Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- Hoboken, New Jersey has elected a Sikh mayor; he is the first Sikh mayor in the state’s history.
- A Democratic Congressman from California is believed to be the first member of Congress to publicly identify himself as a secular humanist.
- An Alaskan town council has voted to donate money to a local Orthodox church to help fund repairs, citing the church’s status as a historical site and tourist attraction.
- Kiryas Joel, an Orthodox Jewish enclave in the town of Monroe, New York will split from the town after its secession was approved by voters in a referendum.
- The 9th Circuit has heard oral arguments in a case in which a secular advocacy organization is challenging a California school board’s practice of opening meetings with a prayer.