Scott Morrison is just starting to tell Australians about who he is and what he stands for. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not hesitate when asked if Australia needs new laws to protect religious freedom . “Yes,” he says. He is yet to set out exactly […]…
Could Religious Freedom Provide a Shield for Corporations Supporting Undocumented US Immigrants?
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act could provide a shield for liberal businesses seeking to support undocumented immigrants, much the same way the law has allowed conservative companies to challenge enforcement of health care and anti-discrimination laws, a researcher from Oregon State University suggests in a new paper. “We’re seeing […]…
E.J. Dionne to lecture on American religion, inequality, and populism
Noted columnist and commentator E.J. Dionne, Jr. (left) will present a public lecture Sept. 27 on American religion, inequality and populism, the culmination of a day of events honoring Candler emeritus professor Jon P. Gunnemann (right). Noted columnist and commentator E.J. Dionne, Jr. will give a public lecture titled, […]…
Phoenix defends anti-discrimination ordinance as case reaches state’s high court
Attorneys for the city of Phoenix submitted this place card to the Arizona Supreme Court as a sample of the kind of place cards that Brush & Nib Studios would make for heterosexual couples, but refuse to produce for a same-sex wedding. (Courtesy) PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix […]…
Understanding constitutional Amendment One: The Ten Commandments and religious freedom
For years, discussion over the public display of the Ten Commandments has animated Alabama’s political landscape. The issue is so energizing, it seems, that many politicians frame their own races through the lens of this battle––that support for their candidacy is a vote for the Ten Commandments. Even so, […]…
Court Tosses Atheists’ Lawsuit Against ‘In God We Trust’ Motto on US Dollars
Click here to view full article at sputniknews.com US currency A federal appeals court shot down on Tuesday a lawsuit challenging the use of the US national motto on printed money. The phrase, “In God We Trust,” has long been a point of contention for secular Americans. The 8th Circuit…
Maine to Students: We’ll Help You Out, Unless You’re ‘Religious’
Click here to view full article at www1.cbn.com Parents in Maine who want to use school choice funds to send their children to religious schools aren’t being allowed to participate in the state’s school tuition program. Since 1873, Maine has paid for parents in small towns to send their children…
Brett Kavanaugh’s proven dedication to religious liberty
Click here to view full article at www.washingtonexaminer.com Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be an ardent defender of religious liberty, all experience shows. As general counsel of a law firm devoted to religious liberty cases, I normally would evaluate a judicial nominee by searching through his or her decisions…
Large fine for refusing to supply same sex wedding cake upheld in Oregon
There have been a number of “wedding industry” religious freedom cases arising in the United States and the UK over the last few years. On 28 December 2017 the Oregon Court of Appeals, in Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries ( CA Or; Dec 28, 2017, — P.3d…
Rorabaugh, “Prohibition: A Concise History”
I have often thought that a course on Prohibition and the Law would be very worthwhile. Think of how many things you could cover: the regulatory structure within the background of expanding national legislative and administrative power, the issue of legal moralism (is this the only time in recent American…
Reynolds, “The Judiciary’s Class War”
Here is another new book that addresses the impact of culture on law, The Judiciary’s Class War (Encounter Books), by University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds. As I wrote in Monday’s post, cultural values profoundly American influence church-state law. Reynolds, who also hosts the InstaPundit blog, points out…
Hospital Can Assert Ministerial Exception Defense To Suit By Chaplain
In Penn v. New York Methodist Hospital , (2d Cir., March 7, 2018), the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision held that a hospital "only historically connected to the United Methodist Church but still providing religious services through its pastoral care department" may invoke the ministerial…
Bowman, “Christian: The Politics of a Word in America”
Recently I have written about what I have termed “anti-Christian identity politics,” an emerging style of political identification and argumentation in an increasingly fragmented country. Here is a new book by historian Matthew Bowman, Christian: The Politics of a Word in America (HUP) that explores political divisions among groups that…
10th Circuit: ERISA “Church Plan” Exemption Does Not Violate Establishment Clause
In Medina v. Catholic Health Initiatives , (10th Cir., Dec. 19, 2017), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that Catholic Health Initiatives retirement plan for employees of 92 hospitals qualifies as a “church plan” under ERISA. One of the issues in the case was resolved by the Supreme…
Hyde, “Civic Longing”
In a recent paper , I argue that the ambit of civic identity among Americans is shrinking, which is one reason for the rise of identity politics, including a particular variety of anti-Christian identity politics. In Civic Longing: The Speculative Origins of U.S. Citizenship (Harvard UP), Carrie Hyde, a professor…
Reluctant Judge Holds Cross On County Seal Is Unconstitutional
In Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. v. County of Lehigh , (ED PA, Sept. 28, 2017), a Pennsylvania federal district court held that a large, central Latin cross in the seal and flag of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania violate the Establishment Clause under the Lemon test and the endorsement test. However…
DOJ Supports Christian Baker In Amicus Brief Filed With Supreme Court
In an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 7 in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice sided with the Christian bakery owner who refused to design and create a cake for a same-sex wedding (full text). Some 15 other…
Louisiana AG Opinion Says ABA Model Rule Barring Discrimination Is Unconstitutional
The Louisiana State Bar Association is considering adopting an amendment to its Rules of Professional Conduct that would define professional misconduct as including: This is a narrower version of ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) which the ABA House of Delegates adopted in 2016. Last week, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office issued…
Appeals Court Refuses To Order Recusal of Fundamentalist Christian Judge
In Ex parte Tiara Brooke Lycans, (AL App., July 28, 2017), an Alabama appellate court refused to issue a writ of mandamus ordering a trial judge who also serves as a preacher of a fundamentalist Christian church to recuse himself in a divorce action in which the wife, a lesbian,…
Judge dismisses LGBT case against Christian pro-family advocate
A U.S. federal district judge has dismissed an LGBT case five years after the lawsuit was filed against a Christian pro-family advocate who was charged with “crimes against humanity” for aiding faith leaders and fighting the LGBTQ agenda in Uganda. On June 5, Massachusetts District Judge Michael Ponsor dismissed the…
New law: Christian adoption agencies won’t be forced to give kids to gay couples in Texas
June 16, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott yesterday signed into law a bill that protects Christian adoption agencies from being forced to place children in homosexual-led households that intentionally deny the child a mother or a father. HB 3859, the Freedom to Serve Children Act, allows faith-based adoption…
ICE Roundup of Chaldean Christians Leads To Lawsuit
Last week ACLU of Michigan sued to stop the deportation of 114 Iraqi nationals, many of whom are Chaldean Christians, who were arrested in immigration raids in metropolitan Detroit. Some of the Iraqis arrested were Shiite Muslims and converts to Christianity, while raids in other states arrested Kurdish and Yezidi…
Legal group fights to restore off-site voluntary Bible class for Michigan students
A legal group is fighting to restore an off-site Bible class in Michigan after it was canceled by a school district due to complaints from a secular group. The law office of Rickard, Denney, Garno & Associates, which is affiliated with the religious liberties organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), is…
Printing T-Shirts and Religious Freedom
The decision in Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission v. Hands On Originals (Ky CA, No 2015-CA-000745-MR; 12 May, 2017) was an appeal from an earlier decision discussed in a previous post, “Cakes, t-shirts and religious freedom- an update” (28 April, 2015). To quote the previous summary: [A] printer of…
Kentucky governor signs bill to safeguard Christian students’ religious liberty
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has signed into law a bill known as the “Charlie Brown law” which safeguards the freedom of religious expression of Christian students in public schools. Senate Bill 17, which protects a public school student’s freedom to express religious viewpoints and wear religious clothing without fear of…