Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • The Supreme Court agreed to hear a religious-liberty challenge to a Montgomery County, Maryland policy that ended opt-outs for parents who object to elementary-school instruction involving themes of sexuality and gender identity.
  • This week, in an ongoing battle between Southern Methodist University and the United Methodist Church, the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding SMU’s desire to separate from the church.
  • In Secular Alliance v. U.S. Department of Education, the D.C. federal district court dismissed some of plaintiff’s claims regarding a rule prohibiting schools that receive Education Department funding from denying benefits to secular groups due to their religious beliefs.
  • Several Jewish schools in New York have filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, alleging that the department discriminated against them under Title VI by interfering with and disfavoring Jewish Studies curricula.
  • In Calvary Chapel Belfast v. University of Maine System, a Maine federal district court refused to issue a temporary restraining order in the Church’s suit against the University. The church alleges that the university’s decision to rescind the sale of a satellite campus to the church constituted Free Exercise and Equal Protection Clause violations.  
  • The American Humanist Association has filed suit against West Virginia for a grant of $5 million to a Catholic trade college, alleging that the grant violates the West Virginia constitution by awarding taxpayers’ money to a Catholic institution.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Youth 71Five Ministries v. Williams, which was dismissed in District Court of Oregon. The ministry is challenging state officials who blocked previously approved funding because the ministry requires its employees to sign a “statement of faith”.
  • In State of Tennessee v. Becerra, the Mississippi District Court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction. The Court barred the enforcement of the new Dept. of Education rule, which extended Title IX sex discrimination definition to discrimination based on gender identity.
  • The District Court in El Paso County, Texas, ruled against the Texas Attorney General in a case brought by Annunciation House, a nonprofit Catholic migrant shelter. The Court held that AG Ken Paxton requested documents unlawfully under the Fourth Amendment in an attempt to “harass” the Catholic shelter’s employees and migrants.
  • The Alaska Supreme Court refused to hold a state statute unconstitutional in State of Alaska, Department of Education & Early Development v. Alexander. The statute allows school districts to provide funding to families to obtain education materials from public, private, or religious organizations. The plaintiffs claim this statute violates the Alaska Constitution which prohibits public funding to be used for the benefit of religious institutions; but the Court found possible constitutional applications of the statute.
  • A Belgian civil court fined an archbishop and cardinal because they denied a woman registration for Deacon training in the Catholic Church. While the court stated the woman should be admitted for training, the question of later ordainment was not addressed.
  • More than 1,300 individuals died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year. Hajj is a mandatory religious pilgrimage for all Muslims in Mecca, Saudi Arabia; it is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. While deaths are a normal occurrence during the Hajj, the deaths this year were excessive, and 83% of the fatalities were unauthorized pilgrims.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • In Hile v. State of Michigan, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Michigan constitutional amendment prohibiting public funds from aiding private or religious schools does not violate the equal protection rights of parents. The amendment restricts the use of the Michigan Educational Savings Program from sending children to religious schools. Plaintiffs argued the amendment was motivated by anti-Catholic bias and restricted their political process rights. The court, however, expressed doubts about the political process doctrine’s applicability to religious discrimination.
  • In Snyder v. Chicago Transit Authority, an Illinois federal district court permitted a plaintiff to proceed with claims under Title VII and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The plaintiff was denied a religious exemption from his former employer’s COVID vaccine mandate.
  • In Kelley v. Gupta, a New York state trial court resolved a dispute within the Hare Krishna movement over a Freeport, New York temple. The court recognized the Governing Body Commission of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (GBC) as the highest ecclesiastical authority, validating GBC’s expulsion of a defendant for practicing ritvikism, deemed by GBC a “dangerous philosophical deviation.” The court ruled in favor of GBC’s ecclesiastical authority and decisions, including the entitlement of GBC’s trustees to immediate possession of the temple and associated properties.
  • In State of Louisiana v. Neveaux, a Louisiana state appeals court dismissed a free exercise challenge alleging that a provision of a criminal procedure code allowed capital case juror dismissal for anti-capital punishment views. The court found the provision neutral and generally applicable, as it does not target specific religions and applies to anyone regardless of their stance on the death penalty.
  • In Craver v. Faith Lutheran Church, a Texas state appeals court ruled that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine necessitated dismissal of a pastor’s lawsuit against his former church employer. The pastor’s breach of contract and fraudulent inducement claims were found to be deeply intertwined with church governance issues, making them unsuitable for secular court adjudication.
  • In response to increased antisemitic incidents in educational institutions following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter. The letter reminds schools and colleges receiving federal aid of their legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It emphasizes the requirement to create a discrimination-free environment for students “perceived as Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian,” outlining specific scenarios where discrimination must be addressed.