Scotland is considering a new law that would grant official recognition to wedding ceremonies performed by practitioners of the new “Jedi” religion: The Force is strong with the Jedi in Scotland. A bill under consideration in Scotland would grant those who have literally made “Star Wars” a religion the power to perform marriage ceremonies. The […]
Archive | Religion and the Law
Does the Central California Women’s Facility Prison Unconstitutionally Prefer Chaplains of Non-Wiccan Religions?
So claim the plaintiffs in Hartmann v. California Dep’t of Corrections & Rehabilitation (9th Cir. Feb. 19, 2013), and the Ninth Circuit let the case go forward: Plaintiffs allege that the Policy violates the Establishment Clause because it “favor[s] some religions over others on a preferential basis.” They further assert that defendants do not apply […]
Statutory Rape of 13-Year-Old Yields No Jail Time, Because of Defendant’s Cultural Insularity
The Daily Mail (UK) reports: A muslim who raped [in the sense of statutory rape -EV] a 13-year-old girl he groomed on Facebook has been spared a prison sentence after a judge heard he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless. Adil Rashid, 18, claimed he was not […]
District Court Dismisses Kosher Fraud Lawsuit Against ConAgra
From Wallace v. Conagra Foods, Inc. (D. Minn. Jan. 31, 2013): This case arises out of Defendant’s representations that its Hebrew National products are “100% Kosher.” In particular, Plaintiffs claim that Defendant misrepresented its Hebrew National products as being made from “Premium cuts of 100% Kosher Beef.” Defendant’s website further states that the Triangle K […]
Child’s Best Interests and a Trip to Israel
From Katz v. Katz, 2013 WL 150262 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. Jan. 11): This is a dispute between two (2) parents, who have until now been able to recognize and resolve any differences relating to the child, who is seven (7) years old. The mother wishes to travel with the child to Israel to […]
South Dakota Ban on Court Enforcement of Religious Law [UPDATE: Added Discussion of Legislators’ Comments on the Law]
By Eugene Volokh on December 7, 2012 3:51 pm in Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Religion and the Law
Several months ago, the South Dakota Legislature enacted this law: No court, administrative agency, or other governmental agency may enforce any provisions of any religious code. My question: What exactly does it mean to “enforce any provisions of any religious code”? If the law is (A) limited to barring courts from enforcing religious law because […]
Turkish Broadcaster Fined for Broadcasting Simpsons Episode
The Telegraph (UK) reports: Turkey’s Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK), the state broadcasting regulator, levied [an approximately $30,000] fine on the cartoon’s Turkish broadcaster for airing an episode on September 20 that was found to be insulting to religion …. In one segment of the episode, titled “Dial D for Diddly”, the religiously-devout […]
The Bestiality Brief
By Eugene Kontorovich on December 5, 2012 4:20 pm in Constitutional Law, Fourteenth Amendment, Gay Rights, Religion and the Law, Sexual Conduct Restrictions, Sexual Orientation, Uncategorized
[Updated with link to Prof. Hayes’s new paper.] The man-bites-dog story of Germany legalizing then banning bestiality raises the question of the constitutionality of such laws in the U.S. Most states criminalize zoophilia, and in many places the bans have been enacted quite recently. Moreover, the laws are from time to time enforced. The 14th […]
Egyptian Death Sentences for Those Who Involved in “Innocence of Muslims” — and Apparently for Several Uninvolved Coptic Activists
The AP reports that an Egyptian court has sentenced seven Egyptian Coptic Christians, plus American pastor Terry Jones, to death in absentia. (All are now outside the country, so the sentence won’t have any legal effect on them unless they return, or go to a country — likely a Muslim one — that is willing […]
Liberal and Conservative American Attitudes Towards Letting Anti-American Muslim Clergy Speak
By Eugene Volokh on November 18, 2012 8:18 pm in Freedom of Speech, Liberal vs. Conservative Attitudes on Free Speech, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
Also from the General Social Survey, though this time with a question that was only asked in 2008 and 2010, yielding a total of 2500 respondents: “Now consider a Muslim clergyman who preaches hatred of the United States. If such a person wanted to make a speech in your community preaching hatred of the United […]
Are Liberal or Conservative Americans More Likely to Support Restrictions on Racist and Anti-Religious Speech?
By Eugene Volokh on November 18, 2012 7:54 pm in Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities, Liberal vs. Conservative Attitudes on Free Speech, Religion and the Law
Here’s data from the General Social Survey, limiting the years to 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010 (with nearly 8000 total responses for each question), with respondents self-identifying as liberals, moderates, and conservatives. (I have flattened out the gradations within each category — extremely liberal/conservative, plain liberal/conservative, slightly liberal/conservative — partly because otherwise some […]
Complaint Filed with Egyptian Prosecutor General over Anti-Islamist Speech
Ahram Online reports: A complaint was filed with the prosecutor general on Sunday by forty Egyptian lawyers, accusing renowned reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei of offending Islamists, of being against Islamic sharia law and of having insulted prominent Islamist preachers. According to Ahram Arabic news website, the complaint was based on statements made by the founder […]
Proposed English Bill Banning Arbitration in Family Law Cases, and Banning Sex-Discriminatory Rules in Arbitration Generally
The bill seems to be specifically aimed at Sharia courts; here’s a Telegraph (UK) story, a pointer to the House of Lords debate, and to the Parliament Web page on the bill, which in turns points to the text. The particular prohibitions in the English proposal would include: (a) treating the evidence of a man […]
Say an American Offered a $100,000 Bounty to Anyone Who Killed These Two Pakistanis for Their Offensive Speech
Here’s the story, from the AP: Ikramullah Shahid, a former Pakistani legislator, has offered a $200,000 (£123,800) bounty for anyone who kills the maker of an anti-Islam film that has angered Muslims around the world. He made the offer at a rally on Monday in the northwestern city of Peshawar, before a crowd of about […]
Sales of Tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar Blocked by Russian City Government
RT.com reports: Rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar has been pulled before a performance in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don following complaints from Orthodox Christians. The believers claim the production is in breach of a controversial new religious offense law…. “In our view the image of Christ presented in the opera is incorrect. If they want […]