9th Circuit: World Vision Can Continue Faith-Based Hiring

On August 23, 2010, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that World Vision is a religious organization and is therefore exempt from Title VII prohibitions on religious discrimination.

Three  former employees Silvia Spencer, Ted Youngberg, and Vicki Hulse had had filed suit against the well-known humanitarian organization in 2007, claiming they had been victims of religious discrimination when they were fired because they did not agree with the religious beliefs of the organization. When hired, they had acknowledged their agreement and compliance with World Vision’s Statement of Faith, Core Values, and Mission Statement, but they later denied the diety of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity.

In a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit ruled that despite the fact that secular organizations could provide the same or similar services, World Vision is a religious organization in practice and in its Articles of Incorporation, and provides Christian religious and missionary services.  The court ruled that World Vision is free to continue faith-based hiring.

In a statement, World Vision applauded the court’s decision, “Our Christian faith has been the foundation of our work since the organization was established in 1950, and our hiring policy is vital to the integrity of our mission to serve the poor as followers of Jesus Christ. . . . World Vision will continue to vigorously defend our organization’s freedom to hire employees who share our faith, as do other religious organizations, whether Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, or Christian.”

World Vision is known for its child sponsorship program which provides donors the opportunity to make monthly donations toward the education of children in impoverished countries for $1 a day.  The organization is purported to serve over 100 million children in 100 countries around the world. For more information, visit http://www.worldvision.org

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  • The 9th Circuit’s Ruling in Sylvia Spencer v. World Vision Inc. is available here.  In this reviewer’s opinion, the concurring opinion of Judge Andrew Kleinfeld beginning at p. 12259, provides an excellent primer on how Title VII applies to religious organizations.

An Analysis of the Results of the Federal Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage Trial

This article also appears here.

This is an analysis of the courtroom proceedings in Perry v. Schwarzenegger and the August 4, 2010 decision by Judge Vaughn Walker upholding the right of same-sex couples to marry and not an analysis of the moral reasoning behind either position.

Summary

In short, Judge Walker ruled based on the evidence presented, as any trial judge should, and regardless of his own personal sexual orientation or biases, Prop 8 supporters simply did not make a viable case for themselves. Sloganeering may have won the election but did not win a trial where real evidence was required. Prop 8 supporters may later look at the ruling and claim it was wrongly decided but as this essay points out, the reality is that they did a poor job presenting their evidence and only put two witnesses on the stand, both of whom had previously written statements that contradicted their testimony in favor of Prop 8. When both of these witnesses were neutralized, Prop 8 advocates had nothing left with which to prove their case and any effort by any judge to add in facts to uphold Prop 8 would have been the very definition of judicial activism.

How Prop 8 Became Law

In May 2008, the California Supreme Court held that same-sex marriage was permissible under the state constitution and thousands of same-sex couples were married. In November 2008, by a vote of 52% to 48% California voters passed Proposition 8 ( “Prop 8″ ) a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.

This constitutional amendment was argued before the California Supreme Court. At oral argument in March 2009, the court asked Ken Starr, lead counsel in favor of Prop 8, whether there was any limitation to what the people could do.

Speaking of the state constitution, Starr replied, “The right of the people is inalienable to change their constitution through the amendment process. The people are sovereign and they can do very unwise things, and things that tug at the equality principle.”

Despite the vast implications of Starr’s statement, the court found itself powerless to overturn Prop 8.

The Question Before the Court

When David Boies and Theodore Olson brought suit against Prop 8 in Federal Court alleging that the equality principle of the Federal Constitution was violated when the people of California took away the existing right to marry, the argument focused on a simple question, “Is there a compelling state reason, or even a rational basis, for California to prohibit same-sex marriage?”

During the run-up to the November 2008, Prop 8 supporters were free to say anything to get votes. They took full advantage of this by portraying a parade of horrors that same-sex marriage would bring and played to gut-level anti-homosexual feelings. They argued that churches would be forced to perform gay marriages. They argued that it would lead to increases in child molestation. They argued that the Bible said homosexuality was wrong and that the state law should mirror the Bible.

But in Federal court, Prop 8 supporters needed to present legal, secular empirical evidence to support the idea that same-sex marriage was such a threat that the government was compelled to put a stop to it. This argument was made more difficult by the fact that a handful of states already approved same-sex marriage.

In this context, personal or religious convictions and moral arguments needed to be backed up with objective facts. Unlike the California Supreme Court, Judge Walker was not beholden to the simple fact that the California constitution had been amended. He was charged with examining the evidence for and against Prop 8 in light of the U.S. Constitution.

The Evidence Presented

As in any trial, the judge would have to make a decision based on the evidence presented. He did not have the luxury of filling in the gaps in the testimony in order to reach a decision in line with his own feelings, which is the hallmark of being an “activist judge.” Rather, he had to rule based on the facts presented, and this is what he did in his lengthy ruling which is available online athttp://www.scribd.com/doc/35374801/Prop-8-Ruling

To challenge Prop 8, same-sex marriage advocates brought forward eight lay-witnesses, including two same-sex couples, and nine expert witnesses. The lay-witnesses described their feelings of being discriminated against and the idea that the law was not fair. Expert witnesses testified to various facts and statistics that they said demonstrated that same-sex marriage was not socially harmful. These were the standard arguments that same-sex marriage proponents have been making for years and there really was nothing new or novel.

Same-sex marriage advocates even called Hak-Shing William Tam on the stand in order to demonstrate that voters had been given incorrect information and voted based on anti-homosexual prejudice. Tam’s name had appeared next to the ballot arguments in the voter information pamphlets in the run-up to the November 2008 election. Tam had helped craft many of the arguments for Prop 8 and he testified that, as he stated on his website promoting Prop 8, he believed that homosexuals were 12 times more likely to be pedophiles, but could not state where he got this information.

Tam also admitted he had stated that incest and polygamy had been legalized in the Netherlands soon after the country legalized same-sex marriage in 2001. This was factually untrue. The questioning went like this:

David Boies: “You are saying here that after same-sex marriage was legalized, the Netherlands legalized same incest and polygamy?”

Tam: “Yeah, look at the date, Polygamy happened afterward.”

Boies: “Who told you that? Where did you get that idea?”

Tam: “It’s the Internet. Another person in the organization found it and he showed it to me. . . . I looked at the document and I thought it was true.”

Prop 8 Advocates Presented Only Two Witnesses And Neither Was Consistent Or Credible

Prop 8 supporters cross-examined these pro-same-sex marriage witnesses extensively but despite the large number of people who had promoted Prop 8, Prop supporters only put up two witnesses to defend the Proposition. With so few, Prop 8 defenders should have realized that they needed to put their best foot forward and present overwhelming evidence. Instead, Prop 8 supporters presented weak witnesses who had previously contradicted the pro-Prop 8 position.

David Blankenhorn, the founder and president of the Institute for American Values think tank, was anticipated to be Prop 8’s star witness. Normally expert witnesses need to “qualify” to testify in that capacity, as the court relies on them heavily when making decisions. In this case, Judge Walker allowed Blankenhorn’s testimony to be heard as an expert despite his lack of academic credentials or research and reserved the right to determine later whether he really qualified as an expert.

Blankenhorn gave contradictory testimony that marriage is a “socially-approved sexual relationship between a man and a woman” with a primary purpose to “regulate filiation”; but he also said that it was a “private adult commitment” between a man and a woman.

Blankenhorn wilted when Boies brought forward evidence that Blankenhorn had previously made written statements that Blankenhorn believed that marriage was important and could even benefit gays and lesbians, their children, and society at large. He also admitted a previous statement that same-sex marriage could lead to less sexual promiscuity. Then Blakenhorn shot Prop 8 advocates in the foot when he said that he still believed his previous statement that, “We would be more American on the day we permit same-sex marriage than the day before.”

In his decision, Judge Walker found Blakenhorn’s testimony was not credible due to his inconsistent statements. After all, which Blankenhorn was he to believe? Judge Walker spends several pages defending his decision not to give Blankenhorn expert status and to dismiss his testimony as not credible.

Prop 8 proponents’ last best hope was Professor Kenneth P. Miller, an expert in American and California politics at Claremont McKenna College. Miller was expected to testify as an expert that gays and lesbians were not really a downtrodden minority and were not harmed by Prop 8’s disparate treatment of opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

Although same-sex marriage advocates objected to his lack of qualifications in the area of same-sex marriage, the court allowed him to testify.

At the trial level, an expert is expected to have a knowledge of materials listed he or she relies on and lists in an “expert report.” Miller testified that his “expertise” in the area was based on materials given to him by the Prop 8 attorneys and that he had only read “most of the materials” and had “tried to review all of them.”

When Miller took the stand, like Blankenhorn, he was trapped by his previous writings that ultimately undermined his argument. In 2001, Miller had written an article in the Santa Clara Law review entitled “Constraining Populism: The Real Challenge of Initiative Reform” in which he wrote that gays and lesbians, like other minorities, are vulnerable and powerless in the initiative process. He also admitted that at least some of those who voted for Prop 8 did so purely out of anti-gay sentiment.

The Decision And Its Aftermath

Given the fact that Judge Walker was dealt this hand, focused same-sex marriage advocates and two scattered Prop 8 witnesses this outcome was inevitable. Had they presented a solid case, some element of bias might be taken into account, but they presented such a sad defense of Prop 8 that a ruling in their favor would have required the judge to admit objective facts that they did not bring forward.

Predictably, despite the inexcusably poor showing by Prop 8, the religious right is painting Judge Walker as an “activist judge” who “ruled from the bench.” We are even seeing arguments that Prop 8 should have never been brought to trial and that the “will of the voters” should have prevailed.

The Prop 8 defense was fundamentally ineffective and was unable to explain why in any way it was necessary to take away same-sex marriage rights in order to protect a compelling state interest. They even failed to demonstrate that there was a rational basis for Prop 8.

Despite the deficit in Prop 8 advocacy, Judge Walker clearly spent a great deal of time considering the matter and writing an airtight decision that will be incredibly difficult to refute on appeal.

The question remains as to whether Prop 8 supporters will cut their losses now and allow California to join a handful of states where gay marriage is legal or whether they will appeal to the Ninth Circuit and ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court which could nationalize same-sex marriage.

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For further reading see:

http://spectrummagazine.org/blog/2009/03/16/raw_majority_power_why_check…

http://spectrummagazine.org/node/1981

Why Using “Landmark Status” to Block the NY Mosque is a Threat to Religious Land Use Rights

Last week I received a message from Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) calling on Christians to protest plans to build a mosque in Manhattan near Ground Zero. (http://www.aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?ID=973 )

Although the ACLJ, not to be confused with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), does not try to hide the fact that anti-Muslim sentiment is a predominant reason behind their opposition to the mosque, the ACLJ is instead trying to use a calling on the city to declare the proposed site a “historic landmark” because the landing gear from one of the jets that crashed into the World Trade Center landed on the site.

The ACLJ knows that there is nothing better than rallying around an “enemy” to bring out advocates and wallets, and is raising allegations that the mosque would be offensive and is telling supporters that the builder has unspecified terrorist ties. Setting aside, for the moment, the tinge of religious discrimination and Establishment Clause violation, let’s focus on the legal issues raised by the ACLJ’s tactic of declaring the site a “landmark” and how this could adversely affect church building projects across America.

Promoters of a mosque at Ground Zero, if blocked, could assert their rights under the “Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act” (RLUIPA) that religious organizations in America who wanted to build and maintain their property without undue burden, such as unreasonable zoning laws, have fought for over the last twenty years.

The legal history of RLUIPA overshadows most of what happens in the courts and although many of you are familiar with it, I’m going to give it again for the benefit of those just joining us. In 1990, the Supreme Court ruled in Employment Division v. Smith (the infamous peyote case) that if a governmental rule applies the same to everybody then it’s okay even if it puts a “substantial burden” on the free exercise of religion. Thus, Mr. Smith, an Oregonian, who had smoked peyote during a religious ceremony and got fired as a result was denied state unemployment benefits. Oregon could have made an exception for religious exercises but decided not to and so the court said that Mr. Smith was surely out of luck.

Many people said that Mr. Smith should never have smoked peyote even if it was part of his religion because it messed with his health and safety and that he deserved to be fired and denied unemployment benefits. But court watchers were alarmed when they realized how big a hole the Supreme Court had blown in the Free Exercise Clause. This provided states with the mechanism for getting rid of religious accommodation for religious minorities. State employees aren’t likely to go out of their way to accommodate your religious minority practices if they come into conflict with generally applicable state law.  If everybody has to wear blue hats, then you do too. If everybody has to take a test on Saturday, then you do too.  They’d say, “This is the state and we don’t have the resources or ability to accommodate every request. What makes you so special?”

Anyway, Congress, not open advocates of peyote and in a rare show of clarity, decided that this wasn’t good and they passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993 which required religious accommodation in almost every area of life.

The Supreme Court fired back in 1997 in Boerne v. Flores and struck down RFRA.  In Boerne, the Catholic Archbishop of San Antonio, Patrick Flores, wanted to enlarge the church in Boerne, Texas. The city objected saying that the 1923 structure was a “historic landmark.” The case was litigated and the Supreme Court said that the city was right and that RFRA, which was the brand-spanking new law signed by President Clinton that the church relied on to win its case, only applied to Federal Government actions, not state actions.

Members of Congress scratched their heads and tried to figure out a way to get a law passed that would help churches like the one in Boerne and still pass so they came up with the oddly configured, but workable, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). They figured that the new law could also apply to prisoners since they were stuck in prison and needed to have a way to have their religious practices accommodated.   Congress was so jazzed about RLUIPA that it was passed in 2000 by “unanimous consent” by both the House and Senate and no vote was even taken. RLUIPA prohibits the imposition of burdens on the ability of prisoners to worship and gives churches and other religious institutions a way to avoid burdensome zoning law restrictions on their property use.

So coming back to the mosque, if RLUIPA were applied, the city would have to have a really good reason to deny a building permit. But now the religious right in America is up in arms, not about the neutral building of a house of worship, but because it is a place where Muslims would worship.

But what does the ACLJ think about Christian churches that admittedly want to house actual convicted criminals?

In Barr v. City of Sinton, the ACLJ makes an argument that under RLUIPA and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Sinton is in Texas), a pastor was wrongly prohibited from building a halfway house for low-level criminals within 1,000 feet of his church.

In an ACLU press release, ( http://www.aclu.org/religion-belief/aclu-texas-and-aclj-urge-state-supreme-court-enforce-religious-freedom-act ) Jay Sekulow is quoted as saying, “The city’s ordinance puts an unfair burden on Pastor Barr’s free exercise of religion by forcing him to either permanently shut down Philemon Homes or relocate beyond city limits. The city’s ordinance also turns the Texas RFRA on its head – a statute that the Texas legislature intended to provide broad protection for the free exercise of religion by limiting the authority of state and local government officials to apply laws and ordinances in a way that substantially burdens religiously motivated conduct. We’re hopeful the Supreme Court of Texas will correct this injustice.”

Now I’m sure that the ACLJ would not want to see New York “apply laws and ordinances in a way that substantially burdens religiously motivated conduct” if the group was Christian, but since it’s Muslim, it’s a whole different story.

If Sekulow, et al, are able to convince the city to prohibit the building of the mosque, the ACLJ has already written a brief (that the ACLU also joined) that the mosque could adopt and modify for their
argument.   http://www.aclj.org/media/pdf/AmicusBrief_Barr_v._CityofSinton.pdf

If the ACLJ were able to have the mosque site declared a historic landmark, but the underlying reason is religious discrimination, they could be surrendering the hard-fought rights gained under RLUIPA.  Soon churches across America would find it harder to expand their buildings or seek out new sites. Even today, it is difficult for houses of worship churches, synagogues, or mosques to be built in many communities- they do not provide tax revenue, they bring in traffic, and the neighbors simply say “Not In My Back Yard.”

The ACLJ is now making the opposite argument with regard to the Ground Zero Mosque, and is emblematic of an emerging trend in American religion and politics. Groups are willing to openly assert rights when it is in their own best interest to do so, but block identical rights when they disagree with whoever is asserting the right.

Many religious organizations have benefited enormously from the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLIUPA). Using cover of faith to block its application to unpopular religious groups is the quickest path to its demise.

Analysis – Christian Legal Society v. Hastings – The Lesson: Stipulations Matter

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling holding that it was not unconstitutional for a public institution (Hastings University Law School) to require a institution-recognized student group (Christian Legal Society (CLS)) to allow any student to participate in the group regardless of their status or beliefs. You can read the Supreme Court’s holding in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez here: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1371.pdf .

In our June 1, 2010 newsletter, I predicted that the Court in a narrow-crafted decision would ultimately uphold the right of CLS to discriminate against those who did not hold its religious beliefs or ascribe to its sexual behavior restrictions. I thought that the court would recognize that freedom to associate includes the right to exclude. I used the examples that an atheist club would not be required to allow Christian “atheist club” members to redirect the focus of a group, and that a Muslim group would not need to allow Hindu leadership.

I thought that it was clear that there was viewpoint discrimination against the conservative Christian club, after all, of all of the various student groups, it had been the only group that was denied registration. I did not think that Court, or the dozens of other student groups regardless of their place on the liberal-conservative continuum, would want to see the focus of their groups diluted by disruptive, non-supportive students who could forcibly assume leadership roles.

Further, I thought that the Court would find that the University’s written “non-discrimination policy” reasoning was the operative policy in effect at the time it denied CLS’s registration, and therefore that the Court would  rule in line with its precedent upholding college student freedom of association and freedom of speech in similar cases.  It was only in the thick of litigation that Hastings had changed its argument to claim that instead of basing its decision on the non-discrimination policy, it had based the non-registration of CLS on an “all-comers” policy. Hasting had claimed, after the fact in the litigation process, that it’s “all-comers policy” that required every student group to accept any student was non-discriminatory and neutrally applied.

I thought that the Court would recognize that this had not been the original policy in place, and that Hastings was conveniently trying to avoid making what would be a losing “non-discrimination” policy argument. I anticipated a ruling that would foster a “free marketplace of ideas” ethos on public campuses.

But I was wrong. Over some strong dissent within its ranks, the Court surprisingly ruled against the Christian Club. In an effort to figure out why this happened, I asked “What would Ross Perot do?” and decided to “open the hood” and take a look inside.

THE STIPULATION

This is kind of technical, so please bear with me. If a party to litigation believes that, even assuming all the facts alleged are true, there is no legal basis for the other side to prevail, they can file for “summary judgment.” Part of this involves the parties reviewing a long series of facts and deciding which ones they can both stipulate, or agree, to.

In this case, it turns out that CLS had stipulated to the ‘fact’ that “”Hastings requires that registered student organizations allow any student to participate, become a member, or seek leadership positions in the organizations, regardless of [her] status or beliefs. Thus, for example, the Hastings Democratic Caucus cannot bar students holding Republican political beliefs from becoming members or seeking leadership positions in the organization.”

In other words, CLS had stipulated, or “agreed” in the litigation process that the “all-comers” policy was the operative policy in effect when CLS was denied registration.

The majority opinion makes a big deal out of the precedent that “parties are bound by, and cannot contradict, their stipulations.”
The Court said that an “all-comers” policy was different from a discriminatory policy and was permissible.

In short, early on in the case, CLS had agreed with the other sides’ definition of the policy and the Court had no obligation to try to fix the mess CLS ended up in as a result.  If the Court had decided to replace CLS’ stipulation with what CLS had actually meant, that would truly be seen as “judicial activism.”

What this means is that the court ruling is very narrow and can be challenged again should future plaintiffs play their cards right. They just have to find an example of discriminatory policy and label it as such.

ANALYSIS: Supreme Court Declines to Hear Discrimination Case Involving Labor Union

US Supreme CourtBy Michael D. Peabody, Esq. – For over 25 years, the legal system has grappled with the question of what constitutes prima facie discriminatory conduct under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  Courts across the nation have established different standards for prima facie discrimatory conduct and there have been no clear-cut answers. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said that a person has established a prima facie claim of adverse discriminatory action only after an employee is formally disciplined or are discharged from employment, while the Ninth Circuit has ruled that even an implicit threat to discipline is sufficient.    

Given the disparity between the Circuits, it was anticipated that the Supreme Court would weigh in on the issue.  However, on April 5, 2010 the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Jeffrey Reed v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America which involved a challenge to a United Auto Workers (UAW) unionization policy. Reed argued that the policy requiring employees who objected to joining labor unions on religious grounds to pay more in dues than union members or those who objected on secular grounds was discriminatory and violated the reasonable accommodation provisions of Title VII.      

In the case before the Court, Jeffrey Reed was an assembler for AM General, and as part of the contract between the employer and the United Auto Workers (UAW), Reed was required to either join the union or pay dues if he wanted to remain employed.  Some union contracts require those who do not wish to join a union to pay an equivalent amount to a non-religious charity approved by the union.  Because of Reed’s belief that the UAW supported activities conflicting with his sincerely held religious beliefs, Reed applied for a religious accommodation that would allow him to make an alternative payment to a charity, Disabled American Veterans.      

There are two major portions to union fees – political costs, and costs of negotiation. The UAW constitution gives union members the right to object to the political portion of the dues and receive a rebate of that amount, and non-union members can refrain from paying the portion devoted to political activities. They still have to pay the equivalent amount for the cost of negotiations.  The UAW calculates that about 22% goes to politics, the remainder to the union for routine administrative costs, negotiation, etc.      

While waiting for the union to approve his request for religious accommodation, Reed made payments of 78% of the union fees. However, the union then required him to come up with the additional 22% after it agreed to accommodate him.  If he was anything other than a religious objector,  paying 22% less would not have been an issue.       

He filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which found cause to believe that the UAW had refused a reasonable, non-discriminatory accommodation, of Reed’s sincerely held religious belief.     

However, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals panel decided that because Reed had not been fired or disciplined because of his beliefs, there was no need to consider the reasonableness of the accommodation. Further, the lower court found that he had not been discriminated against because many union member voluntarily paid 100% of dues anyway.      

The Sixth Circuit’s opinion requiring evidence of discharge or discipline differs significantly from the requirements in other districts.  For instance, the Ninth Circuit allows a prima facie religious accommodation claim to be established by showing a threat of an adverse employment action.  This threat can be implicit.  Disparities between the circuits have led to a scenario in which the religious discrimination provisions of Title VII are not uniformly or consistently applied across the nation.      

Because of the broader implications of his case, the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Southern Baptist Convention and others requested that the United States Supreme Court make a decision on this case.  In an amicus brief, jointly submitted on January 19, 2010, attorneys Charles Kester and Todd McFarland requested that the Court hear the case so that it could “eliminate the conflict among the circuits over what an employee of faith must prove to claim a religious accommodation, and to provide guidance to the lower courts, employers and persons of faith as to what forced choices are proscribed by Title VII.”1     

There have been attempts to pass legislation that would promote more uniform application of Title VII to workplace religious discrimination scenarios. A clarifying legislative solution may be the best answer for all involved, and we will continue to watch developments in Congress and in the Courts along these lines.  In the meantime, employers, employees, and labor unions across the nation can only hope for the best as they face a process of trial and error in dealing with these issues.       

Special thanks to Bruce Cameron, Reed Professor of Law at Regent University, for bringing this story to our attention.    

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1 BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS AND THE ETHICS & RELIGIOUS LIBERTY COMMISSION OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION IN SUPPORT OF PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI OF PETITIONER JEFFREY J. REED       

Further Reading:       

Statement on Supreme Court’s Failure to Take Up Reed Case: Ending Forced Unionism is the Best Way to Protect Employees of Faith       

Right to Work Attorneys File Final Brief Asking Supreme Court to Take Up Union Boss Religious Discrimination Case       

Michigan Worker Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Halt UAW Policy of Religious Discrimination       

 
  

      

  

     

  
 

    

   

  

  

 

  

RLTV PODCAST: Ryan Bell – “I’m a Social Justice Christian”

Ryan Bell, pastor of the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church talks with Michael Peabody about Glenn Becks’ recent controversial comments against “social justice Christians” and why Christians should work toward social justice.

Visit http://www.socialjusticechristian.com for more information and to watch the public service announcement for “I’m a Social Justice Christian.”

Oregon Governor Signs Bill Repealing Ban on Teachers’ Religious Dress

SALEM, OREGON – On April 1, 2010, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a bill (HB 3686) that will repeal Oregon’s 87-year-old ban on teachers wearing religious dress.

Governor Kulongoski signs bill

Photo Credit: Ravitej Khalsa

SALEM, OREGON – On April 1, 2010, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a bill (HB 3686) that will repeal Oregon’s 87-year-old ban on teachers wearing religious dress. Although the Governor did express some concern about how it will be interpreted and implemented in a signing statement, the Kulongoski wrote that  ”Repealing ORS 342.650 and 342.655, which prohibited public school teachers in Oregon from wearing “religious dress” in the class room, is the right thing to do.”

In his letter, Governor Kulongoski wrote that in order to address the issues that arise “at the intersection of the teacher’s right to practice his or her religion and the students’ right to be taught in a religiously neutral environment,” the bill will not be implemented until after the 2010-2011 school year.  This will give the Bureau of Labor and Industries the opportunity to create guidelines so that there will be “clarity and predictability” in how the law will be implemented.

The bill overturns bans on teachers wearing religious dress such as headscarves, turbans, and yarmulkes.  Some groups, such as the ACLU, had supported the ban, claiming that it provided students with a religiously neutral environment while other groups, including Sikh groups, were concerned that they could not become teachers if they had to choose between the education profession and their faith.

The passage of HB 3686 provided a clean-up to last year’s Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act, and passed with broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.  It struck a reasonable compromise and is, as the governor stated, “the right thing to do.”

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Watch a Video of the Signing Ceremony

Read the bill:  http://www.leg.state.or.us/10ss1/measpdf/hb3600.dir/hb3686.en.pdf

Read Governor Kulongoski’s letter on HB 3686 - http://www.oregon.gov/Gov/2010_Special_Session/Correspondence/Brown_HB3686.pdf

Read more at the Northwest Religious Liberty Association

Watch a Video of the Signing Ceremony

9th Circuit Upholds the Term ‘God’ in Pledge and on Currency

quarter on pennyOn March 11, 2009,  the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and the motto, “In God is Our Trust” on U.S. Currency. The three-judge panel rejected an argument by Sacramento attorney and physician Michael Newdow that the phrases were an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.

Writing for the majority, Judge Carlos Bea wrote, ““The Pledge of Allegiance serves to unite our vast nation through the proud recitation of some of the ideals upon which our Republic was founded.”

In Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School District, 05-17257, the court found 2-1 that teachers leading students to recite the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance did not amount to a religious exercise, but rather was one of the “historical and religious traditions of our country, not a personal affirmation through prayer or invocation that the speaker believes in God.”  The court also took into consideration the fact that students could opt out of saying the Pledge on religious grounds, and stated that Newdow did not have standing to pursue the claim as the Pledge was “voluntary.”  The phrase “under God” was added to the Pledge in 1954.

This time, Judge Bea wrote that Education Code Sec. 57520, which requires each school to conduct “patriotic exercises daily” expresses a secular purpose and does not mandate the text of the pledge or any other patriotic exercise.  Judge Stephen Reinhardt dissented, writing that, “The undeniably religious purpose of the ‘under God’ amendment to the Pledge and the inherently coercive nature of its teacher-led daily recitation in public schools ought to be sufficient under any Establishment Clause analysis to vindicate [the plaintiffs’] constitutional claim, and to require that the Pledge of Allegiance, when recited as part of a daily state-directed, teacher-led program, be performed in its original, pre-amendment secular incarnation that served us so well for generations,” he wrote.

Standing to challenge the Pledge was important in this case because in 2005, Newdow had previously won at the 9th Circuit, but the Supreme Court had ruled that Newdow could not pursue the case because he had pursued the case on behalf of his daughter and did not have custody.  The U.S. Supreme Court had not decided the merits of the Pledge itself.

Separately, in Newdow v. LeFevre, 06-16344, the court ruled 3-0 that although Newdow did have challenge to sue since he came into contact with coins and paper currency on a daily basis.  As this case was decided after the “Pledge” case (Rio Lindo), Judge Reinhardt voted with the majority as he felt required to do so by “precedent” but confirmed again that he believed the majority in Rio Lindo had ruled erroneously.

From this author’s perspective, the 9th Circuit’s ruling appears to be consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Marsh v. Chambers (1983) which found that traditional notions of separation of church and state are not violated if there is a long-standing history of the practice and it is more symbolic than religiously meaningful. In Marsh, Nebraska state senator Ernie Chambers had sued in federal court, claiming that the legislature’s practice of opening sessions with prayer violated the separation of church and state.  The 8th Circuit had looked at the issue and decided that it did technically violate the First Amendment, but the Supreme Court found that it was indeed constitutional, essentially because it was form, not substance.

While I think Dr. Newdow may have been technically correct in this case, the use of the word “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and on U.S. Currency is a politically charged issue. It has historically been a non-issue for most Americans, but if it were removed by a Supreme Court decision, there would be riots in the streets railing against “activist judges” even if they technically made the correct decision.  Most people do not understand the legal basis and operation of the First Amendment, and the backlash against the Courts and the resulting legislative and constitutional changes could outweigh the small degree of harm caused by the usage of these symbols.

If these cases proceed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court will likely find a way to keep them legal, and might even write a broader decision than Marsh which could extend to more areas of civic religion.  From a religious perspective, it is discomfiting, but legally necessary, that the court deny that the use of phrases has any true religious meaning in order for it to remain. So, correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t keeping God’s name in the Pledge and on money under the condition that it is permissible only as long as it is meaningless implicate the 3rd Commandment which specifically states, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who taketh His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7)?

Shawn Boonstra, the speaker and director of It is Written, in his sermon on the 3rd Commandment, describes intent of the commandment as follows:

“The Hebrew word for ‘vain’ in this commandment basically means ‘nothingness,’ ‘vanity,’ ‘emptiness’ or ‘worthless.’ What it’s saying is that you shouldn’t take God’s name in a worthless way. Don’t use God’s name, don’t profess God’s name as if it means nothing. Don’t claim to be a follower of God unless you live like a follower of God. Don’t go around using the name of God and all that it entails unless you’re going to live like you mean it. Don’t cover your personal sins in the name of a God who never, ever sanctions your sins. Don’t defile the name of the Lord. In short, don’t be a religious hypocrite.”

I don’t know if Shawn Boonstra would agree, but it is ironic that although this was a lawsuit brought by an atheist, had he won and the phrases been struck, the result might have actually been more protective of the honor of God.  After these rulings stripping the name of God of any religious meaning, those who have so long clamored for God’s name to be mentioned as a civic symbol might want to re-think their position.

###

RLTV PODCAST: Jason Hines on The Church, Same-Sex Marriage, and Public Policy

Michael Peabody interviews Jason Hines, attorney and Andrews University seminary student, about the topic of same-sex marriage and why religious groups need to be careful to protect liberty of conscience in their advocacy on this issue.

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Washington House of Representatives Attempts to Facilitate Union Take-Over of Religious Child Care Centers

By Michael D. Peabody, Esq.

So what’s the biggest threat to religious liberty? According to J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the answer is found in the strings attached to government funding of religious activity.  Earlier this month, during a speech for the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, Walker said, “What the government funds, it always regulates. Government-sponsored religion is always bad for religion. How can we raise a prophetic fist with one hand and take government money with the other?”

The truth of Walker’s statement was underscored just last week when the Washington State House of Representatives passed HB 1329, now working its way through the state Senate, that cleared the way for unionization of private and most non-profit child care centers if they take government subsidies for as little as one child, and even declares the centers’ employees “government employees” for the purposes of unionization.

In fact, HB 1329 openly declares that “child care center directors” and “workers” are “public employees” for the purposes of collective bargaining, if at least one child attending the center received government subsidies.  It further declared that “solely for the purposes of collective bargaining, the Governor is the ‘public employer.’”

There is an exemption for large non-profits with more than 200 regional affiliates or that send more than $3,000,000 in “membership dues” to a national organization.  The term “regional affiliates” is not defined although it is believed to primarily be aimed at large organizations such as the YWCA.  Large churches might be able to escape through this loophole if they can claim that the local congregations count toward the total of “regional affiliates” and that money sent to the national organization counts toward membership dues, but that will not be an easy argument for most churches that happen to run child care centers to win.

The House analysis claims that the bill would allow private child care centers to continue to have the right to “chose, direct, and terminate” child care workers. However this is boilerplate language for most contracts between employers and employees and it is easy to foresee scenarios in which religious child care organizations would be required to work their way through the union grievance process and defend their religiously-based decisions to a non-religious entity.  How can a religious child care center fulfill its faith-based mission when it has to answer to a secular labor union?

At a time when child care is expensive and parents are having to work longer hours to make ends meet, religious child care centers that have accepted subsidized children are in a particularly precarious position.  Local child care centers are generally small, mission-focused organizations with little money to defend themselves at the legislature. Sponsors of HB 1329, including the labor unions, are banking on this government dependence to generate pressure to dive into the non-profit sector and take over religious employers.  In this case, the labor unions are on the verge of taking over an entire industry.

There are Federal laws which might pre-empt this legislation, or as an alternative, a basis for non-profit exclusion, as well as U.S. Constitutional considerations, but it could be years before these issues could be sorted out by the courts.  In the meantime, if HB 1329 passes in its current form, and barring any court orders stopping it from going into effect, religious child care centers might either have to accept unionization or close their doors.

While there are many good reasons why government funding is necessary, and it is not at all certain that HB 1329 will become law, I would not be surprised to see similar legislation cropping up in more states as labor unions take advantage of government strings to try to control the elusive non-profit sector.

More on government funding to come in a future newsletter.

For more information about HB 1329:

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9th Circuit: World Vision Can Continue Faith-Based Hiring
August 25th, 2010

On August 23, 2010, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that World Vision is a religious organization and is therefore exempt from Title VII prohibitions on religious discrimination. Three  former employees Silvia Spencer, Ted Youngberg, and Vicki Hulse had had filed suit against the well-known humanitarian organization in 2007, claiming they had been victims [...]

Islamophobia: Stoking Fears about an American Community
August 19th, 2010

As a country that has long prided itself on representing a superior national enterprise, we must learn from our past. We have not yet taken unconscionable measures against our Muslim citizens and must avoid doing so at all costs. As our history indicates, our Constitutional values may well be at stake when we fear and [...]

Mau-Mauing the Mosque: The dispute over the “Ground Zero mosque” is an object lesson in how not to resist intolerance. (Slate)
August 17th, 2010

By Christopher Hitchens Read the full article here: http://www.slate.com/id/2263334 EXCERPTS: The dispute over the construction of an Islamic center at “Ground Zero” in Lower Manhattan has now sunk to a level of stupidity that really does shame the memory and the victims of that terrible day in September 2001. One might think that a mosque [...]

Religious intolerance now driving persecution of minorities across the world (Minority Rights Group)
August 16th, 2010

State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2010reports that the rise of religious nationalism, the economic marginalization of religious minorities and the abuse of counter-terrorism laws have all led to a growing pattern of persecution against religious minorities globally.

A Christian Nation: But Which Christianity? (Baptist Joint Committee)
August 14th, 2010

A Christian Nation: But Which Christianity? from Jeff Huett on Vimeo. Mercer University President William D. Underwood delivers the keynote address at the 2010 Religious Liberty Council Luncheon in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Read more at BJCOnline.org)

An Analysis of the Results of the Federal Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage Trial
August 5th, 2010

In short, Judge Walker ruled based on the evidence presented, as any trial judge should, and regardless of his own personal sexual orientation or biases, Prop 8 supporters simply did not make a viable case for themselves. Sloganeering may have won the election but did not win a trial where real evidence was required. Prop 8 supporters may later look at the ruling and claim it was wrongly decided but as this essay points out, the reality is that they did a poor job presenting their evidence and only put two witnesses on the stand, both of whom had previously written statements that contradicted their testimony in favor of Prop 8. When both of these witnesses were neutralized, Prop 8 advocates had nothing left with which to prove their case and any effort by any judge to add in facts to uphold Prop 8 would have been the very definition of judicial activism.

Transcript of Mayor Bloomberg’s Speech on Ground Zero Mosque
August 3rd, 2010

Delivered August 3, 2010 at Governors Island in New York. “We’ve come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that more than 250 years later would [...]

Mayor Bloomberg Gives Stirring Speech on Mosque
August 3rd, 2010

Why Using “Landmark Status” to Block the NY Mosque is a Threat to Religious Land Use Rights
July 22nd, 2010

Last week I received a message from Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) calling on Christians to protest plans to build a mosque in Manhattan near Ground Zero. (http://www.aclj.org/TrialNotebook/Read.aspx?ID=973 ) Although the ACLJ, not to be confused with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), does not try to hide the [...]

Analysis – Christian Legal Society v. Hastings – The Lesson: Stipulations Matter
July 16th, 2010

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling holding that it was not unconstitutional for a public institution (Hastings University Law School) to require a institution-recognized student group (Christian Legal Society (CLS)) to allow any student to participate in the group regardless of their status or beliefs. You can read the [...]

A Short History Of The Conscientious Objector (Liberty Magazine)
July 12th, 2010

Michael Peabody, editor of ReligiousLiberty.TV, writes for the July / August 2010 issue of Liberty Magazine.  The full article is available in print and online at http://www.libertymagazine.org/index.php?id=1636 EXCERPT: The date was June 5, 1917, the first day of the draft. Sousa’s Band struck up “Stars and Stripes Forever” and the 6,000 in attendance at the [...]

Promoting Religious Liberty: Whither the Obama Administration? (Doug Bandow – Huffington Post)
July 11th, 2010

EXCERPT: The Obama administration has talked much about increased engagement and improved outreach abroad. But it has neglected to offer effective support for one of the most important human rights, religious liberty. The dilatory nomination of Dr. Cook as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is a start. Much more remains to be done, however. It [...]

So Much For Religious Liberty (Forbes)
July 8th, 2010

By Richard Epstein EXCERPT: What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. One glaring weaknesses of the modern law on religious freedom is that it turns a blind eye toward neutral rules with a disparate impact on members of minority groups. That is why Justice Scalia was wrong in Employment Division, Department of Human [...]

ReligiousLiberty.TV Promo
July 8th, 2010

Campus Christian Groups Loses Appeal at Supreme Court (CNN)
July 2nd, 2010

EXCERPT: CNN – The Supreme Court has ruled against a Christian campus group that sued after a California law school denied it official recognition because the student organization limits its core membership to those who share its beliefs on faith and marriage. At issue was the conflict between a public university’s anti-discrimination policies and a [...]

‘Under God’ Spray-Painted On Secularist Billboard (WSOC)
July 1st, 2010

EXCERPT: Charlotte, NC (WSOC) – A secularist billboard on the Billy Graham Parkway was vandalized over the weekend.The billboard, which was paid for by the The North Carolina Secular Association, shows an American flag and the words “One Nation, Indivisible.” Over the weekend, someone spray-painted the words “under God” on the billboard.Police were notified and [...]

Italy Fights School Crucifix Ban (AJE)
July 1st, 2010

The Italian government has begun its appeal against a decision by the European Court of Human Rights to ban crucifixes in school classrooms.

Nikki Haley provokes question: What’s Sikhism? (CNN)
June 24th, 2010

EXCERPT: By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN – While researching my prior post about Nikki Haley coming under attack by her fellow South Carolina Republicans for her Sikh heritage, I came across a local activist, Oran Smith of the Palmetto Family Council, who told CNN, “Most people can’t even pronounce ‘Sikh,’ even the ones that [...]

North Carolina billboards challenge “one nation under God” (WBTV)
June 23rd, 2010

EXCERPT: Charlotte, NC (WBTV) – Some billboards popping up in Charlotte and across North Carolina are giving some drivers reason to pause. One of the billboards is on Billy Graham Parkway in west Charlotte.  It shows an American flag with the words “One Nation Indivisible” superimposed. The billboard campaign has just started and will appear [...]

EU Panelists Discuss European Work Free Sunday
June 17th, 2010

In this debate, you can watch Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL), Nirj Deva (ECR), Antigoni Papadopoulou (S&D) and Nadja Hirsch (ALDE) voice their views on the Protection of a work free Sunday in the EU.

RLTV PODCAST – “Under the Blood Banner” Eric Kreye talks about Growing Up in Hitler’s Germany
June 17th, 2010

Eric Kreye, whose story is told in the book Under the Blood Banner: The Story of a Hitler Youth talks with Michael Peabody about growing up in Hitler’s Germany. Born in America but raised in Germany, Eric describes how he was beaten by his teacher when he could not recite Hitler’s life story, how his father helped him avoid many of the Hitler Youth activities, how his family hid a Jewish woman and her daughter from the Gestapo, what it was like when the American military moved into Germany, and how he and his brother came to America.

 Under the Blood Banner: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany [17:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
June 14th, 2010

Human rights refers to the “basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.”

RLTV PODCAST: Jason Hines – A Passion for Freedom
June 11th, 2010

Attorneys Jason Hines and Michael Peabody discuss principles of  liberty of conscience.

 Jason Hines - A Passion for Freedom [16:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ground-Zero Mosque Protest Organizer: “Not an Issue of Religious Freedom” (CNN)
June 9th, 2010

EXCERPT: New York (CNN) — Protesters gathered in lower Manhattan mid-day Sunday to demonstrate against plans to build a mosque near the site of Ground Zero, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed by Islamist hijackers on September 11, 2001. Protest organizer Pamela Geller, a conservative blogger, and her group, “Stop [...]

ANALYSIS: Deflationary Depression and Purging To Come (The International Forecaster)
June 6th, 2010

Read the full article: http://theinternationalforecaster.com/International_Forecaster_Weekly/Deflationary_Depression_and_Purging_To_Come EXCERPT: It was a year and one-half ago we told you that $800 billion in stimulus wasn’t enough. That is now proving to be the case. Get ready for another liquidity barrage, called quantitative easing. It will also mean real interest rates will rise again. The backbone of most all [...]

EDITORIAL: FTC floats Drudge tax
June 6th, 2010

Read the full article: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/4/ftc-floats-drudge-tax/ EXCERPT: The ideas being batted around to save the industry share a common theme: They are designed to empower bureaucrats, not consumers. For instance, one proposal would, “Allow news organizations to agree jointly on a mechanism to require news aggregators and others to pay for the use of online content, [...]

“Spritual but not religious” community growing (CNN)
June 6th, 2010

EXCERPT: June 4, 2010 – (CNN) — “I’m spiritual but not religious.” It’s a trendy phrase people often use to describe their belief that they don’t need organized religion to live a life of faith. But for Jesuit priest James Martin, the phrase also hints at something else: egotism. “Being spiritual but not religious can [...]

C. Welton Gaddy: Between Religion and Politics (Chautauqua Institution)
June 5th, 2010

Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance and whose past leadership roles include president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and chair of the Pastoral Leadership Commission of the Baptist World Alliance, discusses the philosophy and implications of secularism and the importance of a relationship between religion and politics.

Jefferson and Mason: From Toleration to Freedom (Chautauqua Institution)
June 5th, 2010

Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, has a conversation with actors portraying George Mason and Thomas Jefferson on the subject of universal rights and the free exercise of religion.

Combining Comedy with Religion
June 5th, 2010

Religious leaders denounce Arizona immigration law (BBC)
June 5th, 2010

EXCERPT: June 4, 2010 – Religious leaders in the US and Latin America have denounced Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. The law requires police to question people about their immigration status, if officers suspect the person is in the US illegally, and if they have stopped them for a legitimate reason. Archbishop Rafael Romo Munoz, [...]

On a Visit to the U.S., a Nigerian Witch-Hunter Explains Herself (New York Times)
June 5th, 2010

EXCERPT: May 21, 2010 — HOUSTON (NYT) — At home in Nigeria, the Pentecostal preacher Helen Ukpabio draws thousands to her revival meetings. Last August, when she had herself consecrated Christendom’s first “lady apostle,” Nigerian politicians and Nollywood actors attended the ceremony. Her books and DVDs, which explain how Satan possesses children, are widely known. [...]

High School Sophomores Answer Question “How Would You Feel If Your Religious Freedom Was Taken Away?”
May 16th, 2010

As their final assignment for the play, I had students respond to the question, “How would you feel if your religious freedom was taken away?” The responses varied, in both length and reaction. Nearly all of the teenagers in the class are self-described Christians, but their approach toward religion varies from conservative evangelical to tolerant progressives to near-agnostic. Their reactions to a potential scenario in which they were not allowed to practice religion freely ranged from the pragmatic to conformist to vigilant resistance.

Visit Our Facebook Group for the Latest News Stories
May 13th, 2010

Get the latest news, share stories, or comment on current events at our Facebook group. ReligiousLiberty.TV , launched in June 2008, is a leading independent online resource for news, information, commentary, and insights on contemporary issues involving the free exercise and establishment clauses of the United States Constitution. Today’s rapidly evolving Constitutional landscape has led [...]

Take A Quick Survey! Win a T-Shirt!
May 11th, 2010

Just in time for our 2-year Anniversary, ReligiousLiberty.TV is giving one of our fancy new T-shirts to a lucky person who completes our short survey. In turn, we’ll find out how to make it an even better website. To enter, click this link and get started.  Must provide your name and email address. If you [...]

Workplace Religious Freedom Bill Finds Revived Interest (Religion News Service)
May 10th, 2010

EXCERPT: May 5, 2010 – WASHINGTON (RNS) — More than a decade after it was first introduced, an on-again off-again bill to protect employees’ religious expression in the workplace is attracting renewed attention that could lead to action on Capitol Hill in coming weeks. . . . “The bill will be introduced to Congress soon [...]

Michael Newdow – Question to Justice Scalia: Does the Establishment Clause Permit the Disregard of Devout Catholics?
April 28th, 2010

Dr. Michael Newdow, an attorney and physician famous for his litigation on church-state issues from an atheist perspective, and and previous article contributor to ReligiousLiberty.TV, has now published an important law review article for the Capital University Law Review that discusses the history of American religious freedom and tolerance and why the majority should carefully consider the [...]

ANALYSIS: Supreme Court Declines to Hear Discrimination Case Involving Labor Union
April 21st, 2010

By Michael D. Peabody, Esq. – For over 25 years, the legal system has grappled with the question of what constitutes prima facie discriminatory conduct under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  Courts across the nation have established different standards for prima facie discrimatory conduct and there have been no clear-cut answers. Sixth Circuit Court [...]

Uproar in Canada over face-veil ban (Al Jazeera English)
April 19th, 2010

In Quebec a furious public debate has erupted over Muslim women who wear the niqab – face veil. Out of over 200,000 Muslims in Montreal, only a few dozen women wear the niqab, but under a proposed new legislation they could be barred from receiving public services.

Observations of Liberty in China (WWUB)
April 19th, 2010

By Martin Surridge – The mass of strangers and suitcases pressed against me so tightly that I did not have to worry about the sharp turns and rapid acceleration of the train as it hurtled through the Beijing underground because the dozens of people breathing down my neck in the center of the carriage prevented [...]

First European conference for the protection of a work-free Sunday
April 13th, 2010

Address by the Keynote Speaker Lázló Andor at the first European Conference for the ‘protection of a work-free Sunday’. The conference was held at the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

Conference Held to Relaunch Protection of Work-Free Sunday at European Level (ARLP)
April 13th, 2010

A conference whose aim was to relaunch the protection of a work-free Sunday debate at European level (see www.comece.org) was held on Wednesday the March 24, 2010 in Brussells. ARLP has posted a story on their website along with a video of the keynote address. Here are some of the reasons for the conference: Purpose [...]

Gendercide: China’s shameful massacre of unborn girls means there will soon be 30m more men than women (Daily Mail)
April 10th, 2010

EXCERPT: By the year 2020, there will be 30 million more men than women of marriageable age in this giant empire, so large and so different (its current population is 1,336,410,000) that it often feels more like a separate planet than just another country. Nothing like this has ever happened to any civilisation before. The [...]

John Paul Stevens Retires from Supreme Court (AP)
April 10th, 2010

Americans United Praises Justice Stevens’ Record On Church And State
April 9th, 2010

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today praised Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens for his record of support for church-state separation and expressed the hope that his replacement will hold similar views.

Church-state advocates urge strong successor for Stevens (ABP)
April 9th, 2010

EXCERPT from American Baptist Press: WASHINGTON (ABP) — With the Supreme Court’s oldest and longest-serving member announcing April 9 his retirement, advocates for strong church-state separation urged that Justice John Paul Stevens’ replacement be as devoted to preventing government establishment of religion as the retiring jurist. However, some called for a successor who can improve [...]

Soldiers Fight a Battle of Conscience
April 9th, 2010

The Truth Commission on Conscience in War is a group of religious leaders and scholars who have joined together to discuss the theory of just war, international law and freedom of conscience during times of war. The 70-member commission recently held a public hearing at Riverside Church, where soldiers spoke about their war experiences. The [...]

French PM advised against total Islamic veil ban
April 6th, 2010

EXCERPT from BBC News (link below): France’s top administrative body has advised the government that any total ban on face-covering Islamic veils could be unconstitutional. The State Council also said a ban could be justified in some public places. Prime Minster Francois Fillon had asked the council for a legal opinion before drawing up a [...]

HISTORICAL SKETCH: Roger Williams, Apostle Of Religious Freedom
April 6th, 2010

By Ellen G. White – The framers of the Constitution recognized the eternal principle that man’s relation with his God is above human legislation, and his rights of conscience inalienable. Reasoning was not necessary to establish this truth; we are conscious of it in our own bosoms. It is this consciousness which, in defiance of human laws, has sustained so many martyrs in tortures and flames. They felt that their duty to God was superior to human enactments, and that man could exercise no authority over their consciences. It is an inborn principle which nothing can eradicate.”

RLTV PODCAST: Ryan Bell – “I’m a Social Justice Christian”
April 5th, 2010

Ryan Bell, pastor of the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church talks with Michael Peabody about Glenn Becks’ recent controversial comments against “social justice Christians” and why Christians should work toward social justice.

 PODCAST: Ryan Bell - "I'm a Social Justice Christian" [8:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Video: Oregon Governor Repeals Ban on Teachers’ Religious Dress
April 2nd, 2010

Oregon Governor Signs Bill Repealing Ban on Teachers’ Religious Dress
April 1st, 2010

SALEM, OREGON – On April 1, 2010, Governor Ted Kulongoski signed a bill (HB 3686) that will repeal Oregon’s 87-year-old ban on teachers wearing religious dress.

Maryland State Legislature considers a Workplace Religious Freedom Act (HB 381)
March 31st, 2010

ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland State Legislature is presently considering a state-level Workplace Religious Freedom Act” (HB 381).  The bill, currently working its way through the House where it was heard on February 10, 2010, addresses employee requests for observance of holy days. Modeled on the Maryland Flexible Leave Act, the Maryland Workplace Religious Freedom Act would require [...]

Should Europe recognize Sunday as the official day of rest? (BBC Video)
March 30th, 2010

Dr. Michael Schluter, founder of Keep Sunday Special, debates business entrepreneurs and representatives of other faith groups on the issue of whether Europe should adopt Sunday as a uniform day of rest. Part I Part II Related stories: ANALYSIS: European Sunday Weekly Rest Day Legislation Remains Unlawful “This matter deserves a full debate engaging all [...]

Arrests Made in Christian Militia Police-Killing Plot (CBN)
March 29th, 2010

EXCERPT: Members of a paramilitary group have been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and wage war against the United States — and they use God as their reasoning. The group is active in three Midwest states. The FBI believes some of its members were about to launch a massacre. Read [...]

NJ county’s Sunday buying ban may be checking out (AP)
March 29th, 2010

Thanks to RLTV reader Doug Beasley for finding this story. EXCERPT: The Sunday shopping ban in New Jersey’s largest county — among the nation’s last remaining blue laws — may be lifted to satisfy the state’s hunger for more sales tax revenue. The budget proposed last week by new Republican Gov. Chris Christie assumes $65 million in new [...]

Stephen Colbert Tests Columbia Prof On Textbooks (Comedy Central)
March 25th, 2010

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c I’s on Edjukashun – Texas School Board www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform The Texas State Board of Education has voted to radically alter textbook lessons for future generations, removing from curricula separation of church and state and references to Thomas Jefferson. [...]

9th Circuit Upholds the Term ‘God’ in Pledge and on Currency
March 21st, 2010

Although this was a lawsuit brought by an atheist, had he won, the result might have actually been more protective of the honor of God. After these rulings stripping the name of God of any religious meaning, those who have so long clamored for God’s name to be mentioned as a statement of this nation’s religious faith might want to re-think their position.

9th Circuit Holds ‘Ministerial Exception’ Bars Seminarian Employment Case
March 21st, 2010

EXCERPT: This “ministerial exception” helps to preserve the wall between church and state from even the mundane government intrusion presented here. In this case, plaintiff Cesar Rosas seeks pay for the overtime hours he worked as a seminarian in a Catholic church in Washington. The district court correctly determined that the ministerial exception bars Rosas’s claim and dismissed the case on the pleadings.

Washington State Bill to Unionize Child Care Centers Dies in Committee
March 18th, 2010

Washington State Bill to Unionize Child Care Centers Dies in Committee We have good news from the State of Washington. You may have read our last newsletter about the bill that labor unions were trying to pass that would unionize private child care centers, and including faith-based preschools, and categorize their workers as government employees [...]

Oregon Legislature Votes Down 1923 Ban on Teachers Wearing Religious Dress
March 17th, 2010

Oregon Legislature Votes Down 1923 Ban on Teachers Wearing Religious Dress By Michael Peabody – This month we have a couple of big stories coming out of the great Pacific Northwest. In Oregon, the legislature has passed a bill championed by the Northwest Religious Liberty Association that overturns a 87-year-old law that prohibited teachers from [...]

Texas education board rejects in-depth study of First Amendment (DallasNews.com)
March 12th, 2010

EXCERPT: AUSTIN – Republicans on the State Board of Education soundly rejected a Democratic-backed proposal Thursday that would have required Texas students to be taught the reasons behind the prohibition of a state religion in the Bill of Rights. The contentious decision in curriculum standards for U.S. government classes appeared to signal the unhappiness of several board [...]

RLTV Podcast: Martin Surridge on Swiss Minarets and the French Burqa Ban
March 9th, 2010

Martin Surridge, the new associate editor of ReligiousLiberty.TV and Michael Peabody discuss recent developments in Europe.

 RLTV Podcast: Martin Surridge on Swiss Minarets and the French Burqa Ban [7:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Religious Tension Leads to Clashes in Jerusalem (From Al Jazeera English)
March 8th, 2010

Conference to Relaunch ‘Sunday Protection’ at European Level to be Held (COMECE)
March 5th, 2010

At RLTV we have been watching developments of this issue for over a year.  A coalition of churches and labor unions is again working toward the goal of a European Sunday rest law.   Editor EXCERPT: A Conference to relaunch the debate on Sunday protection at European level will be held on 24 March in the European [...]

Tension over Religious Sites Leaves Dozens Hurt in Jerusalem Clashes
March 5th, 2010

EXCERPT from BBC News (link below): Palestinians and Israeli police have clashed near the Jerusalem compound housing the al-Aqsa mosque, leaving dozens of people injured. A large group of Palestinians left Friday prayers and began marching to the mosque, carrying banners and waving green flags, witnesses and police said. Police tried to disperse the crowd [...]

Faith Healing Couple Guilty of Murder
March 3rd, 2010

EXCERPT from ABC News (link below): An Oregon husband and wife who relied on faith rather than medicine to treat their dying child were convicted today of criminally negligent homicide. Jeffrey and Marci Beagley of Oregon City said they thought their 16-year-old son, Neil, merely had the flu when they prayed and laid hands on [...]

The Winter Olympics and Inequality in Global Athletics
March 3rd, 2010

In high school, the only sports I played to any significant extent were soccer and basketball. A lot of my friends went snowboarding or skiing, but it was a long drive to the mountains and I could not really afford all the equipment, which cost hundreds of dollars. So I never spent much time on [...]

RLTV PODCAST: Jason Hines on The Church, Same-Sex Marriage, and Public Policy
February 26th, 2010

Michael Peabody interviews Jason Hines, attorney and Andrews University seminary student, about the topic of same-sex marriage and why religious groups need to be careful to protect liberty of conscience in their advocacy on this issue.

 Jason Hines on the Church, Same-Sex Marriage, and Public Policy [12:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

UN condemns Gaddafi jihad call
February 26th, 2010

EXCERPT from Al Jazeera English (link below): The United Nations and European Union have condemned a call from Libya’s leader for Muslims to carry out jihad against Switzerland over a recent vote to ban the construction of minarets in the European country. Gaddafi said: “Any Muslim around the world who has dealings with Switzerland is an [...]

Oregon Legislature Ends Ban on Teachers Wearing Religious Dress – Goes to Governor for Signature
February 25th, 2010

EXCERPT from OregonLive.com (link below): Oregon’s longstanding ban on teachers wearing head scarves or other religious dress is near its demise after the Senate and House gave final approval Tuesday to lift the ban. Champions in the Senate called ending the ban a historic step toward religious freedom and non-discrimination in a state that has [...]

Washington House of Representatives Attempts to Facilitate Union Take-Over of Religious Child Care Centers
February 24th, 2010

By Michael D. Peabody – So what’s the biggest threat to religious liberty? According to J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the answer is found in the strings attached to government funding of religious activity. Earlier this month, during a speech for the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, Walker said, “What the government funds, it always regulates. Government-sponsored religion is always bad for religion. How can we raise a prophetic fist with one hand and take government money with the other?”

The truth of Walker’s statement was underscored just last week when the Washington State House of Representatives passed HB 1329, now working its way through the state Senate, that cleared the way for unionization of private and most non-profit child care centers if they take government subsidies for as little as one child, and even declares the centers’ employees “government employees” for the purposes of unionization.

HISTORY: Nine Children Face an Angry Town (Adventist Review)
February 23rd, 2010

EXCERPT: I’M DRIVING HOME ONE DAY LAST SEPTEMBER with a major assignment on my mind—a formal presentation at an October conference in observance of the fiftieth anniversary of what some have called the most controversial book in Adventism: Questions on Doctrine. My radio is tuned to CSPAN, and on comes a live report of the [...]

Obama speaks up for Tibetans, but in a hushed voice (India Times)
February 19th, 2010

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Obama-speaks-up-for-Tibetans-but-in-a-hushed-voice/articleshow/5594740.cms EXCERPT: WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama to express his “strong support” for human rights and religious freedom for the people of Tibet while encouraging a direct dialogue with China. Mr Obama “commended the Dalai Lama’s ‘Middle Way’ approach, his commitment to non-violence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinesegovernment during [...]

God’s Counterterrorism in a ’24′ World
February 13th, 2010

God’s Counterterrorism in a ’24′ World from Ryan Bell on Vimeo. Ryan Bell, the pastor Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church, gave this presentation at La Sierra University on January 28, 2010.

RLTV PODCAST: Monte Sahlin on How to Help Haiti
February 10th, 2010

Monte Sahlin is the director of Research and Development of the Ohio Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and is an expert international humanitarian aid.  In this podcast he discusses the Haiti Earthquake and the response of a church group from Idaho that tried to help but got in trouble. He discussed Haiti  and other current issues [...]

 Monte Sahlin: How to Help Haiti [9:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Oregon House Votes to Repeal Ban on Teachers Wearing Religious Dress
February 10th, 2010

By an overwhelming majority, the Oregon House of Representatives has voted 51-8 to repeal a Klan-era ban on teachers wearing religious dress in the classroom.  The law, originally an anti-Catholic measure, was implemented with the support of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. It bans Muslim public school teachers from wearing headscarves, Sikh men [...]

The European Attack on Religious Liberty
February 8th, 2010

While they have been easy to miss, the news has been peppered recently with stories of serious threats to religious liberty not in the developing world, war-torn regions in the Middle East, or third-world countries struck by natural disasters, but in Europe, our own geopolitical backyard.

Haiti Quake Report (ADRA)
February 7th, 2010

First hand reports of Adventist Development and Relief Agency’s assistance to the earthquake victims of Haiti. Visit ADRA.org for more information.

Russia plan to “kick out cults” could also affect religious freedom (RT)
February 6th, 2010

The damage of the anti-vaccine movement (Los Angeles Times)
February 6th, 2010

Childhood diseases once mostly eradicated are making a comeback. And children are dying.

RLTV PODCAST: Martin Surridge on the Decline of Islamic Terrorism
February 1st, 2010

Martin Surridge and Michael Peabody discuss Surridge’s recent article, “Is the Era of Large-Scale Islamic Terrorism Coming to an End?” in which he theorizes that Islamic terrorism in the West is on the decline.

 The Decline of Terrorism - Martin Surridge [8:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Some Thoughts on the Implications of the Same-Sex Marriage Trial for Religious Minorities
January 31st, 2010

Putting the emotional issues aside, this is the cold reality: If the U.S. Supreme Court takes this case and decides to uphold Proposition 8, this outcome could strip away fundamental principles that also protect religious minorities.

RLTV PODCAST: Attorney Karen Scott on the Current Problem of Human Trafficking in the United States
January 29th, 2010

Michael Peabody interviews  Karen Scott about the  problem of modern day slavery and human trafficking in the United States.

 Standard Podcast [9:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Bumper Music: “What’s the Matter with the World” by C Sharp.  Music obtained through MusicAlley.com.

Is the Era of Large-Scale Islamic Terrorism Coming to an End?
January 25th, 2010

While the world cautiously watches the war in Afghanistan and the nuclear aspirations of Iran, a surprising geopolitical trend may be emerging which could have quite profound consequences for international security and the safety of millions throughout southwest Asia and indeed the rest of the world. Despite the global carnage that Islamic terrorist groups continue [...]

RLTV PODCAST: Scott Ritsema on the Gun Sight Controversy
January 25th, 2010

Michael Peabody interviews Scott Ritsema about the recent controversy involving a gun sight manufacturer that inscribed Bible references on tactical equipment used by military forces around the world.  Scott Ritsema is the author of The Way the Truth and the Sword and maintains a blog at http://civicsnews.blogspot.com.

 Scott Ritsema on the Gun Sight Controversy [10:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
BUMPER MUSIC:  ”Guns or Butter” performed by [...]

Muzzle Flash Evangelism: Outrage over Biblical References on Military Gun Sights (From ABC News)
January 21st, 2010

Walla Walla – Shelter for Freedom Screens Documentary Film “Cargo: Innocence Lost”
January 21st, 2010

By Martin Surridge  A multitude of Walla Walla University students joined local community members and concerned citizens at Shelter for Freedom’s headlining event on Saturday night, January 16, 2010, filling Whitman College’s Cordiner Hall for the screening of the documentary film “Cargo: Innocence Lost.” The screening, which was followed by a panel discussion, was just one of [...]

Spiritually transformed killing machines of Christ (Civics News)
January 20th, 2010

Scott Ritsema CIVICS NEWS January 19, 2010 As if there weren’t enough instances where the American Empire is associated with the faith of Jesus (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here for starters) another sad story has leaked into the media (see ABC story here), this time about Bible [...]

VIDEO – Pat Robertson Gives Religion A Bad Name With His Disaster Comments – CNN
January 16th, 2010

Arianna Huffington joined The Nation’s Ari Melber and former evangelist Frank Schaeffer on The Joy Behar Show Thursday. The panel weighed in on evangelist Pat Robertson’s claims that the earthquake in Haiti is the result of that country’s “pact with the devil.” Arianna  Huffington thinks Robertson is giving religion a bad name. “For anybody of faith, [...]

Pat Robertson, the Earthquake in Haiti, and the Righteousness of God
January 15th, 2010

In 1999, comedian George Carlin wrote, “Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time! But He loves you.”

I thought about Carlin’s statement as I watched a clip of Pat Robertson blaming this week’s earthquake in Haiti on a mythical pact that the people of Haiti supposedly made with the Devil in order to become independent of France over two centuries ago. ““[E]ver since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor,” Robertson said.

Blue Laws and Sunday Legislation-why do they exist? CNN Video
January 13th, 2010

A video describing some of the religious and secular rationale behind American Sunday blue laws.

‘Aye, those be slighting words against the Lord:’ Ireland’s blasphemy law (National Post)
January 10th, 2010

EXCERPT: On the first day of 2010 (note: not 1310), Ireland’s new blasphemy law came into effect, making statements about the folly of religion punishable by a 25,000 euro fine. Specifically, the law forbids “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion.” Ireland, yet again, [...]

Pope Benedict: “the Great Consolidator” (American Spectator)
January 10th, 2010

EXCERPT from the Article by Jeremy Lott: That makes him a conservative but a radical one. The easiest way to change a church is to drastically change her membership, and that is exactly what the pope is calling for with his impatient prodding to bring whole communions into the flock. Yesterday the traditionalists, today the [...]

Report says 225,000 Haiti children work as slaves (AP)
December 23rd, 2009

From http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/latinamerica/6783415.html EXCERPT: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Poverty has forced at least 225,000 children in Haiti’s cities into slavery as unpaid household servants, far more than previously thought, a report said Tuesday. The Pan American Development Foundation’s report also said some of those children — mostly young girls — suffer sexual, psychological and physical abuse while [...]

Dr. Adrian Westney Passes Away
December 18th, 2009

      Dr. Adrian Theophilus Westney passed away at the age of 82 on December 14, 2009 after having served the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the cause of religious freedom for over 60 years. Before coming to the United States in 1960, Westney planted churches and pastored in his homeland of Jamaica, as well as [...]

Event “Slavery: The Fight We Thought Was Over” – Walla Walla – January 14-18, 2010
December 15th, 2009

    SHELTER FOR FREEDOM  “Slavery: The Fight We Thought Was Over” FILM: “Cargo: Innocence Lost” Walla Walla University & Whitman College January 14-18, 2010 Walla Walla, WA           All the following events are free except for Film Screening and Reception.   EVENTS TO BENEFITS WALLA WALLA HELPLINE WOMEN’S SHELTER     Thursday, January 14, [...]

Cargo: Innocence Lost Movie
December 15th, 2009

Cargo: Innocence Lost – Film screening – Saturday, January 16, 5:00 pm, Cordiner Hall, Whitman College – Documentary by Michael Cory Davis on human trafficking in the United States – Anne Archer will introduce the film and Michael Cory Davis – Panel discussion to follow featuring Anne Archer, Michael Cory Davis and law enforcement, slavery [...]

Jan Paulsen on Freedon
December 12th, 2009

Pastor Jan Paulsen, world president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church discusses freedom as a foundational value for human dignity.

Faith, Freedom, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor (Liberty Magazine)
December 10th, 2009

By David A. Pendleton – Ever since President Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court, the chattering classes have speculated endlessly regarding the impact she might have on the future of American jurisprudence.  She would bring wide-ranging experiences to the Court: prosecutor, civil litigator, federal trial judge, federal appellate judge, law [...]

Michigan Church Has the Right to Help Poor People, ACLU Tells Court (ACLU Release)
December 10th, 2009

“Congress enacted the Religious Land Use Act to protect the fundamental right of freedom of religion,” said Dan Korobkin, an ACLU of Michigan staff attorney who is representing the church. “Churches and other religious institutions have the right to use their property to exercise their religious beliefs — which in this case entails providing charitable services to the poor and underprivileged.”

China and a Canadian Newspaper call for worldwide one-child policy
December 10th, 2009

This comes from the left end of the political spectrum and presents what may simply be rhetorical posturing, or a harbinger of the next big issue.  Aside from a one-child policy we can expect it to trickle into areas having to do with euthanasia, health care, etc.  China has recently been calling for an international [...]

Pastor Boissoin’s Lawyer: Case Will Positively Impact Religious Freedom in Canada (LifeSiteNews)
December 7th, 2009

From http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09120706.html EXCERPT: CALGARY, December 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Gerald Chipeur, the lawyer who represented Pastor Stephen Boissoin, has said that the recent ruling in favor of Mr. Boissoin “will have a significant long term positive impact on religious freedom in Canada.” Pastor Boissoin was exonerated by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge last week [...]

The Manhattan Declaration: Approach with Caution
December 7th, 2009

We have no reason to doubt that those who drafted and are signing the Declaration are sincere and trying to do what they believe is best for America. There are many good reasons why it may seem a good idea, but we should raise a voice of caution regarding the unintended consequences of this approach. Christians tempted to set aside theological differences, which include differences in how grace and salvation are viewed so significant that they led to the battles of the Reformation and Inquisition, and unite on points held in common in order to change society should recall the unholy results of such unions. From a Christian perspective, government and even church edicts cannot change hearts, only God can.

Huckabee and Colson on the Manhattan Declaration
December 3rd, 2009

Mike Huckabee talks to Chuck Colson about the significance of the Manhattan Declaration, which Huckabee claims could be the equivalent of the 49 Theses posted by Martin Luther, which is an official document composed by a group of Evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox leaders who are uniting against causes such as abortion, same-sex marriage and their definition [...]

Germany: Rigid Sunday law used against Scientology which is considered “business” by gov’t. (Der Spiegel)
December 3rd, 2009

GERMANY – Scientologists have had a particularly difficult time in Europe where many view them as a nuisance for their recruiting activities.  When they opened a new 43,000 square foot facility near Berlin, the locals complained. However, the city found a loophole based on a 1995 Federal Labor Court ruling that found that Scientology is “neither a religion nor an [...]

Interview with Jeff Sharlet: The Secret Political Reach Of ‘The Family’ (National Public Radio)
November 24th, 2009

The Secret Political Reach Of ‘The Family’ This is FRESH AIR. I’m Terry Gross. The fundamentalist group The Family has operated secretively with the help of influential congressmen and senators who are members of the group to promote their anti-gay, anti-abortion, pro-free-market ideas in America and other parts of the world, but two sex scandals [...]

The Dangerous Idea of Protecting Religions from “Defamation” (USCIRF)
November 22nd, 2009

A Threat to Universal Human Rights Standards November 11, 2009 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In advance of the upcoming vote on this issue in the UN General Assembly, USCIRF today issued the following Policy Focus explaining the problems with the idea that religions should be  protected from “defamation.”     Executive Summary Over the past decade, [...]

INTERVIEW: John Marcotte, Author of the 2010 California Protection of Marriage Act
November 17th, 2009

Rob Cockerham is the genius behind the website Cockeyed.com, which answers all kinds of questions.  I first became a fan of the site back in 2004 when I was trying to visualize the size of an acre.  Since then, I’ve been amazed at Rob’s “High Profile Sculpture Replacement” experiments, and American Idol Judges costume and groundbreaking [...]

Calif. Initiative Round-up – Outlawing Divorce, Legalizing Pot, and Christmas Music
November 17th, 2009

In California, voters are allowed to promote ballot initiatives on almost any subject, including those that can fundamentally change the state constitution.  Here are some initatives that are currently in circulation as of November 18, 2009.  Only a few will make it to the ballot, but it is interesting to see what changes some want to [...]

US court rules against “I Believe” car license plates (APD)
November 17th, 2009

A US federal judge has ordered South Carolina not to issue cross-adorned ”I believe” car number plates, ruling it violates the constitutional separation of church and state. US District Court judge, Cameron Currie, ruled that the state legislature – which voted unanimously last year to approve the number plates that include a cross in front of a stained glass window – had clearly given favoured government treatment to a single faith, and ordered to halt its issue.

UK – Health and safety snoops to enter family homes (TimesOnline)
November 16th, 2009

EXCERPT from TimesOnline Health and safety inspectors are to be given unprecedented access to family homes to ensure that parents are protecting their children from household accidents. New guidance drawn up at the request of the Department of Health urges councils and other public sector bodies to “collect data” on properties where children are thought [...]

Washington DC – New Turn in Debate Over Law on Marriage (The New York Times)
November 16th, 2009

EXCERPT from New York Times: New Turn in Debate Over Law on Marriage By IAN URBINA Published: November 12, 2009 WASHINGTON — The fight over a proposed same-sex marriage law here heated up this week as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said that if the law passed, the church would cut its social service [...]

House Healthcare Vote – A Huge Triumph for the Catholic Church (America Magazine)
November 16th, 2009

EXCERPTS from America Magazine Blog – 11/8/09 The House Vote: A Huge Triumph for the Church Posted at: 2009-11-08 08:02:54.0 Author: Michael Sean Winters It is difficult to over-estimate the degree to which last night’s vote in the House, passing a comprehensive health care reform bill, was a huge victory for the Catholic Church. Yes, [...]

A Church Scorned: Church, State, Marriage, and the Quest for Power
November 11th, 2009

The State and the Church “And so, by the power vested in me by the State of ___  and Almighty God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” This pronouncement is the point in a religious wedding ceremony where the power of the state and the [...]

Scholarship contest asks high school students to revisit JFK speech on separation of church and state
November 9th, 2009

The Religious Liberty Council of the Baptist Joint Committee on its website announced the 5th annual Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest, which is open to all high school students in the graduating classes of 2010 and 2011. According to the BJC, “this year’s contest will commemorate the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s landmark speech about [...]

Religious freedom requires Baptists to hold in tension certain principles (The Baptist Standard)
November 9th, 2009

EXCERPT: DALLAS—Baptists must hold in tension three sets of paradoxical ideas if they are to remain faithful to their heritage and champion freedom, Brent Walker told participants at the T.B. Maston Christian Ethics Award Dinner Oct. 30 in Dallas. … • The two religion clauses in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. • Religious [...]

PBS Series “Liberty’s Kids” Now on YouTube
November 3rd, 2009

An excellent educational cartoon series for kids (and adults) starring Walter Cronkite as Ben Franklin is now on YouTube. In this episode, Ben Franklin, Moses, and James discover disguised colonists raiding the tea-laden ship that Sarah is aboard. To watch the entire series, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/LibertysKidsTV The official website, which includes activities and information for parents and teachers is located at http://www.libertyskids.com/

HISTORY: Sousa’s Band Under Ban of Sunday Blue Law
November 1st, 2009

Binghamton, N. Y., November 13, 1922—Harold F. Albert, recreational director of the Endicott Johnson Corporation, was arrested yesterday afternoon on complaint of the Binghamton Ministerial Association for staging a concert by John Philip Sousa’s Band at which an admission was charged.

Sec. Clinton condemns “Religious Defamation” laws and addresses international issues in annual Religious Freedom Report
October 27th, 2009

On October 25, 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented the annual International Religious Freedom Report, on behalf of the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. In the first IRFR from the Obama administration, Clinton stated her opposition to international laws that would propose to protect religious liberty by preventing [...]

OPINION: When Did “Conservative” Become Anarchist?
October 27th, 2009

What planet am I living on? I have grown up with the idea that conservatives were those who value tradition and defendthe status quo ante; who support the institutions of our society. But now it seems that “conservatives” believe that it is wrong for the president of the United States to talk to the nation’s school children despite the fact that Ronald Reagan did so; that it is OK to carry an automatic weapon to a public meeting with elected officials; that un-fact-checked statementscirculated by unknown bloggers and radio entertainers are to be believed over independent newspapers with long histories of factual reporting.

Texas execution looms after jury consult Bible (Amnesty International)
October 21st, 2009

EXCERPT: A Texas man who faces execution after jurors at his trial consulted the Bible when deliberating his fate should have his death sentence commuted, Amnesty International said on Friday. Khristian Oliver, 32, is set to be killed on 5 November after jurors used Biblical passages supporting the death penalty to help them decide whether [...]

What’s Wrong with Conspiracy Theories?
October 19th, 2009

The other day someone sent me a link to an “Antichrist Decoder” that has been posted online by an otherwise reputable Christian ministry. You can type in anybody’s name and the program will calculate the value of the name in Roman numerals.

After checking my name to make sure that I was not the Antichrist I looked at the other names that people had plugged into the decoder and learned that Barack Obama is not the Antichrist, neither is Barack Hussein Obama. Ronald Wilson Reagan’s name doesn’t add up to 666 even if you type in two “v”s to make the W.

People were having fun with the decoder and for the uninitiated it would be at home in a carnival next to the “Love Meter” or “Magic 8 Ball.” Perhaps an “antichrist decoder” made the rounds on the county fair circuit in years gone by, or a 666 Decoder Ring was the cheap plastic treat in the box of Cracker Jacks.

Northwest Religious Liberty Association Honors Oregon Speaker Dave Hunt
October 16th, 2009

Representative Dave Hunt, speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, was awarded by the Northwest Religious Liberty Association (NRLA) at the Oregon Conference Campmeeting in Gladstone on July 17, 2009 for his legislative sponsorship of the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act, Senate Bill 786 (SB 786) which was signed into law by Governor Ted Kulongoski.  There were [...]

Colbert on Religious Symbol on Government Land
October 15th, 2009

On his October 13, 2009 episode, Stephen Colbert addressed the recent Supreme Court arguments in the case involving the WWI Veterans’ Memorial in the Mojave Desert (Salazar v. Buono). He makes a strong argument that those who are arguing for the cross as a mere symbol in order to preserve it are arguing against its religious significance.

Why America should not be declared a “Christian Nation”
September 24th, 2009

History tells us that it would not be a debate between Christians and atheists. If Christianity won predominance over every other religious system in the nation, it would be a debate between Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentacostals, and any other denomination you could name. Then it would be between the liberals and conservatives, and ultimately between conservatives or between liberals, the powerful – not the faithful – would control.

Faith in Context: President Obama & Faith-based Initiatives
September 12th, 2009

As he said he would during the campaign last year, President Obama has retained the “faith-based initiatives” emphasis at the White House, but restructured the organization that he inherited from President Bush. The new unit consists of two parts, where Bush’s White House had only one: An Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and a President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The council is make its final recommendations in February next year (2010), so it appears that further changes may yet surface. At the same time it is clear that Obama is committed to some kind of working relationship with the nonprofit sector, including the large part of it that is related to religious constituencies.

Chris Seiple: Religious Freedom: The Ultimate Counterterrorism Weapon?
September 4th, 2009

While the U.S. can summon hard power with relative ease, employing soft power is more difficult. Indeed, smart power suggests that hard and soft power are two sides of the same coin, that our interests are protected when our values are promoted. If Americans want to engage the world with efficient and enduring effect, we must better understand the essence of American power and the foundation of the global public square: religious freedom.

Pope Benedict XVI on Religious Freedom (CNA)
September 3rd, 2009

A short Catholic News Agency overview of international religious persecution and the importance of preserving religious freedom.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Undergo Persecution in the former Soviet Union
September 3rd, 2009

Since their formation in the late 19th century, Jehovah’s Witnesses have suffered relentless persecution worldwide for their controversial religious beliefs. Archibald Cox, Jr., famous for his role as the Watergate prosecutor that helped force the resignation of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, once noted that Jehovah’s Witnesses were “the principal victims of religious persecution … in the twentieth century.” Persecution against Witnesses was especially strong during WWII when their political neutrality, conscientious objection to war, and refusal to salute any nation’s flag made them the target of governments and citizen mob groups alike. Except for the Jews, they were proportionally the most persecuted group in Nazi Germany; they were banned during the war in countries like Russia and Spain, and sometimes beaten and jailed in places like Britain, Canada, Cuba, and the United States. The ACLU reported that by 1940 in the United States alone, “more than 1,500 Witnesses . . . had been victimized in 335 separate attacks.”

3 states still ban religious clothing for teachers (Associated Press)
September 2nd, 2009

EXCERPT: PORTLAND, Ore. — A law backed by the Ku Klux Klan nearly a century ago to keep Catholics out of public schools is still on the books in Oregon, one of the last states in the nation to prohibit teachers from wearing religious clothing in classrooms. Both Pennsylvania and Nebraska have similar laws, which [...]

Civil Rights Pioneer E.E. Cleveland talks about meeting Martin Luther King, Jr.
September 1st, 2009

On August 30, 2009, renowned evangelist Edward Earl Cleveland died at Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama. He was 88.  Cleveland worked for more than 60 years as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, evangelist, church leader, teacher, and civil rights leader. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended one of Cleveland’s tent meetings in 1954 in Montgomery and [...]

Religion in Public Schools: Academic, Not Devotional (J. Brent Walker – Washington Post)
September 1st, 2009

EXCERPT: The Texas Board of Education, the nation’s second largest purchaser of public school textbooks, is revising its K-12 social studies curriculum and deciding how to characterize religion’s influence on American history. Three consultants have recommended emphasizing the roles of the Bible, Christianity and civic virtue of religion. As America’s children go back to school, [...]

Adventist Golfer put his faith ahead of on-course success (Tulsa World)
August 28th, 2009

 EXCERPT: A FIELD OF 312 golfers will tee off Monday in the U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills and Cedar Ridge. One of them — 24-year-old Louie Bishop of Murrieta, Calif. — knows he has zero chance of advancing to Sunday’s finals and, yes, he’s at peace with that. Bishop is a Seventh-day Adventist. He doesn’t [...]

Religious-freedom groups mourn Kennedy, cite church-state views (ABP)
August 28th, 2009

EXCERPT: . . . The late senator “was a great champion of church-state separation,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in a preparedstatement. “It’s not just that he consistently voted to support that principle — he really got it. He deeply understood that only a high and [...]

Bill would give president emergency control of Internet (CNET)
August 28th, 2009

  EXCERPT:    Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.     They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. [...]

‘We have so many uncanonised martyrs’ – Christians in Pakistan are living in daily fear of violence from extremists (Catholic Herald)
August 21st, 2009

Sister Janet Fearns, communications coordinator of Missio writes about the extent of religious persecution in Pakistan.  A link to the full article follows this excerpt: ‘I am sorry I could not speak to you then because we were just about to begin the funeral service for Irfan, an 11-year-old boy who was shot in the head [...]

Charles Colson on media indifference to international religious freedom
August 21st, 2009

Charles Colson recently wrote an interesting editorial on the media’s non-response to religious freedom issues in India.  Here is an excerpt followed by a link to the full article: In 1998, Congress created the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Its mandate was to “monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion [...]

Open Forum: What does religious freedom mean to you?
August 16th, 2009

Here is how some members of our Facebook community responded to the question, “What does religious freedom mean to you?” William Brooks: I once heard a pastor speak on religious liberty and its meaning, and since then, I have claim this meaning for myself.”Religious liberty means, I am free worship as I please, or to go fishing.” To [...]

Tennesee governor signs Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law
August 16th, 2009

  On July 1, 2009, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law.  Introduced in February, House Bill 1598 requires Tennessee courts to apply the “compelling state interest” test to cases in which a law substantially burdens one’s right of free exercise of religion. The state now has the burden of [...]

Arthur Caplan – The Bioethics of Engineering Children
August 9th, 2009

First religious liberty festival in Jerusalem draws hundreds (ANN)
August 9th, 2009

Source: Adventist News Network   Hundreds of religious liberty proponents from Israel and the Palestinian Territories gathered in Jerusalem Sunday for the symbolic city’s first festival of religious freedom. The event generated a “climate of good understanding” among attendees that organizers hope will spur increased tolerance in the region, said John Graz, secretary-general for the [...]

Baptists Mark 400th Anniversary, Celebrate Religious Freedom (BeliefNet)
August 9th, 2009

EXCERPT:  UTRECHT, Netherlands — (RNS/ENI) Four hundred years after the first Baptist congregation was established, followers have been challenged to continue championing religious liberty. “We as Baptists must continue to defend religious freedom for all peoples and all religions,” said Denton Lotz, the former general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, at a special service [...]

When work and religion collide
July 21st, 2009

Because religious beliefs are protected and there is a more diverse workforce, religious accommodation issues have increased. This article was written by originally published in the July 19, 2009 Zanesville TimesRecorder and is reprinted here with the permission of the author. By Jim Evans This is not your father’s workplace. A snapshot of today’s workforce looks dramatically [...]

Governor signs Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act
July 21st, 2009

Northwest Religious Liberty Association Press Release – July 21, 2009 The Stage Was Set On a sweltering Friday summer evening, and just two minutes prior to going on stage before approximately 2,000 Seventh-day Adventist Christians at the Gladstone, Oregon Campmeeting, the Honorable Representative Dave Hunt (D), Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Oregon Legislature, [...]

Justice Department Files Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Essex County, New Jersey (DOJ Release)
July 19th, 2009

The Department filed a lawsuit today against Essex County, N.J., alleging that it discriminated against a Muslim corrections officer on the basis of her religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit alleges that the county refused to permit Yvette Beshier to wear a religiously mandated headscarf while working as a corrections officer.

SB 786: Workplace Religious Freedom Act
July 17th, 2009

Speaker Dave Hunt delivers a floor speech on the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signs the Workplace Religious Freedom Act
July 17th, 2009

Breaking News:  We have received word that Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has signed the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (SB 786). SB 786 requires employers to make credible attempts to accommodate religious holy day observance and religious dress. Prior to SB 786, employers in Oregon could make only the bare minimum effort to meet accommodation [...]

Oregon law is too strict on teachers’ religious garb (Oregonian)
July 17th, 2009

EXCERPT: In nearly every state in the union, local school districts have the discretion to say whether teachers can wear religious garb such as yarmulkes, turbans and head scarves while on the job. Not around these parts. Oregon is one of only two states with laws that expressly forbid public school teachers from wearing religious [...]

Law Professor Alan Brownstein on California marriage debate (Liberty Magazine)
July 15th, 2009

Religious liberty and equality is predicated on the right to be different. Its underlying principle is that we do not have to accept the truth or value of someone else’s religious beliefs in order to agree that those beliefs and practices deserve protection against discriminatory treatment.

Shabbat in Commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King
July 10th, 2009

Sixth & I Historic Synagogue and Turner Memorial A.M.E. Church present the fifth annual Shabbat in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, celebrating their legacy of social justice and equality.

July 2009 News and Opinion – The Economy, Marriage, and More
July 3rd, 2009

July 2009 News and Opinion – The Economy, Marriage, and More Posted using ShareThis

Bronwyn Winter: Uncovering the French Headscarf Debate
July 3rd, 2009

The hijab is arguably the most discussed and controversial item of women’s clothing today. It has become the primary global symbol of female Muslim identity for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and is the focus of much debate in the confrontation between Islam and the West. Nowhere has this debate been more acute or complex than [...]

Rodney Baker: Demonisation and Witch Hunts in Religion and Politics
July 3rd, 2009

Rodney Barker discusses the origins, character and life of political and religious witch hunts, as well as the relation between what people say, what they believe and what they do. Professor Rodney Barkers’ research interests lie in the areas of political thinking in modern Britain and the legitimation of governments, subjects and rebels. He also [...]

Jerusalem: The Pope in Search of Christians (LinkTV)
June 28th, 2009

(Mosaic Intelligence Report: May 15, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI prays for peace in the Holy Land but his trip is mired with controversy. Why are Muslims and Jews upset with the Holy See? And what does the future hold for Palestinian Christians living in Jerusalem? Additional discussion at the Huffington Post.

Religion, Politics, and the 2008 Election
June 25th, 2009

The Wolfson Center for National Affairs at The New School presents a conversation with Wilfred McClay, senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center at the University of Tennessee and co-author of Religion Returns to the Public Square, and Jacques Berlinerblau, with the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and author ofThe Secular Bible: [...]

Mormonism & American Politics: Noah Feldman
June 10th, 2009

Keynote address by Noah Feldman at the Mormonism & American Politics conference entitled Persecution and the Art of Secrecy: An Interpretation of the Mormon Encounter with American Politics.

Economics: Lawrence W. Reed on the Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy
June 9th, 2009

  Lawrence W. Reed is president emeritus of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Midland-based research and educational institute on September 1, 2008. The Center’s mission is to equip Michigan citizens and other decision-makers to better evaluate Michigan public policy options and to do so from a “free market” perspective.  For a PDF version [...]

Russian President may push ‘new world currency’…
June 9th, 2009

EXCERPT FROM BLOOMBERG.COM Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may discuss his proposal to create a new world currency when he meets counterparts from Brazil, India and China this month, Natalya Timakova, a spokeswoman for the president, told reporters by phone today. Russia’s proposals for the Group of 20 meeting in London in April included studying a [...]

Reza Aslan: The Future of Religious Nationalism
June 3rd, 2009

At a time when religion and politics are increasingly sharing the same vocabulary and functioning in the same sphere, Aslan writes that we must strip this ideological conflict of its religious connotations and address the actual grievances that fuel the Jihadist movement.

1967 U.S. Supreme Court Decision sheds light on California marriage debate
June 1st, 2009

There is presently much debate about gay marriage in California, and the roots for the argument come from several directions. In 1967 the United States Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether marriage was a fundamental right. Granted it had to do with people of the opposite sex, but the arguments for the State of Virginia which forbade interracial marriage were primarily religious in nature.

When you think about it, 1967 was not very long ago. If you are older than 42, if your parents were from sixteen states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida, and were from different races their marriages would have been illegal. In California, interracial marriage was illegal until 1948.

Doug Kmiec on a Court Packed with Catholics (Wall Street Journal)
June 1st, 2009

If Judge Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed by the United States Senate, she will be the 6th Catholic among the 9 United States Supreme Court justices. Doug Kmiec, my constitutional law professor in the area of the Bill of Rights at Pepperdine University, discusses what this will mean in a recent interview with Suzanne Sataline of [...]

Oregon House of Representatives passes Workplace Religious Freedom Act
June 1st, 2009

SB 786 has passed both houses of the legislature and is now on the Governor’s Desk.

The dangers of relinquishing liberty for a quiet and “safe” life
May 29th, 2009

In recent months, it has become increasingly clear that religious freedom, or any individual liberties for that matter, are best respected in lands where private property and financial resources are respected by the state.  Mark Steyn explores the themes of private property and financial responsibility in this speech describing the dangers other nations are facing when [...]

Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor’s rulings on religious issues
May 26th, 2009

University of Toledo law professor Howard M. Friedman has compiled a list of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s rulings on religion clause issues at his blog, Religion Clause. Sotomayor has served on the Second Circuit since 1998. She served as a federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York from 1992 to 1998.

On the Table
May 20th, 2009

 A collection of the latest news and opinions.   VIRGINIA: Laid-off religious workers denied jobless benefits Under Virginia law, as in many states, tax exemptions for religious organizations include freedom from paying unemployment taxes, though the IRS requires they pay Social Security and withholding taxes.  For workers who are left jobless, unemployment benefits are a [...]

China and Brazil Plan to Dump Dollar (FT)
May 19th, 2009

This news will have significant repercussions for the United States economy.  Editor Brazil and China will work towards using their own currencies in trade transactions rather than the US dollar, according to Brazil’s central bank and aides to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president. The move follows recent Chinese challenges to the status of the [...]

US Commission on International Religious Freedom Issues 2009 Report – 13 Nations of concern
May 12th, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Friday, May 1, announced its 2009 recommendations to Congress, the White House and the State Department that 13 nations–Burma, China, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam–be named “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs.  USCIRF is a [...]

TURKMENISTAN: Old “offences” still used to punish current religious activity (Forum 18)
May 12th, 2009

EXCERPT: By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service Former prisoner of conscience Shageldy Atakov, is the latest victim of Turkmenistan’s use of old “offences” to punish current activity, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. Officials under orders from the central authorities are now threatening to confiscate Atakov’s property, if he does not pay an enormous [...]

Around the globe, religious freedom under assault (Read it News)
May 12th, 2009

EXCERPT: At a time when religious persecution is at the heart of the world’s most violent conflicts, religious freedom matters. That’s why the 2009 report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom should be required reading for policymakers in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. Released on May 1, the report documents in chilling detail the [...]

Pope urges religious reconciliation (Al Jazeera)
May 12th, 2009

Excerpt: Pope Benedict XVI has called on followers of the three major monotheistic religions to put their differences behind them and work towards reconciliation. … “Jews, Muslims and Christians alike call this city their spiritual home… Thereshould be no place within these walls for narrowness, discrimination, violence and injustice,” Benedict said. “Believers in a God [...]

North Korea Freedom Week – CBN.com
May 8th, 2009

North Korea has long been recognized as one of the world’s worst abusers of religious freedom. This week in Washington, D.C., North Korean defectors and human rights activists came together to bring attention to the situation… From The Christian Broadcasting Network CBN

Oregon Senate Passes Workplace Religious Freedom Act
May 7th, 2009

WORKPLACE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM PASSES OREGON STATE SENATE! Tuesday,  May 5, 2009 at the Oregon Legislature, with the leadership of Senator David Nelson (R-Pendleton District) and the bipartisan support of Republicans and Democrats, we finally realized the fruits of our labor in the Senate passage of our Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act, SB 786-A (see attached). The [...]

Preliminary Analysis: Congress Passes Hate Crime Legislation
May 1st, 2009

With the news this week that the United States House of Representatives has passed, H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, there is some concern about what this will mean for individuals or churches that express their religious beliefs regarding sexual orientation.  I discussed the 2007 version of this bill in [...]

ANALYSIS: European Sunday Weekly Rest Day Legislation Remains Unlawful
April 29th, 2009

The main purpose for writing this article is to respond to the relentless attempts in recent times to legislate in the European Union, Sunday as an official weekly rest day. The lobbyists championing this cause have been among other associations, the Roman Catholic Bishops (COMECE), some Protestants church representatives and certain Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).[1] I will now provide a synopsis of the background on this issue and show how it has developed to the present day.

Interview: Scott Ritsema talks about his new book “The Way, the Truth and the Sword”
April 24th, 2009

Scott Ritsema tackles the current controversy surrounding issues of faith and political power in his new book, The Way, the Truth and the Sword: A New Christian Civics in an Age of Coercive Power. I recently caught up with him to discuss the book, which is available online at http://www.lulu.com/content/3160866 RLTV: Your book has a fascinating [...]

Richard Land and Jim Wallis: Faith and Politics
April 13th, 2009

Moderated by Krista Tippett, host of American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith, this panel of conservative evangelical Dr. Richard Land and liberal evangelical Jim Wallis separates faith from any one party and defines a broad faith-oriented agenda – University of Minnesota

Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee hears testimony on the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act
April 13th, 2009

SALEM, OREGON -  On April 9, 2009, the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (SB 786).  House Speaker Dave Hunt, Bureau of Labor and Industry director Brad Avakian, and Senator David Nelson led the testimony in favor of the bill followed by Northwest Religious Liberty Association president Gregory [...]

Canada: Fundraisers planned for Alberta pastor punished for expressing beliefs
April 7th, 2009

You may recall that Pastor Stephen Boissoin got himself in hot water with the Alberta Human Rights Commission when he wrote a letter to the editor of the Red Deer Advocate that was critical of the “homosexual agenda.”  The community newspaper published the letter and the pastor was promptly sued.  Limits on free speech can [...]

Alan Greenspan: Gold and Economic Freedom (1966)
April 5th, 2009

[Given the recent state of the economy, it is important to explore whether there is a strong correlation between religious freedom and economic freedom, or individual property rights and the interest of the state. The following was published in Ayn Rand's "Objectivist" newsletter in 1966, and reprinted in her book, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, in 1967.  Regardless [...]

London Telegraph Describes G20 Plan For Bank Of The World, Global Currency
April 3rd, 2009

EXCERPT: A single clause in Point 19 of the communiqué issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order. “We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn (£170bn) into the world economy and increase global liquidity,” it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper [...]

UN Human Rights Council approves proposal for limits on religious speech
March 29th, 2009

Last week 23 of the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council approved a resolution urging member states to provide ”protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions and incitement to religious hatred in general.” The act, primarily promoted by Muslim nations, is designed to shield religion, primarily Islam, from criticism in the [...]

EXCERPTS: Douglas Laycock on dangers of protecting liberty ‘only for ourselves’ (Baptist Joint Committee)
March 26th, 2009

From: http://bjconline.org/news/news/0209laycock.htm Douglas Laycock is the Yale Kamisar Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on religious liberty law. He made these remarks on January 15 in accepting the National First Freedom Award from the Richmond, Va.,-based First Freedom Center. EXCERPTS: If I [...]

Documentary: The End of America by Naomi Wolf
March 24th, 2009

In a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush years, best-selling author Naomi Wolf (The Beauty Myth) makes a chilling case that American democracy is under threat. Investigating parallels between our current situation and the rise of dictators and fascism in once-free societies, Wolf uncovers a number of deeply unsettling similarities-from the use [...]

Obama puts believers and non-believers on the same footing in speeches (WSJ)
March 23rd, 2009

The Wall Street Journal has published an interesting take on Barack Obama by Laura Meckler.  Obama has managed to be even more religious than George W. Bush in his speech, but also reaches out equally to non-believers.   Meckler’s  article discusses whether Obama can reach out to one end of the spectrum without alienating the [...]

Benedict XVI to release encyclical outlining moral and social issues behind economic crisis
March 23rd, 2009

In a BBC News article dated March 12, 2009, the author indicates that Pope Benedict XVI is slated to release a new encyclical that discusses the moral and social issues behind the global economic crisis. Apparently it is proving quite a challenge to write. Benedict XVI “says it is proving more difficult to write than [...]

World Trends in Religious Freedom – Hudson Institute
March 22nd, 2009

Dayton Tennessee Christian School Sued by U.S. Department of Labor (ASINet)
March 17th, 2009

Last year an injunction was brought against the Laurelbrook School by the US Department of Labor. It alleged that Laurelbrook’s vocational program was in violation of juvenile labor laws. The trial, currently in recess, is scheduled to resume on March 30.

Raw Majority Power: Why Checks and Balances Matter
March 17th, 2009

An epic battle played out on two levels at the California Supreme Court on March 5. On a surface level, attorneys fought over a technical issue of whether the Proposition 8 prohibition on gay marriage represented a revision or an amendment. On the deeper level, the question asked was whether there are any limits on the majority to impact the rights of the minority.

CLASSIC: The Proper Relation of Church and State
March 10th, 2009

Originally published in Liberty in 1921 – “Why should we Christians desire that the non-Christian be required by law to observe our religious institutions? Why should we ask that the state punish offenders against our church institutions, when God has withheld such authority from the church?”

PRECEDENT – A century ago religious groups tried to change the California Constitution to enact a religious law
March 7th, 2009

J.O. Corliss – Liberty Magazine – 1908 – “California is the only State in the American Union without a Sunday law. From 1858 to 1883 a Sunday-rest statute in that State was made so annoying to many of its citizens that it became an object of political contention. The supposed dominant party, through church affiliations, inserted a plank in its platform, pledging itself to maintain the Sunday law for the betterment of the laboring class. The other party went to the polls, on a pledge to repeal the existing statute requiring Sunday rest, on the ground of its hostility to religious rights.”

The result was a political upheaval in favor of repealing all Sunday laws in the State of California. About the same time the State supreme court handed down a decision in the case of ex parte Newman, declaring a Sunday law unconstitutional. Since then three attempts have been made by the churches to have the legislature re-enact a Sunday-law statute. These advances have been coldly met, on the ground that any such statute could have no force in the face of the constitutional limitation.

AUDIO: Karen Scott – “Rethinking the Premise of Religious Liberty”
March 7th, 2009

Each year, the Walla Walla University Church in College Place, Washington celebrates religious liberty. On February 28, 2009, Karen Scott delivered an address entitled, “Rethinking the Premise of Religious Liberty.”

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Obama makes plans to remove ‘conscience clause’ for health-care workers
March 6th, 2009

The Catholic Culture blog has posted a link to a set of articles about Obama’s plans to rescind the “conscience clause” that protects health-care personnel from pressure to participate in procedures they regard as immoral, such as abortion.

VIDEO: California Supreme Court Oral Arguments on Prop 8
March 5th, 2009

Watch the March 5, 2009 proceedings and read the briefs on both sides of this contentious issue.

Senator – Conservative and Christian broadcasters could still be threatened by proposed broadcast regulations (KIITV)
March 5th, 2009

In a floor speech, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe noted that while the Senate voted last week against reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine, it approved another amendment saying federal regulators should promote diversity in media ownership and ensure that broadcasters operate in the public interest.

Religious Persecution on the Horn of Africa (American Spectator)
March 4th, 2009

Somalia continues to implode, as Islamists gain increasing control over what remains of the impoverished, conflict-ridden nation. But it is not the only human tragedy in the region. Eritrea, which won its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of war, has earned a reputation as one of the world’s youngest tyrannies. It also is one of the world’s worst religious persecutors.

Emotion, misunderstanding mark religion-in-school cases (The Tennessean)
March 4th, 2009

Most people have a mistaken understanding of what the First Amendment means, says Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center.

“People tend to carry around two failed models in their head,” Haynes said. “Either we keep religion entirely out of public schools or we keep on doing what we used to do in the good old days and promote religion in school.”

Because of those failed models, schools end up making poor decisions when it comes to religion.

In wake of Supreme Court decision, ‘clear defense needed of church-state wall’ (Des Moines Register)
February 27th, 2009

Considering the U.S. Supreme Court’s contentious struggles over free speech and religion, it was a surprise to say the least to see Wednesday’s ruling unanimously endorsing a government installation of the Ten Commandments in a city park.

While this ruling will likely have limited impact, it raises troubling questions about how dedicated this court – particularly the younger justices, who will be shaping it for decades to come – will be to maintaining the proverbial wall separating church and state.

Soros sees no bottom for world financial “collapse” (Reuters)
February 22nd, 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis. Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

Reflection: The Trouble with the Future
February 22nd, 2009

In the context of the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, one journalist took the time to look back and see what the pundits said would happen next. No one, but no one, got it right. No one foresaw the rapid collapse of European communism and the demise of the Soviet Union. By 1991 The U.S.S.R. was no more, and no one saw this future with any degree of precision. Instead they got it wrong. The end of communism will be a long time coming. Wrong. If the Warsaw pact goes, so does NATO. Wrong. Germany will not be allowed to re-unite. Wrong. A united Germany will become a nuclear power before the end of the millennium. Wrong. Gorbachev will long continue. Wrong.