inaugural ceremony. . . . Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied an injunction and ultimately dismissed the suit, saying that the plaintiffs lacked standing. Walton also determined he didn't have the authority to tell Roberts what to do. At issue on appeal are the plaintiffs' standing and the mootness of the claims.
Faith-based prison rehab case reversed
12-16-09 -- Advocates for the separation of church and state scored a victory Tuesday when the 1st District Court of Appeal reversed the dismissal of their claim that state-funded, "faith-based" rehabilitation of ex-prisoners is unconstitutional. . . . The Council for Secular Humanism, a New York-based organization with membership in Florida, had appealed a Leon County Circuit Court judge's 2008 dismissal of the group's complaint that the state's contract with Prisoners of Christ and Lamb of God Ministries is unconstitutional. . . . Specifically, the appellant complained that the contracts violate the "no-aid" provision of the Florida Constitution, which bars the state from spending taxpayer money "directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution." . . . Lamb of God Ministries is located in Okeechobee and has facilities in Pompano Beach; Prisoners of Christ is based in Jacksonville. Their state contracts derive from a law passed in 2001 authorizing the Department of Corrections to hire faith-based service providers to operate substance abuse transitional housing programs for people recently released from state prison. You can access the ruling at this link.
Winter Display Featuring Einstein, Bill Gates Can Go Up at Ark. Capitol, Federal Judge Rules
12-15-09 -- A secular display celebrating the winter solstice and "freethinkers" such as Albert Einstein and Bill Gates can be placed at the Arkansas Capitol alongside a traditional Christian nativity scene, a federal judge said Monday. . . . The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers sued last week after Secretary of State Charlie Daniels rejected its proposal, saying it wasn't consistent with the Capitol's other decorations and displays. The group asked for a quick hearing before the winter solstice, which is Dec. 21. . . . U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright granted an injunction Monday allowing the display to go up.
Federal Appeals Court Goes With 'God'
12-10-09 -- Before every oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a court clerk tells everyone to draw near and give their attention because the court is now sitting. The opening cry ends with the line "God save the United States and this honorable court." . . . Atheist lawyer and physician Michael Newdow doesn't want the clerk reading that line next Tuesday when a three-judge panel takes up his case challenging the custom of concluding the presidential oath of office with the line "So help me God." Newdow and attorney Robert Ritter of the American Humanist Association argue those words violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. . . . Newdow and Ritter this week filed what they called an emergency motion to block the court clerk from making reference to God in the opening cry before the Dec. 15 oral argument. Wednesday, a three-judge panel -- Judges Douglas Ginsburg, Janice Rogers Brown and Brett Kavanaugh -- rejected the request. The panel issued a one-sentence order that did not provide a detailed explanation.
Supreme Court Takes Up Law School Case on Christian Student Group
12-07-09 -- The Supreme Court agreed Monday morning to take up the first church-state case of the term, a dispute over recognition of the Christian Legal Society's chapter at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. The case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, stems from the state law school's denial of official recognition to the Christian student group because it does not conform to the school's requirement that membership and leadership positions be open to all. . . . The Hastings chapter of the society requires members and officials to sign a statement of faith that vows devotion to Jesus Christ and has been interpreted to bar those with a "sexually immoral lifestyle." Student groups that are officially recognized are eligible for meeting space, means of communicating with students and student funds for their activities.
Judge: Parents bigots for opposing 'gay' lessons Families grilled about religious beliefs, church sermons against homosexuality
12-4-09 -- A judge has attacked parents, suggesting they are bigots for seeking to opt-out their elementary-age children from a mandatory controversial pro-homosexual curriculum, according to a non-profit law firm. . . . The parents were represented in California's Alameda Superior Court by Pacific Justice Institute. On Dec. 1, Judge Frank Roesch denied a motion to allow them to have their children excused from the lessons. . . . According to the group, Roesch blasted the parents for seeking enforcement of a provision of the California Education Code that gives parents a right to opt their kids out of health education. . . . Education Code Section 51240 allows a parent to have a student excused from instruction, "If any part of a school's instruction in health conflicts with the religious training and beliefs of a parent or guardian of a pupil." . . . However, Pacific Justice Institute said Roesch repeatedly insinuated that the parents are bigots and insisted there can be no homosexual indoctrination because, he purportedly argued, people are born that way.
3rd Circuit Upholds School District Ban on Religious Carols at Holiday Concerts
12-1-09 -- The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 24 upheld a New Jersey school district's ban on religious music during holiday concerts, saying the policy does not violate students' First Amendment right to free expression. . . . A three-judge panel upheld U.S. District Judge William Walls' grant of summary judgment dismissing a suit against the ban under 42 U.S.C. §1983. . . . Michael Stratechuk, a music teacher at Hunter College in New York and the father of two children in the South Orange-Maplewood District, sued after the district issued a memo saying, "We will avoid any selection which is considered to represent any religious holiday, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, etc." November 2009
Out with Jesus, in with 'Frosty the Snowman' Federal court upholds school district's ban on tunes about Christ
No further! Christians draw battle line in culture war Declaration warns of civil disobedience over life, marriage, religious liberty
11-23-09 -- Over 150 Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Christian leaders have signed the Manhattan Declaration, a pledge in defense of life, religious liberty and traditional marriage, a line in the sand of the culture war warning that Christians will resort to civil disobedience if necessary rather than retreat from these three moral principles. . . . "The Manhattan Declaration is a wake-up call – a call to conscience – for the church," writes Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and co-author of the declaration. "It is also crystal-clear message to civil authorities that we will not, under any circumstances, stand idly by as our religious freedom comes under assault." According to ManhattanDeclaration.org, over 47,000 others in the last few days have added their signatures to the list of 152 Christian leaders who have committed to the pledge. . . . The website states that the declaration calls upon all fellow citizens to join in defending "fundamental truths about justice and the common good," namely: The sanctity of human life The dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife The rights of conscience and religious liberty. "Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the wellbeing of society, they are inviolable and nonnegotiable," the website states. "Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them."
Fight Over Jewish Symbol Heads to Trial
11-20-09 -- The case of the missing mezuzah will go to trial. . . . Last week the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in Chicago, ruled that a case may go forward involving a family’s fight to affix a small box containing Hebrew religious texts, known as a mezuzah, to the doorposts of their condominium units. The mezuzah has deep importance for many Jews as a sign of faith, but for the family of Lynne Bloch, it is also a symbol of battle. . . . The Blochs have lived in the Shoreline Towers condominium in Chicago for three decades. In May 2004, the condo association began a hallway renovation and asked residents to remove everything from their doors, including mezuzot (the plural of mezuzah). The Blochs took the mezuzot down from their three apartments, then replaced them when the renovations were complete. But the condo management removed them, and did so repeatedly so when the Blochs put them up again — even on the day of the funeral of the family patriarch, Marvin Bloch. The family sued the condo association in 2005.
"This is a sad day for the cause of freedom. When the Supreme Court cannot clear their calendar to hear a case of this magnitude, then our freedoms are in jeopardy. Such censorship and discrimination should not be permitted in America."-- John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute
11-17-09 -- The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of a high school valedictorian whose microphone was turned off by school officials after she began speaking about the part her Christian beliefs played in her success in life. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute had asked the Court to hear the case of Brittany McComb, charging that school officials violated McComb's free speech rights and engaged in viewpoint discrimination when they censored her speech because of its Christian content. The Court issued the order denying the petition without additional explanation. . . . "This is a sad day for the cause of freedom," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "When the Supreme Court cannot clear their calendar to hear a case of this magnitude, then our freedoms are in jeopardy. Such censorship and discrimination should not be permitted in America." St. Louis Archdiocese Spending More on Lawyers Than on Sex Abuse Victims
11-17-09 -- The St. Louis Archdiocese has released financial figures showing it spent $352,000 last fiscal year on payments to victims of predator priests -- and more than twice that amount on lawyers. . . . Numbers released by the archdiocese Friday show more was paid in legal fees than to victims for five of the past 10 fiscal years. . . . The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said Monday that fewer cases of clergy sex abuse are being filed, so legal costs should be declining. From 2002 to 2008, legal fees rose steadily to a high of $1.1 million. The archdiocese reported spending $843,000 in fiscal year 2009. U.S. lawmakers defend 'In God We Trust' 44 legislators move to protect engraving of national motto on Capitol Visitor Center
11-16-09 -- Forty-four U.S. legislators have signed on to defend the national motto, "In God We Trust," and the Pledge of Allegiance – which contains the word "God" – from an attempt by an atheist group to have the words erased from the face of the newly built Capitol Visitor Center. . . . Together with the American Center for Law and Justice, three U.S. senators and 41 representatives filed a friend-of-the-court amicus brief in a case brought in July by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation that challenges the words as unconstitutional. . . . The atheist and agnostic organization filed suit in U.S. District Court versus Stephen Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol, alleging the words now engraved on the visitors center violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The FFRF claims that the use of tax dollars to add the engravings lacks a secular purpose and has the primary effect of endorsing a religious viewpoint. 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the court ...
11-15-09 -- There is a coldness in the air. Thanksgiving is rushing forward. And people are beginning to plan, not their holiday shopping, but how they are going to put the particular symbols of their religion, a Nativity scene or menorah, on the local courthouse lawn. . . . . The change in the air seems to have the exact opposite effect on lawyers: Those concerned with what Thomas Jefferson called the "wall of separation" between church and state start planning lawsuits against religious symbols erected on public land. . . . . It's the annual holiday pas de deux. . . . . Jefferson and fellow framer James Madison had plenty of reason to fear government power endorsing a particular religion. The official religions of the European nations, Catholic and protestant, had been burning and racking heretics for centuries. Popes allegedly were murdered, and popes without a doubt inspired assassination plots of their own. . . . . Elementary school history books say the Puritans came to the New World in search of religious freedom. Jefferson and Madison knew better: The Puritans just wanted their own community away from Europe so they could become intolerant oppressors themselves, shunning dissenters from the community and burning the occasional witch.
Well-Known NY Firm Faces Religious Bias Suit
11-12-09 -- An employment discrimination action brought by a technology expert who is an Orthodox Jew against Pryor Cashman will go forward, following the denial of the midsize law firm's motion to dismiss. . . . Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Knipel's decision turned on whether the interpretation of New York City's Human Rights Law set forth in a recent Appellate Division, First Department, sexual discrimination action applied in the present case. . . . Justice Knipel, finding that the Second Department has not yet addressed the 2005 amendment to the law at issue, found that the holding in the First Department sexual discrimination action—namely, that a discrimination complaint states a cause of action unless the conduct was nothing more than "petty slights and trivial inconveniences"—extended to the present employment bias case.
October 2009 MICHIGAN
1st Battle of the 2009 Christmas Season over Nativity;
10-26-09 -- For 63 years, a privately maintained nativity scene has been displayed during the Christmas season on a public median in Warren, Michigan. That 63 year-old tradition was abruptly ended by the Macomb County Road Commission, which controls private displays on public medians in the county, after it received a threatening letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an atheist organization that has as its aim nremoval of all religious symbols from the public square. Rather than stand up to the atheists, the Road Commission ordered the removal of the private nativity scene, in violation of the Constitution...Read More The Freedom From Religion’s threatening letter claimed the presence of the nativity display on the public median violated the “constitutional principle of separation of church and state.” [link to letter]
Courthouse Bible plaintiff now targets Houston council prayer
10-26-09 -- The woman who successfully sued to have a Bible removed from a Harris County courthouse display is now suing to stop city council from opening meetings with prayers that she believes are too Christian. . . . Kay Staley, a real estate agent and lawyer, argues religion and prayer are private matters that don't belong in government. She sued the city and Councilmember Anne Clutterbuck, saying the council's prayers are so overly Christian they violate the First Amendment separation of church and state. Clutterbuck was singled out for saying the Lord's Prayer. . . . “I've been aggravated about it for some time watching City Council on access television,” said Staley, who doesn't share her personal spiritual beliefs except to say she's a free thinker. “I'm offended. I don't like people telling me when and how to pray.” 1st Amendment in the Age of Obama
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. -- ~ John Adams 10-24-09 -- The opening five words of the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law," represents the central tenets of what the Bill of Rights stands for: limits on government power to limit or compel religious beliefs, the right to hold political opinions and express them, protections for a free press, the right to assemble peaceably, and the right to petition the government, through protest or the ballot, for a redress of political grievances. . . . . Let's take a look at how the First Amendment is viciously and relentlessly attacked in the Age of Obama: . . . Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; . . . George Washington, perhaps the greatest figure of American history, once said, "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." John Adams, our second president said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Religion to the framers of the Constitution, not just any religion, but religion out of the Judeo-Christian traditions of intellectual thought, was indispensable to the success of America as well as to the continuing survival of our republic. . . . . If Christianity is so important, why did Congress allow the Supreme Court, in the 1947 case of "Everson v. Board of Education," to unilaterally remove funding to parochial schools through the judge-created doctrine "separation of church and state"? Such judicial tyranny as Everson over the past 62 years has denigrated American society and culture more than anything else.
Mark and Sara Neill were deeply offended when a debt collector contacted them last fall over an unpaid $88 chiropractor’s bill. . . . But the affront had nothing to do with the debt or the collector’s tactics and everything to do with the debt collector’s letterhead. . . . In the upper-right-hand corner of the Bullseye Collection Agency’s stationery were the letters WWJD. The Neills, who are from Becker, Minn., said they found the initialism—commonly understood to mean “What would Jesus do?”—both abusive and threatening. . . . The Neills claimed to have felt so abused and threatened that they filed a class action suit against Bullseye, a small family-owned collection agency in Monticello, Minn., on behalf of themselves and everyone else in the state who had received such a letter from the collection agency during the previous year. . . . The suit, filed last October in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, alleged that the only possible purpose for using the WWJD was to make recipients think there would be religious consequences for failing to pay an alleged debt. “This is equivalent to a shame tactic and is an attempt to guilt an alleged debtor to pay the debt by portraying the debtor as a sinner who is going to go to hell,” the Neills’ lawyer, Thomas J. Lyons Jr., said in papers filed in connection with the suit. . . . But in this court battle, the Neills also have found themselves accused of not playing by the Golden Rule. Liberty Legal takes up cross for religion
10-4-09 -- In a remote corner of the Mojave Desert, there's a war memorial dating to the 1930s. On top, there's an 8-foot cross that is, for now, obscured by a plywood box lest anyone driving 900 miles out of their way happen upon it and take offense at the endorsement of religiosity on public land. . . . The ACLU and others want the cross taken down. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case Wednesday. . . . In Plano, there's a team of conservative lawyers fighting to make sure the cross doesn't go anywhere. Because when there's a legal squabble involving religion in the public square – even in the middle of nowhere – there's a good chance the Liberty Legal Institute will get called in. . . . "Every community and state in the country has veterans memorials that have religious imagery," said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel at the institute. "We want the court to address that so that we can put that to bed."
Lodi may be headed for prayer lawsuit Freedom From Religion Foundation will 'see how it pans out'
10-2-09 -- The day after a highly anticipated decision by the Lodi City Council on prayer, the leader of a national group says it will likely sue Lodi or another city in California over their practices. . . . "We'll see how it pans out and probably will have to sue because there is widespread disrespect for the law in the state of California," said Annie Gaylor, co-founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. . . . Her comments come after the council decided to broaden its prayer policy to allow religious leaders to offer uncensored prayers, so Christian leaders will be able to say "Jesus ."
Maine fines group for criticizing Islam Christian organization files lawsuit to challenge censorship
10-1-09 --A Christian organization in Maine has filed a lawsuit to challenge a bureaucratic decision to impose a $4,000 fine for its "criticism" of Islam, expressed in a mailing to supporters. . . . The action was taken on behalf of the Christian Action Network by Liberty Counsel, where founder Mathew Staver said the state is out of line. . . . "The chief purpose of the First Amendment was to prevent the government from licensing the press," Staver said. "Citizens do not need permission to petition government officials or to protest government policies." . . . The issue developed following a Christian Action Network fundraising letter several months ago. The letter exposed "how some public schools were promoting Islalm by providing instruction on the Five Pillars of Islam and the Quran," according to the complaint against the state. . . . "The letter pointed out that some schools have provided a 'prayer room' for Muslims and one textbook that told seventh grade students they 'will become Muslim.' The letter listed Gov. John Baldacci as a person who is over the public schools and someone to whom the recipients of the letter should voice their opinion," the complaint said. "Religion in a Family is at once its brightest Ornament & its best Security." --Samuel Adams, letter to Thomas e Wells, 1780 September 2009 Christian Legal Society Takes Its Case for Excluding Gays and Lesbians to the Supreme Court
9-30-09 -- One law school will be anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court's first "orders" of the new term this week — not because it has a student clinic with pending cases but because the school itself is the target of a petition for review. . . . The Christian Legal Society's chapter at the University of California Hastings College of the Law is challenging a lower appellate court ruling that the law school's open membership rule prohibiting registered students groups from discriminating on the basis of religion or sexual orientation is "viewpoint neutral and reasonable." . . . The Christian Legal Society (CLS) is a national association of lawyers, law students, law professors and judges who profess faith in Jesus Christ. CLS filed suit after the school wouldn't recognize the group because it denies membership to gays, lesbians and non-Christians. Last March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the law school was not required to recognize and fund a religious student group that discriminates in the selection of members and officers. CLS is the only group from which the law school has withheld recognition. A new push to define 'person,' and to outlaw abortion in the process Some abortion foes think the rationale for Roe vs. Wade is vulnerable. They're trying to amend state constitutions -- including California's -- to define personhood from conception.
9-28-09 -- It is one of the enduring questions of religion and science, and lately of American politics: When does a fertilized egg become a person? . . . . Abortion foes, tired of a profusion of laws that limit but do not abolish abortion, are trying to answer the question in a way that they hope could put an end to legalized abortion. . . . .Across the country, they have revived efforts to amend state constitutions to declare that personhood -- and all rights accorded human beings -- begins at conception. . . . . From Florida to California, abortion foes are gathering signatures, pressing state legislators and raising money to put personhood measures on ballots next year. In Louisiana, a class at a Catholic high school is lobbying state legislators as part of a civics exercise. . . . . "We have big and small efforts going on in 30 states right now," said Keith Mason, co-founder of Colorado-based Personhood USA. "Our goal is to activate the population."
Principal cleared of criminal
count over meal blessing
9-18-09 -- A judge today cleared the principal of Pace High School in Florida of a criminal contempt charge after the American Civil Liberties Union complained that Frank Lay and Athletic Director Robert Freeman violated a court order. . . . Freeman also had faced the same criminal contempt charge, but also was cleared. . . . Judge M. Case Rodgers decided that the meal blessing – requested by Lay and delivered by Freedom – was on church property and was spontaneous, therefore lacking an intent to violate the order. . . . The men were represented by Liberty Counsel. The day-long hearing in a Pensacola, Fla., federal courtroom stemmed from an off-campus event at which donors to a school athletic field house project were honored.
9-5-09 -- Most people have now heard that President Obama is going to address America’s school children on September 8. He’ll be speaking to them directly, without their parents there to serve as a filter. . . . Taken with an outrageous situation unfolding in New Hampshire, where a home-schooling mother has been ordered to put her daughter in public school because the daughter is too outspoken in her Christian beliefs, a terrifying truth emerges: If you can force a child into government schools, you can control that child’s mind. . . . On Tuesday, around the nation, millions of children will be in a setting where they’re expected to accept what adults tell them, and where they are required to obey. . . . Many teachers will carry out White House instructions (now officially modified) to give writing topics to their students. The original theme: How can I help President Obama? Children are also encouraged to read books about Obama, and even kindergarteners will be asked, “Why is it important that we listen to the president?”
Government confiscation of Gospel tracts in court Hearings under way for warrantless seizure of private property
9-2-09 -- Court hearings have gotten under way in a lawsuit by a Christian ministry against the U.S. government over its warrantless seizure of private property from the ministry offices. . . . The property that was taken was a stack – more than 8,000 – Gospel tracts that are made up to look like a $1,000,000 bill and invite the recipient to answer the question: "The million-dollar question: Will you go to Heaven?" . . . The case was brought on behalf theGreatNews.org, which was distributing the tracts, and it is being argued in court by lawyers with Liberty Counsel. The case isn't expected to conclude for another day or two, at least. . . . Founder Mathew D. Staver told WND that the government has conceded there are dozens of play money products in stores and on the Internet that look more like real U.S. currency but no attempt is being made to attack those. . . . The tracts, however, are another story, even though they clearly state they are not legal tender and have the Gospel message, instead of any government information, on them. August 2009
Judge: Kentucky can't depend, legally, on God for homeland security
8-31-09 -- A state judge has ruled that Kentucky cannot legally depend on God to keep its citizens safe. . . . Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled Aug. 26 a 2006 amendment to a law establishing the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security that declared "the safety and security of the commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God" an unconstitutional establishment of religion. . . . Attorneys for the Commonwealth of Kentucky argued that all three branches of government have acknowledged the role of religion in public life for more than 200 years and that removing them would create "a wholly secular society completely divorced from religion." . . . Wingate said both the federal and Kentucky constitutions "permit a passing reference to Almighty God nestled in the middle" of legal statutes but the law in question "is more than an ephemeral general reference to God." Rather, he said, the statute "places an affirmative duty to rely on Almighty God for the protection of the Commonwealth." . . . That, the judge ruled, made the Kentucky law "exceptional among thousands of others" and transgressed the First Amendment's requirement that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
Michigan courts given leeway to force veil removal
8-25-09 -- Michigan's Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday allowing lower state courts to "exercise reasonable control" over the appearance of witnesses and parties, a rule change proposed after a Muslim woman refused to remove an Islamic garment in a small claims court. . . . The order allows courts "reasonable control over the appearance of parties and witnesses" so as to "ensure that the demeanor of such persons may be observed and assessed by the fact-finder and ensure the accurate identification of such person." . . . The order, which amends a rule of the Michigan Rules of Evidence, is effective September 1. . . . The amendment was prompted by a 2006 small claims case in Michigan filed by Ginnah Muhammad, who wore a niqab -- a garment that covers the entire face and head, except for the eyes -- to court, the order said. . . . According to the Detroit Free Press, Muhammad was contesting a $2,750 repair bill from a car rental company because she said thieves broke into the vehicle she was using.
Christian Law Firm Fights 'Ridiculous' Criminal Charges Against School Officials
8-18-09 -- Florida school officials Frank Lay and Robert Freeman recently received letters informing them that they could lose their retirement benefits because of a prayer said at a luncheon. . . . The Pace High School principal and athletic director are accused of violating a consent decree – which prohibits all district school officials from promoting, endorsing, or causing religious prayers during school-sponsored events – and face criminal contempt charges. . . . Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, said on Fox News on Monday that the two administrators stand to lose, collectively, 70 years of their life investment into the school district. . . . When Principal Lay asked Freeman to bless a meal during a luncheon in January, "they never thought that this would be a violation of any order," Staver, who is representing the two men, said. . . . "They certainly never thought they would be defending themselves under a criminal contempt charge and face up to $5,000 in fines and up to six months in prison, and they never thought that they would jeopardize their collective 70 years of employment (retirement benefits)." . . . The notorious American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint about the prayer to U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers. The ACLU had previously filed a lawsuit against the high school on behalf of two unnamed students who alleged that school officials regularly promoted religion and led prayers at school events. The lawsuit was settled with a consent decree, approved by both parties, early this year.
School officials face jail time for meal-time prayers
8-11-09 --A principal and an athletic director are facing criminal charges for a lunch-time prayer. . . . Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Pace High School in Santa Rosa County, Florida. The ACLU claimed some teachers and administrators were endorsing religion, but the school chose to give in to the ACLU's demands rather than fight them in court. . . . According to the settlement, all school employees are banned from engaging in prayer or religious activities before, during, or after school hours. Now two school officials are facing criminal charges for offering meal-time prayers at an appreciation dinner for adults who had helped with a school field house project. Principal Frank Lay and athletic director Robert Freeman are scheduled to go on trial next month on criminal contempt charges. If convicted, both are subject to fines and imprisonment. July 2009
Groups demand that jail stop censoring religion
7-11-09 -- Civil and religious rights organizations are demanding that a Virginia jail stop removing Bible passages and other religious material from letters written to inmates. . . . Anna Williams, whose son was detained at the Rappahannock County Regional Jail, says officials cut out entire sections of letters she sent to her son that contained Bible verses or religious material. She says the jail cited prohibitions on Internet material and religious material sent from home. . . . John Whitehead, founder of The Rutherford Institute, represents Williams. His organization is challenging censorship of the mail. . . . "She's a devout Christian, and her son's in jail there and she's been trying to send him letters with Bible passages and whatever -- and the jail has actually been going through snipping out portions of letters," the attorney explains. "[S]ome of the letters are full of Bible verses, so what her son is getting is absolutely at the end of the letter where she says goodbye, I love you, and those kinds of things." . . . According to Whitehead, the situation is not an isolated case.
June 2009 Tells chat group for relatives of U.S. sailors to change name
6-26-09 -- The U.S. Navy has ordered a chat group gathered on a special website the military set up for families of service members to drop the word "Christian" from its title. . . . It also has changed the website's rules to ban all "religious discussions" because such speech "contradicts our purpose by creating unnecessary divisions among site members." . . . The issue was exposed by officials with Liberty Counsel, a public interest law firm that has written to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus demanding that the censorship on the NavyforMoms.com website be reversed. . . . "The prohibition of religious groups and religious speech on Navy for Moms by the United States Navy is unconstitutional," said the letter dispatched also to the private company engaged by the Navy to operate the site. . . . "The government simply may not create a forum and then proclaim religious views are not welcome as that is blatant viewpoint discrimination, absolutely prohibited by the First Amendment. Even if the restrictions were evaluated as content restrictions, the United Sates Navy could not withstand the strict scrutiny required by the Supreme Court for analyzing the restrictions," the letter, signed by attorney David Corry on behalf of Liberty Counsel, said.
Judge says Christian group can pass out leaflets at St. Louis PrideFest
6-15-09 -- An alliance of Christian lawyers says a federal judge will allow a ministry to hand out religious literature at St. Louis’ PrideFest. . . . The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund says an order was issued last week that will allow the Apple of His Eye organization to share their religious views and pass out leaflets at the gay pride event in St. Louis. . . . The lawyers say that in 2006 St. Louis officials threatened ministry members with arrest for handing out Christian literature. Christians, here come the lions
6-13-09 -- WARNING: This column is written for, and addressed to, America's Christians only. Well, maybe devout Jews as well, but no one else. People of other faiths, or no particular faith at all, probably won't comprehend the looming danger or see anything to be concerned about. . . . But this is a three alarm, red alert wake-up call for people who are serious about their Judeo-Christian religion. The end of our religious freedom in America could be at hand. . . . Can you believe it? In "the land of the free, the home of the brave," the one country in human history whose original purpose was to create and preserve absolute religious freedom for all? The nation whose foundational documents, its Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and its subsequent Bill of Rights, specifically guaranteed that government would absolutely keep its grubby hands off its citizens' freedom to exercise their faith however, whenever and wherever they choose? . . . I've always been awed by the incredible courage of the early Christians (many of whom were Jews). Human beings just like us, bound up in their cultures as we are in ours, who became willing to sacrifice everything – everything including their very lives – rather than repudiate or abandon their faith in God. They were tortured and persecuted in so many ways, but I think the most terrifying trials came in the Colosseum in Rome when Christian men and women were herded out into the arena, sometimes tied to posts, and left to be torn to pieces and devoured by ravenous lions.
Fostering Interfaith Religious Tolerance Takes Litigator to Middle East 'For a lawyer,' says James K. Robertson Jr., 'it's important to see there's life beyond the billable hour.'
6-10-09 -- At the heart of his profession, James K. Robertson Jr. thrives on conflict and disputes as a litigation partner at Carmody & Torrance. . . . But away from work, Robertson focuses on cooperation and tolerance among a group of people probably more at odds than any of his clients -- Christians, Jews and Muslims. . . . For 15 years, Robertson has been involved with the Hartford Seminary, studying theology, history and religion and working with the seminary to improve relations and create interfaith ministries among religious groups. . . . His activities have taken him to the Persian Gulf on numerous occasions where he participates in forums with scholars and students to help prepare them to become peacemakers. He's also involved in recruiting students from Islamic countries to study at Hartford Seminary.
Appeals court rules Ten Commandments monument violates Constitution
6-8-09 -- An appeals court ruled Monday that a Ten Commandments monument at the county courthouse in Stigler violates the Constitution because its primary effect is to endorse a religion. . . . The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in a challenge to the monument brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and by a county resident. . . . "We hold that the [Haskell County commissioners'] actions in authorizing and maintaining the monument . . . had the impermissible principal or primary effect of endorsing religion in violation of the Establishment Clause" of the Constitution, the judges wrote in a 52-page decision. . . . Haskell County Commissioner Mitch Worsham said he didn't have a comment at this time about the decision. . . . A message left for Commissioner Kenneth Short Jr., has not been returned and Commissioner Paul Storie could not be reached for comment. . . . On May 18, Gov. Brad Henry signed a measure to place a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments at the Capitol.
Court to government: OK to diss Catholics San Francisco officials say calling church 'hateful,' 'callous' serves 'secular' purpose
6-5-09 -- Authorities in San Francisco who called the beliefs of the Catholic Church "hateful," "callous," and an "insult," – and urged members to disobey them – have been given the go-ahead by a panel of judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to express such hate because it serves a "secular" purpose. . . . "It is not a stretch to compare the San Francisco Board's actions to that of the Nazi Germany policy of 'Gleichschaltung:' vilifying Jews as an auxiliary to and laying the groundwork for more repressive policies, including the final solution of extermination," said Richard Thompson, the president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, which represented the Catholic League and several individuals in the church in their complaint against the city. . . . "The policy of San Francisco is one of totalitarian intolerance of Christians of all denominations who oppose homosexual conduct," Thompson continued. "My concern is that if this ruling is allowed to stand, it will further embolden anti-Christian attacks."
San Diego withdraws Bible study warning 'The weekly activity is within the scope of the residential use'
6-4-09 -- San Diego County has withdrawn a warning letter and cease and desist order it had issued against a pastor against a weekly Bible study held in his home, and the chief administrative officer for the governmental body has added his own personal apology to the pastor over the accusations. . . . "I want to offer my apology to you, your wife and your congregation for the unfortunate events of the past several weeks," said the letter from Walter F. Ekard, chief officer of the county. "My review of the situation shows that no administrative citation warning should have been issued and that a major use permit is not required for the Bible study you have in your home." . . . WND first broke the news of Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary, who was confronted by a San Diego County official, grilled over what is said at the couple's Tuesday night Bible studies and then later issued a citation barring the couple from hosting further studies until they obtain a major use permit, the costs of which can escalate into the thousands. Mrs. Jones further reported the county official warned her that hosting the study – deemed a "religious assembly" subject to county codes – without the permit could result in fines escalating from $100 to $1,000.
3rd Circuit: Parent Can't Read Bible to Son's Public School Class
6-2-09 -- In the court battles over prayer in school, the cutting-edge cases are increasingly coming from the kindergarten classrooms. . . . The latest such case, Busch v. Marple Newtown School District, attracted six friend-of-the-court briefs when it went before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and resulted in a 48-page decision with all three judges on the panel weighing in. . . . Voting 2-1, the court rejected the claims of the mother of a kindergarten student who said public school officials violated her First Amendment rights when they prohibited her from reading verses from the Bible -- which she said was her son Wesley's favorite book -- during a program called "All About Me" week. . . . Writing for the court, 3rd Circuit Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica said "parents of public school kindergarten students may reasonably expect their children will not become captive audiences to an adult's reading of religious texts."
State moves to restrict Catholics in politics
6-1-09 -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut has filed a federal lawsuit following assertions by a state official that rallying church members at the Capitol in Hartford constitutes a violation of lobbying law. . . . Six weeks after 4,000 Catholics in Connecticut rallied in opposition to a proposed state law known as Bill 1098, which dictated local parishes reorganize their governing structures to substitute lay leaders for priests in oversight of finances , the Diocese of Bridgeport received a letter from Connecticut's Office of State Ethics informing it that an investigation was underway to ascertain if the diocese had violated state law by failing to register as a lobbyist organization. . . . "Following the surprise introduction of Bill 1098," said Diocese Bishop William E. Lori in a statement, "a proposal that singled out Catholic parishes and would have forced them to reorganize contrary to church law and the First Amendment, our diocese responded in the most natural, spontaneous, and frankly, American, of ways: we alerted our membership – in person and through our website; we encouraged them to exercise their free speech by contacting their elected representatives; and we organized a rally at the State Capitol. How can this possibly be called lobbying?" Got your permit to study the Bible?
6-1-09 -- Recently, a California pastor and his wife were required by San Diego County officials to obtain a permit to hold a Bible study in their home. . . . "What?! Is this a joke?" I wondered as I heard the news for the first time. It was no joke. Rather it's a First Amendment nightmare and possibly a precedent of what's to come. . . . Are you prepared for a future in which you might someday hear the question, "Got your permit to study the Bible?" . . . On April 10 (Good Friday), a county code enforcement officer visited the home of David and Mary Jones after receiving a complaint about their Christian gatherings. The Jones' attorney Dean Broyles, president of The Western Center for Law & Policy, conveyed in disbelief, "The county asked [Mrs. Jones], 'Do you have a regular meeting in your home?' She said, 'Yes.' 'Do you say amen?' 'Yes.' 'Do you pray?' 'Yes.' 'Do you say praise the Lord?' 'Yes.'" . . . The officer then warned the family to "cease and desist" the "religious assemblies" or they would face fines up to $1,000 weekly (or more). Two days later, the county delivered a citation claiming that the Joneses were guilty of "unlawful use of land," mandating them to "stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit."
May 2009
US judge refuses to dismiss 'Day of Prayer' suit
5-29-09 -- A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit that claims the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. . . . U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled this week the case brought by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation can move forward with discovery. . . . The Obama administration and National Day of Prayer Task Force filed motions to dismiss the case, but Crabb rejected them as premature. . . . She says the foundation faces a heavy burden in proving the tradition violates the separation of church and state but should have an opportunity to do so.
California's Prop 8 Stands, and So Do Existing Gay Marriages
5-27-09 -- Marriage remains illegal for same-sex couples in California, save for about 18,000 of them who slipped under the wire last year. . . . In a ruling that gay-rights leaders called a "terrible blow," a "bitter pill to swallow" and a step "backward," the California Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled 6-1 in three consolidated cases to uphold Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that restricted marriage to heterosexual couples. . . . The state Constitution allows amendments, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the 136-page opinion, and Prop 8 voters "have not in any way impermissibly usurped a power allocated by the Constitution exclusively to the judiciary or some other entity or branch of government." . . . Prop 8 was put on the November ballot in response to the Supreme Court's 4-3 ruling last year in In re Marriage Cases, 43 Cal.4th 757, which found laws banning same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. The measure passed with 52 percent of the vote, but not before approximately 36,000 gays and lesbians got married between June 20, when last year's landmark ruling became official, and Nov. 4, when Prop 8 passed.
Religious freedom at court's door Dispute over right to hang mezuzah gets rare full hearing
5-12-09 -- Perhaps because it originated in a conflict between the Book of Deuteronomy and the rules of the Shoreline Towers condominium, a federal appeals court will give a lawsuit over a mezuzah a rare full-court hearing, Wednesday. . . . A mezuzah is a scroll-like container with biblical passages that Jews nail to their doorposts. The one on Lynne Bloch's door in the North Sheridan Road building was removed by the condo association five years ago. Since then, it has been restored and removed several times. It is now in place, but that hasn't deterred the legal squabbling. . . . When the case came before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit last year, the justices were divided on what should be their guiding principle: Is it the right to freedom of religion or of freedom from religion? . . . Writing for the majority, Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook ruled: "An entitlement of one group to display its symbols may cause unease for other faiths that abhor all icons."
Christian Attorneys Urge Senate to Vote Against 'Hate Crimes' Bill By Aaron J. Leichman, Christian Post Reporter 5-1-09 -- Attorneys at a Christian legal group are urging the U.S. Senate not to pass the expanded “Hate Crimes” bill, which the House this week voted 249-175 in favor of. . . . The attorneys at the Alliance Defense Fund insist that the bill, H.R. 1913, could severely impede Americans’ constitutional rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression while creating additional legal protections for those engaged in homosexual behavior that are not available to everyone else. . . . If made into law, the bill would add violence against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability to the list of federal hate crimes. Current federal law only covers crimes committed on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity or national origin. . . . “All violent crimes are hate crimes, and all crime victims deserve equal justice,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot in a released statement. “So-called ‘hate crime’ laws actually serve only one purpose: The criminalization of citizens based on whatever thoughts, beliefs, and emotions they have that are not considered to be ‘politically correct.’ No one should fall for the idea that this bill does anything to bring about greater justice for Americans.”
High school teacher's anti-Creationism comment violated law Mission Viejo history teacher James Corbett violated the First Amendment, a federal court rules.
5-1-09 -- A Mission Viejo high school history teacher violated the First Amendment by disparaging Christians during a classroom lecture, a federal judge ruled today. . . . James Corbett, a 20-year teacher at Capistrano Valley High School, referred to Creationism as “religious, superstitious nonsense” during a 2007 classroom lecture, denigrating his former Advanced Placement European history student, Chad Farnan. . . . The decision is the culmination of a 16-month legal battle between Corbett and Farnan – a conflict the judge said should remind teachers of their legal “boundaries” as public school employees. . . . "Corbett states an unequivocal belief that Creationism is 'superstitious nonsense,'" U.S. District Court Judge James Selna said in a 37-page ruling released from his Santa Ana courtroom. "The court cannot discern a legitimate secular purpose in this statement, even when considered in context." Calif. Supreme Court Lets Stand School's 'Christian Conduct' Ban on Homosexuality
5-1-09 -- Private religious schools may have won a big victory Wednesday when the California Supreme Court declined to decide whether a so-called "Christian Conduct" rule prohibiting homosexuality violated the state's premier civil rights law. . . . The high court's decision not to review a case out of Riverside County lets stand a lower court's ruling that the California Lutheran High School is not a business enterprise and, therefore, not subject to the state's 50-year-old Unruh Civil Rights Act. . . . In a depublication request filed with the Supreme Court in March, the San Francisco-based American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California called the January ruling by Riverside's Fourth District Court of Appeal an "ill-considered opinion" -- even though the court itself called the ruling "narrow."
ACLU, religious groups challenge proposal to allow judges to bar testimony of women wearing veils
5-1-09 -- The Michigan Supreme Court is considering a court rule that would let judges control the appearances of witnesses who testify in court to make sure they're credible. . . . The proposed rule has drawn the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union and religious and domestic violence groups, which today petitioned the court with a request: Tweak the proposed rule by adding one sentence: "No person shall be precluded from testifying on the basis of clothing worn because of a sincerely held religious belief." . . . "Our biggest concern is that in a country that values religious freedom, we should not close the courtroom doors on a group of people because of their religious dress," said Michael Steinberg, the legal director for the ACLU of Michigan, who believes the proposed rule has discrimination written all over it.
April 2009
Hate Crimes Bill Infringes First Amendment Rights
4-27-09 -- The new Federal Hate Crimes bill, which is about to pass the House, intrudes on First Amendment freedoms of speech and religion. It’s another great leap forward on the “gay rights” agenda. . . . We’ve been sliding down this slope for too long. . . . When I joined the American Bar Association, I understood it was about making better laws and lawyers. It wasn’t supposed to have a social agenda, left or right. For example, the ABA offered model codes regarding appropriate objectivity and fairness from judges and lawyers that the attorneys in each state were to consider as the most appropriate rules for governing their professional actions. . . . In the 1980's lawyers with a social agenda began filling the ranks of the ABA. It began to show itself in the resolutions being made and passed. By 1988, the Association adopted a policy urging its members not to hold business or professional functions at clubs that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. In 1989, the ABA adopted a policy of urging the federal government, state governments and local governments to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and housing. I recall seeing in the ABA Journal that states should be encouraged to send more homosexual delegates to the convention around that same time. Also, the ABA passed a controversial resolution in support of keeping abortion legal. Even some members who were pro-choice felt that the ABA was not the place to be pushing social issues. But the bar association had become the place to get social engineering done. Judiciary Committee greenlights 'hate crimes' Members refuse to protect Christian pastors from charges
4-23-09 -- Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee today rejected an opportunity to protect Christian pastors who preach the biblical condemnation of homosexuality and approved on a 15-12 vote a "hate crimes" bill that supporters admit could be used to bring charges against religious leaders. . . . The bill, H.R. 1913, now will be considered by the full House of Representatives. . . . The committee rejected a number of amendments offered by several members seeking to protect religious liberty, to protect the unborn, to protect against violence by illegal aliens, and to clarify the bill's meanings of "gender identity" and "sexual orientation." . . . One of the rejected proposals was offered by Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, who sought to ensure ministers could not be prosecuted for abetting a "hate crime" simply because they preach from the Bible or another religious book.
Court: State must pay Jehovah's Witness benefits
4-22-09 -- The widow of a man who died after he refused a blood transfusion for religious reasons is entitled to workers compensation death benefits, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. . . . The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division denied benefits to Sharon Williams on grounds that her husband, Howard W. Williams, refused reasonable and necessary medical treatment. Howard Williams died following a work-related car accident. . . . The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc. intervened in the case. . . . On Feb. 9, 2006, Williams, a maintenance technician for Capital City Maintenance Inc., was riding in an automobile on the interstate to a job site in Laramie. The driver, Sharon Williams, lost control of the vehicle, which rolled several times. . . . Howard Williams, 67, severely injured, was taken by ambulance to United Medical Center in Cheyenne. . . . The treating physician, Dr. M. Whitney Parnell, determined Williams had a ruptured spleen with abdominal bleeding, said the Supreme Court majority opinion, written by Justice Michael Golden. . . . The couple told the physician they were Jehovah's Witnesses and did not want any blood products used in Williams' treatment. They wanted to wait until their son arrived at the hospital to confirm they could use "Cell Saver," a process of taking the patient's own blood, cleaning it, processing it, and then transfusing it back into the patient.
4-13-09 -- A Texas congressman who is a former judge warns that the "hate crimes" legislation reintroduced in the U.S. House could potentially lead to the arrest of Christian pastors who speak out against sexual immorality. . . . Representatives John Conyers (D-Michigan) and Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) are sponsoring the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (H.R. 1913), also known as the "Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act." The bill would add sexual orientation to the list of categories covered under federal hate crime law. When Democrats passed the bill in 2007, they were divided over whether to add "gender identity and expression" to the list. . . . Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) says under the legislation, pastors, rabbis, or imams could be charged with encouraging or inducing a "hate crime" if they preach against homosexuality. Faith Groups Increasingly Lose Gay Rights Fights
4-10-09 -- Faith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom. . . . The lawsuits have resulted from states and communities that have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation. Those laws have created a clash between the right to be free from discrimination and the right to freedom of religion, religious groups said, with faith losing. They point to what they say are ominous recent examples: . . . -- A Christian photographer was forced by the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission to pay $6,637 in attorney's costs after she refused to photograph a gay couple's commitment ceremony. . . . -- A psychologist in Georgia was fired after she declined for religious reasons to counsel a lesbian about her relationship.
Expulsion threatened over prayer for sick teacher Students' lawsuit against College of Alameda moves forward
4-9-09 -- Attorneys representing two students who have been threatened with expulsion by a California college because of a prayer for a sick professor say a federal judge has refused the school's efforts to have the case dismissed. . . . "It's outrageous," said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which is working on the case brought by students Kandy Kyriacou and Ojoma Omaga of the College of Alameda in Alameda, near Oakland. . . . "Since when does praying for a sick teacher to get well – with her consent – earn a suspension? This is not just a constitutional violation; it is a complete lack of common sense. These students were not looking for a fight, but since the school to this day insists that it can expel them if they pray again, we will have to resolve it in federal court," he said. . . . The public-interest legal group said the decision by a San Francisco federal judge means the lawsuit will move forward.
3rd Circuit Rejects Muslim Cop's Bid to Wear Religious Scarf
4-8-09 -- A Muslim woman who works as a Philadelphia police officer has lost her court battle to wear a religious head scarf on the job now that the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that forcing the department to accommodate her would compromise the city's interest in maintaining "religious neutrality" in its police force. . . . In Webb v. City of Philadelphia, a unanimous three-judge panel upheld a lower court's decision that said the police department's blanket policy forbidding officers from wearing any religious garb did not violate plaintiff Kimberlie Webb's religious-freedom rights. . . . Writing for the court, Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica said he agreed with the city's argument that, without strict enforcement of its dress code, "the essential values of impartiality, religious neutrality, uniformity, and the subordination of personal preference would be severely damaged to the detriment of the proper functioning of the police department."
City confesses it violated pastor's rights Minister arrested for being on public sidewalk
4-7-09 -- The city of Wichita, Kan., has confessed it violated the civil rights of a pastor who was arrested for being on a public city sidewalk at the time a homosexual event was going on nearby, and the subsequent lawsuit has been dismissed as part of a consent decree. . . . The case was brought by attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Spirit One Christian Center Pastor Mark Holick. . . . It was dismissed in an order from U.S. District Judge Thomas Martin, whose ruling described the situation: . . . "Plaintiff was preparing to share his religious beliefs with others on the public sidewalk near the entrance of Heritage Park in Wichita, Kansas, where a Gay Pride event was about to take place … within 5 minutes of arriving at that location, Plaintiff was threatened with arrest if he did not leave, and then immediately arrested when he refused to leave, handcuffed, placed in a squad car in front of members from his church, including adults, youth, and children, processed at the police station by having his mug shot taken, fingers printed, and placed in a cell with others."
A Call to Prayer: National Observance
4-6-09 -- Beth Moore will join Dr. and Mrs. Dobson to lead the nation in prayer. . . . Anyone who has watched the news lately, or even just stepped outside the house, knows America needs prayer. . . . The 58th annual National Day of Prayer takes place Thursday, May 7, when millions will unite in prayer as thousands of events take place coast to coast. . . . "At this time of economic downturn, terrorist threats, and relentless assaults upon foundational biblical principles, it's heartening to reflect that we serve a God who has repeatedly shown Himself 'mighty to save' (Zeph. 3:17) in the lives of those who trust in Him," said Mrs. Shirley Dobson, chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. . . . "Inspired by this uplifting truth, the National Day of Prayer Task Force has selected 'Prayer … America's Hope" as the theme for our 2009 observances." . . . The theme is based on Psalm 33:22: "May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you."
Illinois Judge Stops Govt from Forcing Pro-Life Pharmacists to Dispense Drugs
4-6-09 -- An Illinois judge on Friday provided pro-life pharmacists in the state with a legal victory in their case against the state government. The case centers on a 2005 executive order pro-abortion ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued that would require pharmacists to dispense the morning after pill, which sometimes causes an abortion. . . . The pharmacists who filed suit to overturn the order said to be forced to do so would violate their religious and moral beliefs. . . . Sangamon County Judge John Belz issued a temporary restraining order last week against the state government ordering officials not to enforce the Blagojevich order. . . . Francis Manion, an attorney with the pro-life American Center for Law and Justice law firm, told LifeNews.com he is pleased with the decision.
March 2009
Judge dismisses attempt to remove 'one state under God' from Texas pledge
3-28-09 -- A judge has dismissed the claims of an atheist parent who sought to remove the words "one state under God" from the Texas pledge of allegiance. . . . Parent David Wallace Croft had argued that the insertion of the words in 2007 by legislators was unconstitutional and amounted to a violation of the separation of church and state. . . . Public school children recite the pledge every morning after the U.S. pledge. . . . U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade on Thursday upheld the pledge as it is worded: "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." . . . In his opinion, Kinkeade wrote, "A voluntary recitation of the Texas Pledge of Allegiance simply does not coerce students in the same way a school-sponsored prayer might."
Ore. Church Can Brew Hallucinogenic Tea, Says Federal Judge
3-23-09 -- A federal judge says members of a Brazilian-based Christian church in Ashland, Ore., can import, distribute and brew hallucinogenic tea. . . . U.S. District Judge Owen Panner issued a permanent injunction barring the government from prohibiting or penalizing the sacramental use of "Daime tea." . . . It is brewed from two Amazonian plants that contain the hallucinogenic drug dimethyltriptamine, or DMT. The tea is also known as ayahuasca tea. . . . Panner's order, issued Thursday, said activities of The Church of the Holy Light of the Queen, an Ashland-based branch of the Santo Daime are legal. Suit claims recognition of God violates law Brief challenges plan to stop acknowledging prayer
3-21-09 -- A court should reject arguments from those who seek "relentless extirpation" of any reference to religion in public life, according to a brief submitted in opposition to a Wisconsin lawsuit that challenges the National Day of Prayer. . . . The lawsuit was filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which asserted the law that sets the first Thursday in May as "National Day of Prayer" should be declared in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. . . . The case pending in a Wisconsin court now, however, has drawn the attention of the American Center for Law and Justice, the ACLJ, which submitted a friend-of-the-court brief asking for the case to be dismissed. . . . The ACLJ's filing includes a list 60 pages long of presidential and other proclamations recognizing America's need for a "day of prayer" and said the concept was adopted even as the U.S. was being created as a nation. . . . "At the end of the years 1777, 1781 and 1782 the Continental Congress recommended that the states set apart a day for prayer and thanksgiving. At the Constitutional Convention itself, Benjamin Franklin urged that 'prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business," the ACLJ argued. . . . It was George Washington who offered the first presidential proclamation urging a "day of public thanksgiving and prayer." He said "it is in an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience," the filing argued.
Law school cannot be required to recognize and fund a religious student group that discriminates
3-18-09 -- The University of California Hastings College of the Law cannot be required to recognize and fund a religious student group that discriminates in the selection of members and officers, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday. . . . Just a week after hearing arguments in the case, the 9th Circuit issued a one-paragraph, unpublished order that Hastings' open membership rule prohibiting discrimination based on religion or sexual orientation of members is "viewpoint neutral and reasonable." . . . The Christian Legal Society made clear after the March 10 argument that it would appeal if it lost at this stage. Christian Legal Society v. Kane, No. 06-15956.
Public school 'silence' ruled constitutional 3-17-09 -- A federal appeals court has upheld the observance of one minute of silence following the Pledge of Allegiance for students in public schools in Texas, affirming that the practice is not an unconstitutional endorsement either of religious or non-religious activities. . . . "The statute is facially neutral between religious and non-religious activities that students can choose to engage in during the moment of silence," said the ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "As Justice O'Connor stated in her 'Wallace' concurrence: 'It is difficult to discern a serious threat to religious liberty from a room of silent, thoughtful school children.'" . . . The 5th Circuit ruling came in a case in which the non-profit Alliance Defense Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief. 5th Circuit Affirms Texas Schools' Moment of Silence Law
3-17-09 --- A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a Texas law that requires public school students to observe a daily minute of silence in order to pray, reflect or otherwise remain quiet. . . . A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans affirmed a district court ruling, saying the law is constitutional because it expressly allows any silent use of that minute, whether religious or not. . . . David and Shannon Croft sued on behalf of their three children, who are enrolled in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District. The suburban Dallas couple contended that including the word "pray" in the mandatory moment of silence law was a way for lawmakers to advance religion in schools. Another family joined the Crofts in filing the lawsuit but chose to remain anonymous. . . . The provision, which took effect in September 2003, changed the way school days begin in Texas, allowing children to "reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activities" for one minute after the American and Texas pledges of allegiance have been recited. . . . Solicitor General James Ho argued for the state that the moment of silence fostered patriotism, provided time for contemplation and protected religious freedom.
9th Circuit Considers Christian Student Group's Challenge to Law School's No-Bias Policy
3-12-09 -- A Christian student group suffered wounds Tuesday in its First Amendment crusade against Hastings College of the Law. . . . Ultimately, though, the tough questions meted out by 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and Judge Carlos Bea may not matter: The three-judge panel asked whether it should hold off on a decision, pending finality in another case that Kozinski called "completely on point." . . . In that litigation, Truth v. Kent School District, the Ninth Circuit ruled against a Washington high school Bible study group, and Bea wrote a strong protest when he failed to secure enough votes for en banc review. But at the Hastings hearing, Bea appeared the good soldier: Truth is now binding circuit precedent, unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns it. . . . In 2004, Hastings refused to recognize the Christian Legal Society because it wouldn't allow gays and non-Christians to be members -- violating the school's nondiscrimination policy. This decision cost the group school funds to attend CLS-National's annual conference.
Are crosses religious symbols? Court to hear case
3-8-09 -- A Denver federal appellate court will hear arguments today on the religiousness of 12-foot-high crosses used to honor deceased Utah troopers along state highways. . . . A federal judge in Salt Lake City in 2007 ruled that the crosses are not an illegal public endorsement of religion and are used to communicate a secular message — that a patrolman died or was mortally wounded at a particular location. . . . Texas-based American Atheists in their appeal to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, reject arguments that the cross "now falls into the category of the no-longer-religious Christmas tree." . . . The group has suggested a tombstone or American flag to honor fallen troopers. The judge said the U.S. military uses crosses in cemeteries to represent death and also noted that Utah's majority religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, does not use a cross as an icon.
Bible club bullied for faith
statement 3-3-09 -- A university in Ohio has threatened the future of a campus Bible organization for requiring voting members and office holders be Christian. . . . According to Campus Bible Fellowship representative Gary Holtz, his group had been a registered student organization at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, for more than 30 years. Upon seeking re-registration for 2009, however, the university denied the Bible group's access to facilities, student club fairs, advertising venues and recruiting opportunities – essentially blacklisting the club – because of CBF's requirement that voting members adhere to a doctrinal statement and "accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior." . . . In response, the CBF chapter sought the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, an organization that states its mission is to defend "freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty and sanctity of conscience" at America's colleges and universities.
Elementary blots out 'In God We Trust'
3-3-09 -- An elementary school in Tennessee, after successfully rebuffing an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit over religious expression on campus, has nonetheless ordered the words "God Bless the USA" and "In God We Trust" covered up on student-made posters in the hallway. . . . Administrators at Lakeview Elementary School in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., told parents that the posters, promoting the See You at the Pole student prayer event, mentioned "God" and are therefore precluded by school board policy and prohibited in the hallways as inappropriate. . . . Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance defending religious liberty, filed a lawsuit today on behalf of 10 parents and their children, seeking an injunction against banning private religious expression on student-made posters. . . . "Christian students shouldn't be censored for expressing their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum in a statement. "It's ridiculous as well as unconstitutional to cover up these references to God and prayer – one of which is the national motto itself – on posters announcing a student-led activity."
February 2009
9th Circuit Backs Church on Disclosure of Donors to Campaign Against Gay Marriage
2-26-09 -- Attorneys trying to shield the names of donors to the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign say a 9th Circuit ruling breathes new life into their so-far unsuccessful efforts. . . . A three-judge panel in Seattle on Wednesday held that the state of Montana went too far in requiring an East Helena church to publicly disclose its financial involvement in a 2004 initiative campaign to ban same-sex marriage. . . . The church's in-kind contributions were so small -- initiative petitions were placed in the church foyer; petition copies were made on a church machine -- that forcing its leaders to file campaign disclosure forms amounted to an unfair abridgement of the assembly's First Amendment rights, Judge William Canby Jr. wrote in Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church of East Helena Inc. v. Unsworth, 09 C.D.O.S. 2287. St. Obama candle lights Catholic protest
Priest calls for boycott of shop selling haloed president
2-16-09 -- A priest in California is outraged at a novelty store's large display window of "Saint Obama" candles displaying an image he says "depicts our beloved saints in a not so saintly way." . . . The candles feature President Obama's head atop the body of St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian-born Dominican friar, who became one of the first black saints in the Americas upon his canonization in 1962. . . . Rev. Tony La Torre of St. Philip the Apostle Church in San Francisco says the candles, sold by the Just for Fun store for $15, "mock and ridicule the Catholic/Christian faith." . . . "I am appalled," La Torre wrote in a recent parish newsletter, "that in such a family-oriented neighborhood, any retailer would be so bigoted and so hateful (as) to carry such merchandise just to 'make a buck.'" . . . Just for Fun owners Robert Ramsey and David Eiland, however, say they've done more than "make a buck" – they've made thousands.
Root of nation's economic crisis is moral crisis
2-15-09 -- A travesty of justice has occurred in Oakland, California. But realities surrounding this local issue point to how the economic crisis in our nation is symptomatic of and flows from a deeper fundamental moral crisis. . . . A black pastor awaits sentencing, which could amount to two years in prison and $4,000 in fines, for standing outside an inner city abortion clinic holding a sign saying "Jesus Loves You & Your Baby, Let Us Help You," and offering pro-life literature. . . . Walter Hoye, founder and chairman of the Issues4Life Foundation, was found guilty of "unlawful approach" under the "Access to Reproductive Health Care Facilities Ordinance" enacted in Oakland in 2008. . . . Under the ordinance, it is prohibited, within 100 feet of the entrance to a "reproductive health facility," to approach within eight feet of a client "for the purpose of counseling, harassing, or interfering" with that person. . . . "Harassing" means holding up a sign, passing out literature or offering counseling. . . . The "reproductive health care facility" in question is Family Planning Specialists in Oakland. Looking over their Web site, it's clear that there is only one kind of reproductive health care they provide. Abortions.
Prof calls Christian student 'fascist b------' Lawsuit filed after speech met with: 'Ask God what your grade is'
2-13-09 -- A student at Los Angeles City College has filed a lawsuit against the institution after a professor called him a "fascist b------" and told him to "Ask God what your grade is" following the student's speech about morality. . . . The case has been filed by the Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Jonathan Lopez after his encounter with Professor John Matteson in a speech class. . . . The lawsuit alleges Lopez was participating in a class assignment to give a speech on "any topic" from six to eight minutes. . . . "During the November, 24, 2008 class, Mr. Lopez delivered an informative speech on God and the ways in which Mr. Lopez has seen God act both in his life and in the lives of others through miracles. In the middle of the speech, he addressed the issues of God and morality; thus, he referred to the dictionary definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman and also read a passage from the Bible discussing marriage," the ADF explained. . . . At that point, the professor interrupted him and refused to allow him to finish his speech, ADF said. Matteson then called Lopez a 'fascist b------" and dismissed the class. . . . Later, the professor left an evaluation form on Lopez's backpack without a grade, instructing him to "Ask God what your grade is." . . . The professor also warned on the evaluation form, "proselytizing is inappropriate in public school." . . . Yet several weeks earlier, Matteson has announced to the class, in connection to the California vote Nov. 4 in support of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one woman only, that, "if you voted yes on Proposition 8, you are a fascist b------."
January 2009
Judge: Moment-of-silence law unconstitutional
1-21-09 -- A federal judge in Chicago ruled today that a state law mandating a moment of silence in Illinois public schools is unconstitutional. . . . The judge, Robert W. Gettleman of the U.S. District Court, had put the Illinois law on hold last May while he considered the case filed by an atheist on behalf of his daughter. . . . Critics of the law, including the American Civil Liberties Union, contended the law amounted to a government endorsement of religion.
1-21-09 -- Barack Obama, who campaigned on "Change We Can Believe In," was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States yesterday, Jan. 20, in the most expensive inauguration in the history of our country. Despite a bleak economy and a rising unemployment rate, Obama and we the taxpayers are estimated to have spent over $150 million. That is a lot of "change," to be sure. . . . While many in the country were welcoming the Obamas, the incoming president was busy putting out the welcome mat for the homosexual agenda. At the "We are One" gathering at the Lincoln Memorial on the Sunday before the Inauguration, Obama invited Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly "gay" bishop ordained in the Episcopal Church, to give the opening prayer. It seems rather strange that an event to celebrate "unity" would begin with prayer by an individual whose homosexual conduct is responsible for one of the deepest divisions in the Episcopal Church in its history, as various dioceses have severed ties with the Episcopal Church to join the more conservative international Anglican community. . . . But even more shocking is the fact that Bishop Robinson was asked to pray at all. When questioned about the upcoming event by the Associated Press, Robinson assured them that he would "be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer," and – not surprisingly – that he would not use a Bible. If that is the accepted view of our new president and those attending the event, then we are indeed in for a "change," but one actually contrary to our beliefs and very destructive of our national morality. Historically, there has never been a time when Christianity has been so openly shunned and homosexuality so expressly promoted. . . . Our first president would have been appalled at such "change." George Washington began a long tradition of adding "so help me God" to the constitutionally required presidential oath while resting his hand on the Holy Bible. The records of the National Archives show that, after repeating the oath, Washington leaned over and reverently kissed the Bible. Unlike Robinson, Washington was careful to publicly emphasize his faith in God and His Word, not run from it. Court: Christian mom's child must visit lesbian State threatens to take daughter by force, if necessary
1-19-09 -- A Christian mother has been told by a Virginia court that her 6-year-old daughter must now visit the mother's former lesbian partner in Vermont, and if she refuses, the law will remove the girl by force, if necessary. . . . As WND has reported, Lisa Miller left the homosexual lifestyle and became a Christian when her daughter, Isabella, was 17 months old. But Janet Jenkins, Lisa's same-sex partner when Lisa gave birth to Isabella, is seeking full custody of the girl, claiming she was a parent even though she is not biologically related to Isabella and never sought to adopt her. . . . The case has been further tangled by the courts, as Jenkins and Miller were joined in civil union in Vermont, but Miller and her daughter now live in Virginia, where the laws forbid recognition of civil unions. . . . Earlier this month, however, Judge William Sharp of the Shenandoah County Domestic Relations District Court in Virginia, ordered Miller to allow Jenkins a three-day unsupervised visit with Isabella. . . . Miller told LifeSiteNews that Sharp also ruled that Vermont's civil union laws must be upheld in Virginia.
D.C. cops ban pro-life messages 'Is this the future of free speech and political dissent under President Obama'
1-16-09 -- The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department has forbidden a pro-life gathering and chalk display during Inauguration Week – and now the group is fighting back with a lawsuit against the department. . . . Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said the department is banning the event because of its message. . . . "For over 16 years, law enforcement officials have given permission to the Christian Defense Coalition to use public 'sidewalk chalking' as a part of their demonstrations and vigils in the nation's capitol. The City of Washington, D.C., has also allowed numerous public 'chalk art displays' throughout the city," he said in a statement. "It is therefore most troubling that for the first time the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department is banning this practice when it involves a pro-life display in front of the White House." . . . Thursday, Jan. 22, marks the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since 9714, pro-life activists have gathered in Washington, D.C., each year to protest the decision and call attention to millions of lives lost. Like it or not, you pay for faith in evolution 'This is classic example of what Founding Fathers did not want'
1-9-09 -- Whether a public university can use taxpayer funds from the federal government for a website that overtly endorses the beliefs of some religious groups regarding evolution and creation – but not others – is the focus of a case that's being prepared for submission to the U.S. Supreme Court. . . . "This is a classic example of what the Founding Fathers did not want," Brad Dacus, of the Pacific Justice Institute, told WND. . . . His organization is working on the case that revolves around a University of California-Berkeley website that advocates for a single perspective in the arguments over evolution – and highlights a list of religious groups whose beliefs agree with that perspective. . . . The site, funded by a federal grant and aimed at influencing teachers to promote evolution, excludes and ridicules perspectives – and religious groups that hold those perspectives – that fail to align with its stated beliefs. . . . "Some religious beliefs explicitly contradict science (e.g., the belief that the world and all life on it was created in six literal days); however, most religious groups have no conflict with the theory of evolution or other scientific findings," states the website. . . . "This [website] injures religious freedom in this country," Dacus said. "The government is playing a role that is overtly hostile to some religious groups and denominations while favoring and giving greater recognition towards others." . . . He continued, "This case involves the ability of the state to use taxpayer money to overtly endorse and encourage support of one set of religious denominations over others."
Conservatives on 9th Circuit Can't Rescue Boy Scouts From Establishment Clause Claim
1-2-09 -- Conservatives on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals couldn't muster enough votes to rescue the Boy Scouts from the riptide of an Establishment Clause claim. . . . The court denied en banc review Tuesday to a San Diego-based Boy Scouts group in a case that raises tough church-and-state questions (pdf). The appeal drew a wide range of amici: the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and a group of states -- including Texas and South Dakota -- sided with the Scouts, while California filed for the plaintiffs. . . . A pair of couples, one lesbian and another agnostic, challenged a lease the Scouts signed with the city of San Diego allowing them to operate recreational facilities on park land. They said the deal violated the Establishment Clause because of the Scouts' professed reverence of God. In addition, they said they were averse to using the facilities because of the Scouts' stated policy of excluding gays and atheists. . . . The district court agreed during pretrial motions and the Scouts appealed. In June, a 9th Circuit panel led by Judge Marsha Berzon granted standing to the plaintiffs, over the objections of Judge Andrew Kleinfeld. Senior Judge William Canby Jr. tilted the decision against the Scouts.
Traditional family defenders now in 'gay' agenda bull's-eye Licensing proposal could require lawyers to endorse homosexuality
1-1-09 -- One of the top lawyers in the nation in the battle to protect traditional marriage, historically Christian lifestyle choices, parental rights and the key freedoms provided by the U.S. Constitution is warning that there eventually could be no lawyers left to take up those disputes. . . . That's because of a recommendation before the State Bar of Arizona – the organization that licenses attorneys – to require all new lawyers to swear they won't let their personal religious perspective on homosexuality affect their representation of any client. Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel, warns that the proposal is just the "tip of the iceberg." . . . According to reports in Arizona, the state bar is considering a major change to its existing oath that requires lawyers to affirm they won't "permit considerations of gender, race, age, nationality, disability or social standing to influence my duty of care" to clients. . . . The proposal in Arizona is to add "sexual orientation" to that list. An Historic Example Of Judicial Activism: The Cantwell Case |
"It
is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it [the
Constitution] a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so
frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of
the revolution."
"[T]he importance of piety and religion; of industry and frugality; of prudence, economy, regularity and an even government; all ... are essential to the well-being of a family." --Samuel Adams, letter to Thomas Wells, 1780 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
“In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making
proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by
persecution.”
"In such a performance
you may lay the foundation of national happiness only in religion, not
by leaving it doubtful " whether morals can exist without it, " but by
asserting that without religion morals are the effects of causes as
purely physical as pleasant breezes and fruitful seasons." |
|
You are visitor number:
Inaugurated on January 17, 2009
Updated: 08/09/2010
