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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Hope Community Church v. Warner, a federal district court held that a provision in West Virginia’s constitution, which bars churches from being incorporated, is unconstitutional.
  • Several Christians in India were arrested for distributing “religious materials” within government schools, and were charged with propagating religion in an illegal manner.
  • The Supreme Court of the United States is considering a queue of church-and-state related cases, including a Florida synagogue fighting to advertise religious celebrations on public transportation.
  • A Christian woman in Iran was arrested and has been imprisoned for weeks without charges; her family believes officials are subjecting her to brutal interrogation regarding other Christian community members.
  • A school assistant in England, who was fired because of Christian beliefs she expressed on social media, will have her case heard in the Court of Appeal after the initial tribunal held her dismissal lawful.
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Gaddy v. Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the 10th Circuit heard oral arguments in a class action lawsuit accusing the LDS Church of fraudulently misrepresenting its founding and the use of tithing funds. A Utah federal court had previously dismissed the case, which was brought by former members claiming the Church’s leaders did not sincerely believe in the foundational narrative.
  • In Catholic Benefits Association v. Burrows, a federal district court in North Dakota blocked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from enforcing rules that would compel a Catholic organization to accommodate employee’s abortions and infertility treatments in violation of the organization’s religious teachings. The court ruled that such mandates would infringe on religious freedom.
  • In In re Calvary Chapel Iowa, an Iowa Administrative Law Judge ruled that the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act shields churches from taxpayer lawsuits challenging their property tax exemptions. The court held that such lawsuits impose a substantial burden on religious exercise, and that tax enforcement is better handled by the state, not individuals, to avoid retaliatory actions against religious organizations.
  • Jewish students filed a lawsuit against Haverford College alleging the college violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to enforce its nondiscrimination policy and protect Jewish students from harassment over their pro-Israel views. The complaint also includes a breach of contract claim, accusing the college of fostering a hostile environment where Jewish students feel unsafe expressing support for Israel.
  • Ukraine signed a new law, No. 3894-IX, effective August 24, banning the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) for justifying and supporting Russia’s invasion, and introducing legal procedures to dissolve Ukrainian religious organizations connected to the ROC. The law specifically targets the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) by prohibiting affiliations with any Russian religious groups involved in supporting the war.
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Jarrard v. Sheriff of Polk County, the Eleventh Circuit held that Georgia jail officials violated the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment when they dismissed and continually denied the reapplication of a volunteer jail minister. The court found that the jail officials engaged in viewpoint discrimination based primarily on their theological disagreement with the petitioner’s beliefs on baptism and that even if they were concerned about inmate well-being and potential problems for jail administration, the jail did not pursue the least restrictive means to preserve petitioner’s right to express his beliefs.
  • In Case of Pindo Mulla v. Spain, the European Court of Human Rights held that a Spanish court had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by authorizing a blood transfusion for a critically bleeding woman who had refused blood transfusions due to her beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness.
  • Amid current controversies relating over the sale of the “Cow’s Garden,” Armenian Christians strive to maintain their centuries-long presence in Jerusalem’s Old City.
  • The United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has recently come under criticism for his blog post stating that Azerbaijan has been able to “liberate” the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan conducted an ethnic cleansing of the region’s 120,000 Christian Armenians in violation of an order from the International Court of Justice.
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Legal Spirits 063: Ethnic Cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, One Year Later

Ganzdasar Monastery, a 13th Century Armenian Christian site in Nagorno-Karabakh (Wikipedia)

In September 2023, in violation of an order from the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan ethnically cleansed the region of Nagorno-Karabakh of its 120,000 Christian Armenian inhabitants. In this episode, human-rights attorney Karnig Kerkonian describes the events of a year ago and efforts to hold Azerbaijan responsible in international forums. He also explains the role that religion, understood as a communal and cultural marker, has had in Azerbaijan’s campaign against Christian Armenians. Listen in.

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • A petition for certiorari was filed in Apache Stronghold v. United States after the Ninth Circuit refused to enjoin the government from transferring federally-owned land to a copper company. The land is alleged to have significant spiritual significance to the Apache Nation, and the petitioners claim violations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
  • The Ukrainian Supreme Court decided to formally ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the largest religious organization in Ukraine, after years of church confiscations and harassment of believers. The law bans all religious organizations with ties to Russia, and gives the Church nine months to either merge with a mostly-unrecognized nationalist church, or formally disavow all of its connections with the Russian Orthodox Church.
  • In Edison v. South Carolina Department of Education, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that a state scholarship for private school students violates the State’s Constitution, which prohibits public funds to be used for the direct benefit of religious or private educational institutions. The program allowed beneficiaries to use the state-provided scholarship funds to pay for their private school tuition.
  • The Tenth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a discrimination claim brought by a school administrator, who was fired after complaining about the depiction of Christians in a school play. Although the Court said that the Plaintiff’s words were not protected as they were made in the course of performing his official duties, it reversed due to sufficient facts being raised that gave rise to an inference of discrimination.
  • The Ninth Circuit held that a municipal law mandating tree-trimming did not violate the Free Exercise rights of a resident who claimed his religious and spiritual beliefs were substantially burdened by the regulation. The Court held that the Free Exercise Clause does not relieve an individual of the duty to comply with a neutral law of general applicability.
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Mustin v. Wainwright, the Sixth Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision dismissing a Free Exercise and RLUIPA claim brought by a Muslim inmate at a correctional facility. The Sixth Circuit reasoned that the plaintiff was likely to succeed in his Free Exercise and RLUIPA claims, as it found that Defendants’ failure to provide adequate space to plaintiff and other Muslim inmates, as well as the serving of raw, expired, or pork-incorporated food, satisfied the plaintiff’s burden in pleading that the correctional facility placed a substantial burden upon his ability to practice his religion freely.
  • In Cambridge Christian School, Inc. v. Florida High School Athletic Association, Inc., the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision rejecting a Christian private schools claims that the Association’s refusal to allow the school to use the state championship football stadium’s PA System to lead a pre-game prayer violated the school’s free speech and free exercise rights. The Eleventh Circuit reasoned that because the government is the entity engaging in speech at the games, the government’s control over the content of its message does not infringe upon the school’s rights.
  • In Reinoehl v. Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, an Indiana District Court held that a public school that teaches the theory of evolution as part of its state-mandated science curriculum does not violate the Establishment Clause. The District Court rejected Plaintiff’s claim that the theory of evolution originates from the religion of atheism, instead holding that evolution is not a religion and that the idea that it may incidentally coincide with certain tenets of atheism does not render the teaching of evolution in public schools violative of the Establishment Clause.
  • In Doe v. First Baptist Church of Pierce City, Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals referred to the State’s Supreme Court the question whether the Establishment Clause prevents a court from determining if a youth pastor negligently failed to supervise children in a youth ministries program.
  • The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Edward Waters University in Florida for withdrawing recognition of its faculty labor union. The university, which is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, argues that its rights as a religious educational institution permit it to withdraw recognition of the union.
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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In National Religious Broadcasters v. Werfel, filed in federal district court in Texas this week, plaintiffs claim that the Johnson Amendment is unconstitutional as it applies to churches. This amendment prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from supporting or opposing political candidates.   
  • In Hunter v. U.S. Dep’t of Education, the 9th Circuit held that the religious exemption in Title IX violates neither the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause nor the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
  • In Nunez v. Wolf, the 3rd Circuit found that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections did not have a compelling interest in denying a Muslim inmate religious accommodations.
  • In Couzens v. City of Forest Park, Ohio, the 6th Circuit affirmed that off-duty police officers’ assistance in removing a pastor from a congregation did not violate the pastor’s free exercise rights. The pastor had been dismissed from his position and thus the officers acted reasonably by assisting in his removal.
  • A group of Jewish professors at a New York university petitioned for cert at the Supreme Court in a lawsuit demanding the right to break away from their union’s representation. A lawsuit filed on the professors behalf in 2022 alleged that the union is antisemitic, and that forcing them to be represented by the union is a violation of their First Amendment rights.
  • In Italy, an unusual clash between church and state is publicly taking place. Pope Francis and Italy’s bishops are openly challenging the government’s proposed laws concerning regional autonomy and migration.
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Legal Spirits 062: Can a Public School Ask Kids to State Their Religion?

(Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger)

When the Cedar Grove School District in New Jersey surveyed students about their religious identities and other sensitive matters, St. John’s Law Professor Patricia Montana went into action. She and other parents sued the district for violating student privacy laws, including the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, a federal statute. Last month, the US Department of Education ruled in the parents’ favor. In this episode, Montana talks about her successful legal challenge and explains why she and other parents fought the district’s policy. Listen in!

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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion stories from around the web:

  • In Youth 71Five Ministries v. Williams, the 9th Circuit issued an injunction allowing a Christian organization to participate in Oregon’s Youth Community Investment Grant Program after the state canceled its grants due to religious-based hiring practices. The court found that Oregon selectively enforced its Certification Rule against the organization while continuing to fund secular groups that also violated the rule.
  • In Resurrection House Ministries, Inc. v. City of Brunswick, a Georgia federal court dismissed the ministry’s Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act claim but allowed its other constitutional claims to proceed. The court found that the ministry sufficiently alleged the city’s nuisance action was retaliatory and aimed at deterring its religious practices.
  • In Knights of Columbus Council 2616 v. Town of Fairfield, a Connecticut federal court allowed the Knights of Columbus to proceed with free speech, free exercise, and equal protection claims after the town denied the group a permit to hold a Christmas Vigil in a public park. The court found that the town’s stated COVID-19 concerns were likely pretextual and that the Special Events Permitting Scheme lacked adequate standards, giving the Commission unbridled discretion.
  • In Desmarais v. Granholm, a D.C. federal court allowed a Title VII claim to proceed in which a Department of Energy employee alleged that his request for a religious exemption from the Covid vaccine mandate was deprioritized compared to medical exemptions. The court found that the employee plausibly alleged a causal connection between his religious beliefs and the decision to delay his accommodation request.
  • In North United Methodist Church v. New York Annual Conference, a Connecticut trial court dismissed the local church’s petition for a declaratory judgment on its disaffiliation from the parent church, citing the need to avoid involvement in church policy matters.
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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion stories from around the web:

  • A California federal court recently issued a temporary injunction barring the University of California from allowing protestors to prevent Jewish students from attending class. The lawsuit was initiated by three Jewish students who claimed they were prevented from accessing certain portions of UCLA’s campus without wearing a wristband signifying their refusal to recognize the State of Israel.
  • In Saint Dominic Academy v. Makin, a Maine federal court refused to enjoin the enforcement of a statute that requires schools receiving tuition aid for out-of-district students to refrain from discriminating on the basis of religion or sexual orientation. The Court found that the statute met the strict scrutiny standard of review placed upon it by the Supreme Court, despite the Plaintiff’s claim that it amounts to a de facto ban on parochial schools receiving the desired aid.
  • In In re Covid-Related Restrictions on Religious Services, the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of two challenges to the Governor’s orders restricting religious gatherings in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Court held that any injury caused could not be redressed by the suit due the lifting of the restrictions as well as a binding commitment by the Governor not to impose similar restrictions in the future, rendering the desired declarative judgment incapable of changing the status quo.