Click here to view full article at catholicleader.com.au Religious freedom: Jesuit Father Frank Brennan, former attorney general Philip Ruddock and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. THE Federal Government has received a report into religious freedom in Australia, but it could be weeks before the findings are made public. Prime Minister Malcolm…
Hironimus-Wendt on religion and free speech in schools, May 23, 2018
Click here to view full article at www.teutopolispress.com Dear Editor, This past week in my little community, graduation took on deep significance. One of our favorite sons, our “Valedictorian,” was told that he could not give a speech he had lovingly prepared. Mr. Blackledge wanted to acknowledge his Christian faith…
Judge rules Christian baker does not have to make gay ‘wedding’ cake
Click here to view full article at www.lifesitenews.com Cathy Miller of Tastries Bakery BAKERSFIELD, California, May 23, 2018 ( LifeSiteNews ) – A California judge has issued his final judgment in favor of a Christian baker who refused to bake a cake for a same-sex “wedding,” ruling that cakes celebrating…
US education secretary attacks separation of church and state
Click here to view full article at www.wsws.org US Education Secretary billionaire Betsy DeVos. Credit: Gage Skidmore On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made her first official visit to New York City. She declined to visit the nation’s largest public school district and instead…
Australia needs a better conversation about religious freedom
Click here to view full article at theconversation.com We must protect people from harmful speech. But the cause of freedom must exceed the creation of religious exemptions. Tomorrow, the Ruddock inquiry is due to release its findings on whether Australian law adequately protects the right to freedom of religion. The…
Agreement limits religious expression
Click here to view full article at press-herald.com ACLU declares victory in case The Webster Parish School Board and the American Civil Liberties Union have reached the first stage of a settlement in their religious promotion lawsuit, a settlement which includes judgment in favor of the ACLU. A consent decree…
Fight over cross at Florida public park resumes before appeals court
Click here to view full article at www.nola.com A federal appeals court in Atlanta will hear arguments Wednesday on whether this cross should be removed from Bayview Park in Pensacola. (AL.com/Image courtesy of Becket) A 34-foot Christian cross at a public park in Pensacola, Fla., will be the subject of…
ACLU, others file brief urging court to force cross off Lehigh County seal
Click here to view full article at www.mcall.com The Lehigh County seal (Contributed Photo / THE MORNING CALL) A group of 20 religious and civil rights organizations have filed a brief supporting a federal court’s ruling against Lehigh County, arguing the county seal is unconstitutional because features a cross .…
ACLU, others file brief urging court to force cross off Lehigh County seal
Click here to view full article at www.mcall.com The Lehigh County seal (Contributed Photo / THE MORNING CALL) A group of 20 religious and civil rights organizations have filed a brief supporting a federal court’s ruling against Lehigh County, arguing the county seal is unconstitutional because features a cross .…
ACLU, others file brief urging court to force cross off Lehigh County seal
Click here to view full article at www.mcall.com The Lehigh County seal (Contributed Photo / THE MORNING CALL) A group of 20 religious and civil rights organizations have filed a brief supporting a federal court’s ruling against Lehigh County, arguing the county seal is unconstitutional because features a cross .…
ACLU, others file brief urging court to force cross off Lehigh County seal
Click here to view full article at www.mcall.com The Lehigh County seal (Contributed Photo / THE MORNING CALL) A group of 20 religious and civil rights organizations have filed a brief supporting a federal court’s ruling against Lehigh County, arguing the county seal is unconstitutional because features a cross .…
Q&A with Derek Ensminger: Recent case addresses tension between laws protecting religious exercise
Click here to view full article at newsok.com Derek Ensminger is an employment law attorney with Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville. Derek Ensminger is associate general counsel for labor and employment for Sonic Corp., and an Oklahoma City University adjunct employment law professor. Recent case addresses tension between laws protecting…
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…
FFRF Fights to End Clergy Housing Tax-Break
Click here to view full article at www.worldreligionnews.com Alliance Defending Freedom counters the Freedom From Religion Foundation with a petition campaign to save the Ministerial Housing Allowance. Churches and pastors in the Chicago area have appealed a ruling made in 2017 which declared clergy housing tax breaks to be unconstitutional.…
FFRF Fights to End Clergy Housing Tax-Break
Click here to view full article at www.worldreligionnews.com Alliance Defending Freedom counters the Freedom From Religion Foundation with a petition campaign to save the Ministerial Housing Allowance. Churches and pastors in the Chicago area have appealed a ruling made in 2017 which declared clergy housing tax breaks to be unconstitutional.…
German Church could face legal challenge after European court ruling
Click here to view full article at www.catholicherald.co.uk The European Court of Justice Requirement for Church employees to have a ‘religious affiliation’ could violate anti-discrimination laws Germany’s Catholic Church has said it would review its employment system after top European judges warned it could violate anti-discrimination laws by requiring employees…
German church to review employment practices after European court ruling
Click here to view full article at catholicphilly.com The towers of the European Court of Justice are seen in Luxembourg. Germany’s Catholic Church said it would review its employment system, after top European judges warned it could violate anti-discrimination laws by requiring staffers to be religious. (CNS photo/Francois Lenoir, Reuters)…
Ruse, “Darwinism as Religion”
Here’s one that we missed when it was published in 2016, but that a colleague noticed in reading this recent review : Darwinism as Religion: What Literature Tells Us About Evolution (OUP), by philosopher Michael Ruse. As a general matter, claims by the religious that American law incorporates a scientistic,…
Salvation outside the church? CJEU rules on religious discrimination in employment — Dr Ronan McCrea
Click here to view full article at ukhumanrightsblog.com The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued its first major ruling on the reconciliation of the autonomy rights of religious organisations with the right of employees (or potential employees) of such organisations to be free of discrimination. Background In…
Religion and the Genuine Occupational Requirement: Egenberger – the judgment
Click here to view full article at www.lawandreligionuk.com In Vera Egenberger v Evangelisches Werk für Diakonie und Entwicklung eV [2018] EUECJ C-414/16 , the Grand Chamber of the CJEU has reaffirmed that, in cases where religion or belief organisations impose a Genuine Occupational Requirement when recruiting staff, that requirement must…
Knowing your rights
Click here to view full article at press-herald.com Johnson, Landry hold Freedom Student Summit Partially in response to ongoing litigations against the Webster and Bossier Parish School Boards, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and U.S. Representative Mike Johnson published the Student Rights Review in January, a reminder to students of…
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…
Church property again: Christian Baptist Church
Click here to view full article at www.lawandreligionuk.com The issue of expropriated church property has come up again, this time in Poland. Background In Christian Baptist Church in Wrocław v Poland [2018] ECHR (no. 32045/10 , the Church applied to the Governor of Wrocław In May 1996 for a decision…
Christian colonel suspended for marriage view wins appeal
Click here to view full article at brnow.org A U.S. Air Force colonel and devout Christian suspended and denied promotion after refusing to affirm same-sex marriage has won a legal appeal to reverse the disciplinary actions against him. Col. Leland Bohannon was restored April 3 to his military position and…
Christian colonel suspended for marriage view wins appeal
Click here to view full article at brnow.org A U.S. Air Force colonel and devout Christian suspended and denied promotion after refusing to affirm same-sex marriage has won a legal appeal to reverse the disciplinary actions against him. Col. Leland Bohannon was restored April 3 to his military position and…