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Religion & Law

Blog From The Capital

Blog from the Capital is the weblog of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, a Baptist church-state separation advocacy group in D.C. for the last 70 years.

Post Frequency: 8.8/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2009 at 16:22:09

Religious Voter Guides: A Comparison

Posted on September 16, 2008
Mark Tooley of the Institute for Religion and Democracy is looking askance at a "voter guide" published by the United Church of Christ. It should, he suggests, get the same kind of scrutiny that conservative voter guides created for church...

FL Supreme Court Shows Reasoning in Striking Voucher Amendments

Posted on September 16, 2008
Via Melissa Rogers, the Florida Supreme Court has released their opinion explaining the order that removed controversial school voucher amendments from the November ballot. The ruling determines that the state's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission exceeded its authority in submitting...

What Official Religious Discrimination Looks Like

Posted on September 15, 2008
This is a reminder that in some parts of the world, religious folks have more to complain about than their city government refusing to construct a nativity scene, and hanging a banner that says "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas...

Settlement: CA Churches May Feed the Hungry in State Parks

Posted on September 15, 2008
Via Religion Clause, a settlement has been reached allowing groups in California to continue feeding the homeless in state parks, despite a law requiring a permit for assembly. California State Parks agreed it would not enforce Regulation 4321 which is...

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10th Circuit Rejects Challenge to the Crosses of Las Cruces, NM

Posted on September 15, 2008
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed 2 lawsuits challenging Las Cruces, NM's use of crosses in official city logos. In its 43-page opinion, the appeals court acknowledged that use of such symbols raises legitimate constitutional concerns. But the 10th...

The Challenges of Real-World Diversity

Posted on September 12, 2008
In its editorial page, the Rocky Mountain News discusses a conflict between Muslim workers and JBS Swift & Co over the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Included is a nice shout-out to the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, stuck somewhere in...

Palin Attempts to Clarify Remarks About God and Policy

Posted on September 12, 2008
Earlier in the week I posted (here and here) about VP nominee Sarah Palin's recent church address in which she used "God's will" and "God's plan" in discussing certain policy positions. In her first news interview, ABC's Charlie Gibson asked...

Judge: CA High School was Wrong to Remove Math Teacher's Religious Banners

Posted on September 11, 2008
The LATimes reports on a decision in the case of a San Diego math teacher who is suing his school district for taking down banners in his classroom with slogans like "In God We Trust" and "God Shed His Grace...

Classroom Banner Dispute: School District's "Personal Message Policy" to Blame?

Posted on September 11, 2008
Americans United disagrees with yesterday's trial court ruling against a school district for removing a teacher's religion-based banners from his classroom, but they find fault too with the district's policy. The court is wrong to claim that Johnson?s messages on...

Political Views and "God's Will"

Posted on September 10, 2008
At the Washington Post's On Faith page, moderators ask: "Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin recently suggested that a gas pipeline is 'God's will' and the Iraq war is 'a task that is from God.' Are you concerned about these or...

Ministers File Complaint with IRS Over ADF Plans

Posted on September 09, 2008
AP reports on the IRS complaint filed by several ministers protesting the Alliance Defense Fund's efforts urging churches to endorse candidates in violation of tax-exempt regulations: The group of 55 religious leaders from Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and other states said...

3rd Circuit Hears Head Scarf Case

Posted on September 09, 2008
In Philadelphia, a police officer who was denied the right to wear her Muslim head scarf on duty appealed her dismissed case to the 3rd Circuit, which held a hearing today. Attorney Jeffrey M. Pollock, representing Webb in her appeal,...

A New RLUIPA Tactic: Asking Nicely

Posted on September 09, 2008
Via Religion Clause, Janesville, WI drivers have been subjected to distracting lights from a church sign near the highway. The city, however, feels that RLUIPA will not allow them to require the sign's removal, so they are resorting to a...

Too Much Religion?

Posted on September 09, 2008
The Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman writes with concern over the religious tenor of the presidential campaign. It is deeply troubling when religion is no longer just an element in understanding the character of a candidate but becomes a central part...

Counter-Protest: Fighting Back Against ADF's "Pulpit Initiative"

Posted on September 08, 2008
Today's Washington Post reports on the Allied Defense Fund's "pulpit initiative", in which the organization is asking ministers to violate IRS tax-exempt rules against political campaigning, in search of a test case to challenge the constitutionality of that provision...

On Palin: Separating the "Scary" From the "Not Scary"

Posted on September 08, 2008
At Beliefnet, Steven Waldman runs down the religious elements of Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin that should raise a church-state flag, and those that should not. Here's a snippet: Not Scary - "She asked [her pastor] for a biblical example...

GOP Convention Watch: Vouchers and "Christian Heritage Week"

Posted on September 05, 2008
In his acceptance speech tonight, Senator John McCain argued for school vouchers: Equal access to public education has been gained, but what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with...

Palin's Church Speech: "Fair Game"

Posted on September 05, 2008
I regularly caution against investigating candidates' religious beliefs for their own sake, rather than as a part of evaluating public policy positions and philosophies. Melissa Rogers has a nice post up considering what's appropriate and not in evaluating VP nominee...

Florida Newspapers Hail Supreme Court's Decision

Posted on September 05, 2008
Several op-ed pages are weighing in with relief over the Florida Supreme Court's decision to remove initiatives from the ballot for being misleading to voters. Florida Today: Amendments 7 and 9, also tossed off ballots, were just as deceptive. There?s...

BJC Statement on Florida Voucher Amendment Ruling

Posted on September 04, 2008
The Baptist Joint Committee's General Counsel, K. Hollyn Hollman, remarked on the Florida Supreme Court's decision to pull voucher-related constitutional amendments from the November ballot: ?The religious freedom we enjoy depends on strong legal protections for the institutional separation of...

Coverage of FL Supreme Court Ballot Decision

Posted on September 04, 2008
As I posted yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court ruled unanimously - and nearly immediately following debate - to strip amendments from the November ballot that would have revived school voucher efforts and removed the constitutional "no aid to religion" provision...

NEWS Florida Supreme Court Strikes Voucher Amendments From Ballot

Posted on September 03, 2008
After hearing arguments today, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously removed 3 constitutional amendment proposals from the ballot, including 2 (amendments 7 and 9) that would have allowed the state to create a school voucher system. The seven justices did not...

Florida Supreme Court Hears Voucher Amendment Appeals Today, to Rule This Week

Posted on September 03, 2008
Florida ballots for the November election must be prepared by the end of the week, so the state's high court is expected to make a quick turnaround in deciding whether proposed constitutional amendments that would pave the way for a...

Preaching in a YouTube Age

Posted on September 03, 2008
Memo to ministers: your flock aren't out there rudely talking on their phones as you suspect; they're recording you. As we've seen many times over the last couple of years, a sermon to anyone can easily become a spectacle to...

Clergy Organizing Against ADF's "Pulpit Initiative"

Posted on September 02, 2008
At Talk2Action, Frederick Clarkson reports on the efforts of some ministers to "push back" against the Alliance Defense Fund's "Pulpit Initiative", which is urging pastors to violate their tax-exemption agreements on September 28 by engaging in political campaigning from the...

Faith-Based Deputy Director Medefind Takes Over for Hein

Posted on September 02, 2008
In a farewell e-mail, outgoing director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives Jay Hein announces his successor. My service is ending a little earlier than I had planned due to some pressing family matters. Yet, I am excited...

US Fights UN Effort to Stifle Religious "Defamation"

Posted on September 02, 2008
It sounds like a nice enough idea on its face: to respect religions by aiming to limit their "defamation". But in reality, a resolution being urged in the UN has been used to stamp out dissent, according to the US...

Sarah Palin on Church and State, Religious Liberty Issues

Posted on August 30, 2008
Last week, I posted a few links to stories concerning Joe Biden's record and positions on church-state issues. Here are a few regarding Senator McCain's pick, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. In a 2006 interview with the Alaska NEA, she expressed...

Interesting

Posted on August 29, 2008
I didn't hear this part of last night's Democratic Convention - and I haven't found a transcript - but Politico's Ben Smith writes an interesting tidbit about the closing prayer, delivered by evangelical pastor Joel Hunter. After first commenting that...

Texas AG Rules Bible Courses Not Required (Or Did He?)

Posted on August 29, 2008
Advocates on either side of a dispute surrounding Texas' new Bible curriculum law are claiming victory after the state's Attorney General issued a ruling yesterday. At issue is whether or not the law *requires* districts to offer the course, or...

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