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

  • The Supreme Court granted certiorari to review an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision blocking a Catholic school from becoming a public charter school. The state court ruled that allowing a Catholic school to operate as a public charter school violated the Establishment Clause, while the school argues the decision violates the Free Exercise Clause.
    • The Mattone Center will co-sponsor a symposium on this case in April. Stay tuned for details.
  • In Bagal v. Sawant, the 9th Circuit ruled that a Hindu living in North Carolina lacked standing to challenge Seattle’s Anti-Caste Discrimination Ordinance. The court found no credible threat of enforcement for activities like ordering a vegetarian meal or wearing a Mauli thread during planned future visits to Seattle, as the ordinance does not regulate these practices.
  • In Rodrique v. Hearst Communications, Inc., the 1st Circuit upheld the dismissal of a Title VII lawsuit filed by a TV news photographer who sought a religious exemption from his employer’s COVID vaccine mandate. The court ruled that the employer successfully proved an undue hardship defense, stating it reasonably relied on scientific evidence showing that vaccinated employees are less likely to transmit COVID-19, rather than basing it on the plaintiff’s religious beliefs.
  • In Winder v. United States, a Texas federal court dismissed a negligence suit against an Army Chaplain over advice to involve law enforcement in a suicide threat, which led to a fatal confrontation. Citing the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, the court held that deciding the case would improperly require examining the Chaplain’s religiously-informed duty of confidentiality.
  • In St. Luke’s Health System, Inc. v. State of Kansas ex rel. Schultz, the Kansas Court of Appeals held that employees seeking a religious exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate only need to provide a written statement explaining how the mandate violates their sincerely held religious beliefs, emphasizing that the state statute prohibits employers from questioning the sincerity of the employee’s beliefs.
  • Harvard University has reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed last May, accusing it of tolerating antisemitic bullying and discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. As part of the settlement, Harvard will adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism for discipline, recognize Zionism as a protected category, create a dedicated position for antisemitism complaints, and implement various measures, including annual public reporting and mandatory staff training.
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Around the Web

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

  • An insurance worker from Michigan was awarded a twelve-million dollar judgment against her former employer after she was terminated for refusing to adhere to a private mandatory-vaccination requirement on religious grounds. It seems likely that the insurance company will appeal the judgment, considering the jury’s proportionately-large award of ten-million dollars in punitive damages.
  • In Ex parte Halprin, a Texas appellate court granted a new trial to a Jewish inmate who was sentenced to death following the murder of a police officer responding to the robbery of a Dick’s Sporting Goods. The Court found that the trial judge’s decision was based in large part on antisemetism, citing various out-of-court statements brought by witnesses that showed a clear animus against the defendant’s Jewish heritage.
  • In Union Gospel Mission of Yakima, Wash. v. Ferguson, a Washington federal district court granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Washington from applying its antidiscrimination laws to homeless shelters run by a Christian organization. The organization sought to limit its hiring to coreligionists, while the government of Washington claims religious exemptions to antidiscrimination statutes only apply in the context of ministerial hirings.
  • In Wexler v. City of San Diego, a California federal district court rejected the claim of an Orthodox Jewish man that the City of San Diego discriminated against his exercise of religion by allowing his eviction on the Sabbath. The Court found that because the evictors were not state actors, and because state laws in place facilitating the eviction process were neutral and generally applicable, the Plaintiff’s Religious Exercise Claim must fail.
  • In Furqua v. Raak, the Ninth Circuit reinstated the free exericse and equal protection claims of a self-described Christian Israelite who was refused Kosher meals for Passover after the prison chaplain claimed that any such religious requirement for a Christian was erroneous. The Court held that because the Plaintiff was denied an accomodation based on the subjective theological assessment of the chaplain, as opposed to a neutral and valid procedural rule, a reasonable trier of fact might find that he was refused an accomodation on account of religious discrimination.
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Around the Web

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

  • In Loffman v. California, the Ninth Circuit held that California’s exclusion of Jewish schools from special-education programs violates the Constitution’s neutrality requirement. The court found that California’s policy discriminates against religious parents and schools.
  • In Tanvir v. Tanzin, on remand from the Supreme Court, the Second Circuit held that FBI agents were entitled to qualified immunity against RFRA damages claims because the Muslim plaintiffs who were put on a no-fly list had not disclosed their religious objections to serving as informants. The court found that, since the agents had no reason to know their actions violated the plaintiffs’ religious beliefs, they could not be personally liable for damages.
  • Luther Rice College and Seminary filed a complaint saying that Georgia officials are violating the Constitution by excluding its students from state financial aid programs solely because of the college’s religious mission. The lawsuit argues that this exclusion from public benefits violates the Free Exercise Clause by discriminating against religious institutions based on their religious character.
  • President Biden formally apologized for the U.S. Federal Indian Boarding School Policies (1819–1969), which aimed to assimilate Native American children. He acknowledged that over half of these schools were associated with religious organizations, and many of them subjected Native children to severe mistreatment, leaving lasting trauma across generations.
  • The Vatican and China have agreed to extend their Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops for another four years, marking the third renewal since its initial signing in 2018. This agreement has allowed bishops in China to be appointed with papal consent, fostering full communion with the Pope and resulting in about ten new bishop appointments and formal recognition of previously unrecognized bishops.
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Around the Web

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

  • In Solliz v. Knox County, Tennessee, a Muslim woman filed suit after she was required by a Knox County sheriff to remove her hijab for a booking photo following her arrest. The complaint alleged violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) and the Tennessee Preservation of Religious Freedom Act.
  • A Ukrainian court has extended the detention of an Orthodox bishop for two months after he was arrested for allegedly revealing army positions to the public in a sermon, having mentioned the presence of a road block that prevented access to a local monastery. The bishop was denied the possibility of posting bail, and the checkpoints in question were removed prior to the publication of his sermon online.
  • A petition for certiorari was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, after the Supreme Court of Oklahoma declared the certification of a Catholic-sponsored charter school violative of the state’s constitution and the Establishment Clause. The petition states that the exclusion of religious schools from the state’s charter program violates the Free Exercise Clause, and that the mere funding of religious schools by the state does not constitute state action.
  • The recently-passed Abortion Services Act in Scotland threatens prosecution against anyone praying within a 200-meter radius of an abortion facility, including within their own homes, if they can be seen or heard within the zone, and act in an intentional or reckless manner. Guidance provided by the government to facilitate compliance lists silent vigils and religious preaching as potentially actionable offenses, if conducted intentionally and recklessly.
  • The University of California has continued to deny wrongdoing following a California federal court’s order mandating a variety of measures to prevent the exclusion of Jewish students from parts of campus. The University claims responsibility lies with actors unaffiliated with the school, whereas the plaintiffs maintain the school’s complicity via its failure to act in the face of clear religious discrimination against its students.
Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Reading Group to Discuss John Winthrop

Photo: Partnership of Historic Bostons

Later this month, the Mattone Center Reading Group will meet at St. John’s to discuss one of the most famous essays in American history, John Winthrop’s “Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop wrote the essay on the ship Arbella in 1630, while he and other Puritan colonists were on their way to Massachusetts. The essay is the source of the much quoted metaphor–itself a Biblical reference–of America as a “city upon a hill.” But what did Winthrop mean, exactly? And how do his words apply today, in a very different America than he could have imagined. Please join us (registration required)! Details below.

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Around the Web

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 Mark Movsesian

Black Churches, Israel, and Palestine

Black churches have had enormous influence on American law and politics. Mostly, that influence is domestic. But like other Christians, African American Christians also take an interest in foreign policy and have tried to influence US international relations. Earlier this year, Columbia University Press published a study of African Americans’ engagement with the Israel-Palestine conflict. The book is Black Visions of the Holy Land: African American Christian Engagement with Israel and Palestine, by sociologist Roger Baumann (Hope College). Here is the description from Columbia’s website:

Since at least the high point of the civil rights movement, African American Christianity has been widely recognized as a potent force for social change. Most attention to the political significance of Black churches, however, focuses on domestic protest and electoral politics. Yet some Black churches take a deep interest in the global issue of Israel and Palestine. Why would African American Christians get involved—and even take sides—in Palestine and Israel, and what does that reveal about the political significance of “the Black Church” today?

This book examines African American Christian involvement in Israel and Palestine to show how competing visions of “the Black Church” are changing through transnational political engagement. Considering cases ranging from African American Christian Zionists to Palestinian solidarity activists, Roger Baumann traces how Black religious politics transcend domestic arenas and enter global spaces. These cases, he argues, illuminate how the meaning of the ostensibly singular and unifying category of “the Black Church”—spanning its history, identity, culture, and mission—is deeply contested at every turn. Black Visions of the Holy Land offers new insights into how Black churches understand their political role and social significance; the ways race, religion, and politics both converge and diverge; and why the meaning of overlapping racial and religious identities shifts when moving from national to global contexts.

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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.