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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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Around the Web

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.
Posted on by L&R Forum

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 news stories from around the web:

  • In The Satanic Temple, Inc. v. City of Boston, the 1st Circuit ruled that the Boston City Council did not violate the 1st Amendment by choosing not to invite representatives of the Satanic Temple to deliver invocations at Council meetings. The court found no evidence of religious bias in the selection process as Council members choose speakers based on personal or community ties.
  • In StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Massachusetts district court dismissed a suit against MIT, which alleged that the university showed deliberate indifference to a hostile environment affecting Jewish and Israeli students in violation of Title VI. The court found that MIT took various steps to address the escalating protests and threats, indicating that its response was not clearly unreasonable.
  • A Massachusetts district judge denied Harvard’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit by six Jewish students alleging the university failed to address pervasive antisemitism on campus, citing the university’s “deliberate indifference”. The decision is particularly notable as it comes shortly after the same judge dismissed a similar lawsuit against MIT (see above).
  • In Spillane v. Lamont, the Connecticut Supreme Court decided that parents cannot pursue constitutional challenges to the removal of religious exemptions from vaccination requirements because of sovereign immunity. However, the court allowed a statutory claim under the Connecticut Religious Freedom Restoration Act, stating that sovereign immunity does not block this type of claim.
  • Americans United for Separation of Church and State faces internal conflict and allegations of a troubled work culture. A staff union and former board members complain that the group’s leadership prioritizes publicity over the organization’s core mission of protecting the separation of church and state, which has resulted in resignations and accusations of a toxic environment.

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Around the Web

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

  • In Rizzo v. New York City Department of Sanitation, a federal district court in New York allowed a sanitation worker’s Title VII failure-to-accommodate claim, based on anti-vaccination beliefs, to proceed, rejecting the city’s argument that the objections were not religious. The court also permitted the worker’s claim that the city failed to engage in cooperative dialogue under New York City Human Rights Law.
  • LifeWise, Inc., a Christian group that provides religious education to public school students, sued a parent for allegedly infringing on the group’s copyrighted curriculum. The parent is accused of fraudulently gaining access to and publishing LifeWise’s internal documents and curriculum on a website opposing the organization.
  • A New York court dismissed cross claims by two Kingsborough Community College faculty members who alleged the school retaliated against them for their anti-Israel views after being sued by Jewish faculty members for a hostile work environment. The court found no evidence of retaliatory actions by the school and stated the school had no duty to prevent the plaintiffs’ discrimination and antisemitism complaints.
  • Oklahoma’s state superintendent, Ryan Walters, directed all public schools to include Bible teachings, including the Ten Commandments, in their curriculums, stating such teachings are essential for historical and cultural understanding, without specifying grade levels. It is unclear if the superintendent has the authority to issue this directive under Oklahoma law.
  • President Biden announced the appointment of Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Dr. Elsanousi, Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, has been influential in promoting vaccine equity and religious freedom in Muslim-majority communities.
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Around the Web

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

  • The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari review of a Second Circuit decision upholding the constitutionality of Connecticut’s decision to repeal religious exemptions from its mandatory vaccination laws while retaining medical exemptions. The denial effectively allows the Second Circuit’s ruling to remain in effect, upholding Connecticut lawmakers’ decision to repeal religious objections out of concerns that upticks in exemption requests were coupled with a decline in vaccination rates in some schools.
  • A group of parents (acting on behalf of their children) filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Louisiana, challenging Louisiana’s recently enacted statute that requires the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom. In the complaint, plaintiffs allege that the Louisiana statute imposes religious beliefs on public school children and unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance and adoption of a state-favored religious scripture, all in violation of the Free Exercise and Free Establishment clauses of the First Amendment. Plaintiffs seek declarative and injunctive relief.
  • A federal district court in Florida held that a 2014 prayer vigil organized by the Ocala Police Department meant to encourage witnesses to come out and cooperate with police in the aftermath of a shooting spree that injured several children violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Implementing the Supreme Court’s new Establishment Clause test set out in Kennedy vs. Bremerton School District, the court determined that the city’s involvement in “conceiving, organizing, and implementing the Prayer Vigil” constituted government sponsorship of a religious event, which violated the First Amendment.
  • In Drummond v. Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, the Oklahoma Supreme Court violated the Oklahoma and US Constitutions by authorizing a Catholic-sponsored, publicly-funded charter school. The court ruled that state funding for the school violated anti-establishment provisions in both the state and federal constitutions.
    • Please read Center Director Mark Movsesian’s post about the case here.
  • Israel’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that draft-age Haredi Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men are not exempt from the country’s mandatory military service, even if they are studying in a yeshiva. The Supreme Court also ordered that the Israeli government cease funding yeshivas unless their students enlist in the military.
  • In India, a family that recently converted to Christianity was attacked in the state of Chhattisgarh, resulting in the death of one woman. Christian leaders in India have spoken out against the attack as merely one in a growing number of attacks committed against Christians, largely attributable to mobs who seek to make India a purely Hindu nation. Christian leaders have also condemned police inaction as another reason for increased attacks.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • In French v. Albany Medical Center, the Northern District of New York found that a hospital did not violate the religious rights of a nurse who refused to receive a flu shot on religious grounds. The Court held that the requested accommodation was not reasonable due to her proximity to flu patients and vulnerable individuals.
  • In Bacon v. Woodward, the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of a suit by firefighters who claimed their free exercise rights were infringed by the City of Spokane’s refusal to accommodate their religious objections to the COVID-19 vaccine. The Court held that the city’s termination of the plaintiffs while inviting potentially unvaccinated firefighters from neighboring departments for assistance constituted more favorable treatment for a secular group.
  • In Blackmon v. State of Missouri, a Missouri trial court held that the references to God and the belief that life starts at conception do not translate into various pro-life statutes running afoul of the Establishment Clause. The Court likened the mention of God to that found in the State’s Constitution, and refused to consider the latter belief as religious.
  • In Russia, a self-proclaimed witch was detained in court after disseminating literature calling for violence against clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church. She was also charged with insulting the feelings of religious believers as well as distributing extremist literature.
  • In Pakistan, a Christian man was killed by a mob of hundreds of individuals after being accused of desecrating a Quran. The United States Center for International Religious Freedom claims that the attack was inspired by Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which explicitly provide for the death penalty upon anyone found to insult the Islamic faith.
Posted on by Mark Movsesian

A New Book on Christianity and Law

Christianity has a complicated relationship to law. Unlike Judaism and Islam, which are nomocentric religions, Christianity doesn’t have a law per se. Believers don’t worship God primarily by discovering and following a system of divinely ordained rules. There is no Christian “law” of inheritance, for example, that directs beneficiaries how to divide up property. But Christianity doesn’t entirely reject law. The Catholic tradition, in particular, places emphasis on natural law as a rational system–an emphasis that Orthodox and Protestants view with great suspicion. As I say, it’s complicated.

When it comes to the relationship between Christianity and civil law, things are complex as well. The Bible teaches Christians to give Caesar his due, but not more than that–to comply with civil law, but not if that means violating God’s law. Where to draw the line, especially in a contemporary, religiously pluralistic society, is often debatable.

A new book by Australian law professor Benjamin Saunders (Deakin University), The Crisis of Civil Law: What the Bible Teaches about Law and What It Means Today, addresses these complications. The publisher is Lexham Press. Looks very interesting. Here is the description from the publisher’s website:

How should Christians think about law?

In every age, this is one of the most difficult questions faced by followers of Christ. Within the modern church, there is little unity on how Scripture addresses issues like gun control, abortion, and whether we should disobey unjust laws. In The Crisis of Civil Law, legal scholar Benjamin B. Saunders draws from Scripture and the Christian tradition to provide valuable guidance on contemporary legal questions and the role of civil government. We can gain greater clarity by wisely applying the moral law found in Scripture—as well as the universal standards of the natural law—to the changing circumstances of human societies.

The Crisis of Civil Law includes detailed discussion of the biblical material on law as well as practical case studies that contextualize scriptural principles in modern Western society.

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Around the Web:

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

  • In Woolard v. Thurmond, a California federal court upheld the requirement that state funds for home school programs be used only for secular instructional materials. The court ruled that this policy does not infringe on parents’ free exercise of religion, as states are permitted to provide strictly secular education in public schools.
  • In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. Abbott, a Texas federal court ordered the state to pay $346,500 in attorneys’ fees to the Freedom From Religion Foundation in connection with litigation over Texas’s removing FFRF’s Bill of Rights Nativity display from the State Capitol in 2015.
  • In Aldersgate United Methodist Church of Montgomery v. Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., the Alabama Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit from 44 Methodist congregations trying to disaffiliate from the church’s main body but still keep their property. The court applied the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, ruling that deciding the case would require it to interpret church doctrine and internal rules, which is prohibited by the First Amendment.
  • The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and others filed a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission challenging the inclusion of abortion as a covered medical condition in the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The plaintiffs argue this inclusion and the nullification of the Act’s religious exemption will force employers to support abortion.
  • Ohio’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit to prevent Hebrew Union College from selling off its valuable Judaica library collection to address a financial deficit. The lawsuit alleges the college is violating state law by not disclosing the sale to donors and by breaching fiduciary duties by not preserving the collection according to donor intent.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • In Tripathy v. McKoy, the 2nd Circuit upheld a dismissal of a case by a former inmate who argued that requiring him to enroll in a treatment program for lighter sentencing violated his beliefs because it required him to falsely admit guilt, which contradicts the Hindu tenet against lying.
  • In Ringhofer v. Mayo Clinic, Ambulance, the 8th Circuit reversed the dismissal of lawsuits by Mayo Clinic employees who claimed the Covid vaccine mandate violated their religious beliefs.
  • The Louisiana legislature passed HB71, requiring public schools and colleges to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The Ten Commandments must be prominently displayed with a context statement in schools, while colleges are only required to display the Ten Commandments text.
  • The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Christian group, was forced to open its Jersey Shore Beaches on Sunday mornings while they group fights a lawsuit against the Department of Environmental Protection or risk owing fines of $25,000 per day. The group has closed its beaches during religious services for 155 years.