News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Jim Oleske , a Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark. Professor Oleske is an expert on the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. A couple years ago, he wrote a prescient law view article that has made him something of…
Crookston Times Growing racial tensions in the United States also bring to the surface another long-standing form of discrimination: anti-Catholicism. Unfortunately, today anti-Catholicism is showing its centuries-old racialized roots. In fact, bias, violence, and even laws against Catholicism date back to the British American colonies that eventually became the United…
Across the country, the Satanic Temple, an IRS-recognized atheist church with some 300,000 devotees, is waging a legal battle it says is for religious liberty, using tactics that have proved effective for Christian groups. The church, which preaches both empathy and the "freedom to offend," has filed at least seven…
This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, when religious groups are subject to state-law tort claims and whether a federal agency that enacted a new fishing regulation should have taken into account a pair of early 20th century agreements that preserved…
Across the country, the Satanic Temple, an IRS-recognized atheist church with some 300,000 devotees, is waging a legal battle it says is for religious liberty, using tactics that have proved effective for Christian groups. The church, which preaches both empathy and the "freedom to offend," has filed at least seven…
In this Nov. 2, 2020, file photo the Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington. President Joe Biden has two seats to fill on the influential appeals court in the nation’s capital that regularly feeds judges to the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) WASHINGTON (BP) – The…
The prohibition on worship has been overturned by Lord Braid in the Court of Session after a challenge was brought by a coalition of 28 faith leaders. Lord Braid said the regulations went further than the government was lawfully able to do, but this did not mean churches should “reopen…
THE word “essential” has been highlighted since the Philippines and the rest of the world have imposed lockdowns in their political and geographic jurisdictions. In relation to the quarantine, both strict and modified, the term essential describes those activities that are most needed for the country to survive and thrive.…
Across the country, the Satanic Temple, an IRS-recognized atheist church with some 300,000 devotees, is waging a legal battle it says is for religious liberty, using tactics that have proved effective for Christian groups. The church, which preaches both empathy and the "freedom to offend," has filed at least seven…
WATCH: (March 1, 2021) A group of B.C. churches are challenging the B.C. Public Health Order prohibiting public gatherings, claiming those rules infringe on their Charter rights. Ted Chernecki reports – Mar 1, 2021 The B.C. Supreme Court has dismissed a legal challenge to the province’s restrictions on in-person religious…
Canadian Pastor James Coates with his family in this undated photo. A pastor in Canada who was arrested for refusing to adhere to COVID-19 worship restrictions will be released from jail after prosecutors dropped all but one of the charges against him. Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton,…
Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church near Edmonton. Photo by Screenshot Article content EDMONTON — An Alberta pastor, who has spent weeks in jail after holding church services in violation of public health rules, is expected to be released in the coming days, his lawyers say. James Coates is expected…
State Rep. Webster Barnaby has filed a bill seeking to give high schools the right to say anything, including prayers , using the stadium microphone before high-school playoff games. The bill touches on the First Amendment rights to practice one’s faith and free speech and to be free from government-imposed…
State Rep. Webster Barnaby has filed a bill seeking to give high schools the right to say anything, including prayers , using the stadium microphone before high-school playoff games. The bill touches on the First Amendment rights to practice one’s faith and free speech and to be free from government-imposed…
The Supreme Court has lifted California’s ban on indoor church services, ruling that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s strict orders violate the Constitution’s protection of the free exercise of religion. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has lifted California’s ban on indoor church services during the pandemic, ruling that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s strict…
Catholic News Agency, February 10, 2021 Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Chicago argued before the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday that parishes should be free to choose church leaders without government interference. In the case of Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish , the former music director at St. Andrew’s…
As a professor of Law since 1977, I always come across cases when the laws of the State collide with the teachings of the Church, and I always find refuge in many provisions of our Constitution on the separation between the Church and the State, as well as the freedom…
There have been a number of recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) cases involving phrase marks. In all instances, the phrases have been refused registration not because of descriptiveness or misdescriptiveness of any kind, but because they fail to function as trademarks due to their informational characteristics and widespread…
Agency updates religious discrimination for first time in over a decade The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated the section of its Compliance Manual on religious discrimination in the workplace. The updated section on religious discrimination was published in January 2021 after a short review period and a 3-2…
Washington D.C., Feb 10, 2021 / 04:00 am MT ( CNA ).- Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Chicago argued before the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday that parishes should be free to choose church leaders without government interference. In the case of Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish , the…
Above: South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, May 20, 2020. A Chula Vista church was celebrating a legal victory Saturday after the U.S. Supreme Court granted a partial injunction against California’s prohibition against indoor worship services to help limit the spread of coronavirus. On a 6-3 vote late…
A Peroni float rides by St.Peter and Paul Church during the Italian Heritage parade, in San Francisco, California, on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. But by a 6-3 vote , the court ordered California to lift the prohibition on indoor worship that Newsom imposed on nearly all counties in the state.…
A Chula Vista church announced plans to resume indoor worship Sunday after winning a legal victory from the U.S. Supreme Court. On a 6-3 vote late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court cited the Constitution’s protection of the free exercise of religion. (Renee Schiavone/Patch) SAN DIEGO, CA — A Chula Vista…
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam speaks during an unveiling ceremony for Rumors of War, a statue by artist Kehinde Wiley, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on December 10, 2019, in Richmond, Virginia. A judge has dismissed a lawsuit leveled by a church against Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam over previous…
Rice Memorial High School is seen at night. A recent federal appeals court decision regarding a case in Vermont shows the United States Supreme Court is shifting the goalposts of what the Constitution originally deemed precedent, law experts say. Former President Donald Trump appointed a record number of federal judges…