From Religion and Law Roundup (27 Aug 2017): cases and news related to: Brexit and the UK courts Data protection after Brexit Sparing the rod in Scotland? Triple talaq in India Charges for entry to C of E churches and cathedrals Click here to view full article at www.lawandreligionuk.com
Religion, real property, the EU and State aid: Congregación de Escuelas Pías Provincia Betania
Article IV of the Agreement of 3 January 1979 (“the Agreement”) between the Spanish State and the Holy See concerning financial matters provides that: “1. The Holy See, the Bishops’ Conference, dioceses, parishes and other territorial units, religious orders and congregations and ‘institutes of consecrated life’ and their provinces […]…
Vatican-Approved Article Criticizes Conservative Catholic Support of U.S. Evangelical Political Agenda
The Washington Post today reports that an article in the influential Jesuit magazine La Civilta Cattolica– whose content is approved by the Vatican Secretariat of State– is critical of conservative Catholic support for the evangelical political agenda in the United States. The article is authored by the journal’s editor […]…
Court Enjoins Illinois Law Requiring Referrals Out For Abortions
In National Institute of Family Life Advocates v. Rauner , (ND IL, July 19, 2017), an Illinois federal district court granted a preliminary injunction to plaintiffs, a group of pro-life health care facilities and medical personnel, who object to Illinois SB 1564 . The statute, as a condition of […]…
Suit Challenges Hawaii’s Notice Mandate For Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers
A suit was filed last week in Hawaii federal district court challenging Hawaii’s SB 501 enacted earlier this year that requires “limited service pregnancy centers” to disseminate on-site to patients a notice that says: Hawaii has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning […]…
Is Christian school in trouble over non-conformity with LGBTQ rules? Alberta gvmt won’t say
Alberta Education Minister David Eggen EDMONTON, Alberta, March 21, 2017 ( LifeSiteNews ) – The Alberta New Democratic Government has been sitting for four months on a report about how to deal with an independent Christian school society that is apparently violating legislation requiring all provincial schools to offer […]…
In Unusual Church Autonomy Dispute, Catholic School Can Require Immunization of All Students
In a case with an unusual twist, a Florida state appeals court yesterday upheld the policy of a Catholic school requiring immunization of all students, even when a parent has religious objections to immunization. In Flynn v. Estevez , (FL App., June 27, 2017), the appeals court held that […]…
Christian clubs can’t be forced to accept non-Christian leaders under new Kentucky law
An attack on ‘all comers’ mandates Tucked into a new Kentucky law that protects religious expression in public schools are provisions that protect college students’ freedom of speech and association. The so-called Charlie Brown law was prompted by a public school excising a Bible verse from its production of […]…
Articles and Books of Interest on religion and law (religion clause)
From SSRN: Joseph William Singer, Property and Sovereignty Imbricated: Why Religion Is Not an Excuse to Discriminate in Public Accommodations , (18 Theoretical Inquiries in Law 521 (2017)). Steven Douglas Smith, Against ‘Civil Rights’ Simplism: How Not to Accommodate Competing Legal Commitments , (San Diego Legal Studies Paper) and more.…
Law and religion round-up – 16th July
A quiet week, apart from… … not the Great Repeal Bill On Thursday, the Government published the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill . We noted it here and the Parliament page on the Bill is here . In Public Law for Everyone , Professor Mark Elliott’s post looks in some […]…
Another Great Irish Bake Off: Dublin’s own “gay cake” case
The sexuality of cakes has become an issue yet again: this time in Dublin rather than Belfast. In May 2016, an unnamed man placed an order with a bakery in Dublin for a cake decorated with the (slightly garbled) words: “BY THE GRACE OF THE GOOD LORD, I (name […]…
Abortion, street preaching, and more from Law and Religion Roundup
From Hung Parliament to Bung Parliament… Abortion in Northern Ireland Street preaching News from Trumpton: Trinity Lutheran An ecumenical matter AMiE and the missionary’s position Cardinal charged with sexual abuse To lose one Cardinal Prefect may be regarded as unfortunate, to lose two… Islamic finance Click here to view…
Court Rules Kentucky Print Shop Has Right to Avoid Making Gay Pride T-shirts
A Kentucky appellate court on Friday ruled that the Christian owner of a printing shop in Lexington had the right to refuse to make T-shirts promoting a local gay pride festival. The dispute represents the latest court fight testing the limits of antidiscrimination protections for gays and lesbians following […]…
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…
From Law and religion UK – 25th June
The current week’s roundup of news from the UK (and a bit of the EU and even Texas) from lawandreligionuk.com. EU-UK Brexit talks The Queen’s Speech and the Great Repeal Bill The new Lord Chancellor General Synod Papers Independent report on handling of Peter Ball case Caste discrimination The Vatican,…
Christian virtue doesn’t come from the law
Some decades ago, the famous Christian scholar Harry Emerson Fosdick was invited to speak to the American University student body in Beirut, Lebanon. His listeners represented at least 27 different religious affiliations. Fosdick silently studied his audience and then asked them all: “What is your religion doing for your character?”…
Texas adoption bill OK’s rejection of non-Christian parents
Texas adoption bill OK’s rejection of non-Christian parents Many state-funded Texas adoption agencies routinely deny non-Christian, gay, and unmarried applicants on religious grounds — and now they are backing legislation being considered Tuesday by the state House designed to protect them from potential lawsuits. The private organizations, which are paid…
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…
Church of Scotland votes on same-sex marriage: updated and corrected
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has agreed in principle to the report of its Theological Forum, An Approach to the Theology of Same-Sex Marriage. According to the Kirk’s press release, in presenting the report the Forum’s convener, the Very Revd Professor Iain Torrance, said that he and…
Christian University Going To Supreme Court of Canada Over Moral Code
Trinity Western University (TWU) has earned a reputation as a top-notch academic institution founded on Christian beliefs — but to found its own law school it will have to go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada to defend its academic and religious freedom. The court will hear…
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…
Law and religion round-up – 21st May
From Law and Religon Roundup: General Election 2017 The three main UK parties’ manifestos are now published: Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat. Unsurprisingly, there is little about “religion” in any of them; however, the Lib Dems have said that, if elected, they will introduce opposite-sex civil partnerships, while the Tories…