The opinion, by an Illinois trial court, is at Morr-Fitz, Inc. v. Blagojevich (Apr. 5, 2011). The rule is 68 Ill. Admin. Code § 1330.500(e)-(h); the court concluded that it violated the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act, the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Free Exercise Clause. I’m inclined to be partly skeptical […]
Archive | Religious Freedom
UN Human Rights Council Drops Resolution Banning “Defamation of Religion”
By Ilya Somin on April 5, 2011 1:48 am in International Law, Religion, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
Religious freedom scholar Nina Shea reports that the United Nations Human Rights Council recently ended consideration of a resolution requiring states to ban “defamation of religion.” The Organization of the Islamic Conference decided not to push for a vote on the resolution, which had passed in each of the several years, when it became clear […]
Multiculturalism (of an Important Sort) as an American Constitutional Value
By Eugene Volokh on March 31, 2011 10:13 am in Federalism, Freedom of Speech, Parental Rights, Religious Freedom
I have a piece on this in National Review Online today (based on a 2008 post). Here are the opening paragraphs: People talk a lot about “multiculturalism,” whether to praise it or condemn it. But standing alone, the concept is too vague to be supported or opposed. In this respect, it’s much like certain other […]
Supreme Court Will Decide Scope of Ministerial Exception to Antidiscrimination Law
The Supreme Court has just agreed to review EEOC v. Hosanna-Tabor (6th Cir. 2010). The issue is well described in excellent petition for certiorari: This Court has long recognized the right of religious organizations to control their internal affairs. Watson v. Jones, 80 U.S. 679, 728–29 (1871). This right includes the freedom of religious organizations […]
Islam and the First Amendment
Bryan Fischer, host of a radio talk show broadcast by the American Family Association: The First Amendment was written by the Founders to protect the free exercise of Christianity. They were making no effort to give special protections to Islam. Quite the contrary…. Islam has no fundamental First Amendment claims, for the simple reason that […]
Jewish Cabbie in Montreal Allowed to Display Religious Objects in His Car
Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) reports: In Canada, Montreal cabbie Arieh Perecowicz has reached an out-of-court settlement with the Montreal taxi bureau and has agreed to drop his appeal of four tickets he received for violating a Bureau du taxi rule that bars drivers from having items or inscriptions in their cab that are not […]
Justice Department Lawsuit Supporting Teacher Who Wants 19 Days for a Hajj
The Washington Post has a detailed story on this case (which is the one blogged about here in December).
More on the Burnings of Churches in Ethiopia (Triggered by Allegations of Desecration of a Koran)
The Voice of America reports further developments and more details related to the story I noted yesterday: Police in Ethiopia have arrested 130 people described as religious extremists in connection with a series of church burnings in a Muslim-majority area…. Ethiopian government spokesman Shimelis Kemal told VOA two Christians had been killed in the incidents. […]
At Least Two “Houses Used for Worship” Burned in Ethiopia Following Alleged Koran Desecration
ChristianNewsToday reports that there were many more attacks — “At least one Christian was killed and others injured when thousands of Islamic extremists set fire to 59 churches and at least 28 homes in western Ethiopia in the past five days, Christian leaders said,” with “More than 4,000 Christians … displaced as a result of […]
Interesting Religion Cases at the Supreme Court’s Conference Tomorrow
By John Elwood on February 24, 2011 11:56 am in Religion, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom, Supreme Court
I see that two religion cases I’ve been watching are both on for the Supreme Court’s case conference tomorrow. Cooke v. Tubra, 10-559, which I’ve previously written about here, presents the question whether the First Amendment bars a pastor’s defamation claim against the church that employed him when the claim is based entirely on statements […]
Sovereignty Watch: Vatican Refuses Service of Process in Abuse Case
By Kenneth Anderson on February 3, 2011 6:03 pm in Religion, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Vatican has refused service of process in a widely-followed priest child abuse case. The Vatican has refused service of a federal lawsuit over its handling of the notorious sex offender Father Lawrence Murphy – a move that could delay the Milwaukee lawsuit for months if not years, victims’ advocates […]
Court Upholds Decision Giving Parent Authority Over Child’s Medical Care Because That Parent Would Immunize the Child
The decision seems correct to me, because it is in the child’s best interests. And while I think that there should be serious First Amendment constraints on decisions based on a parent’s speech, I think courts may and should consider each parent’s non-speech conduct that may seriously affect the physical health of the child. And […]
District Court Upholds Ban on Carrying Guns Into Church (Even With the Church’s Permission)
The case is GeorgiaCarry.org v. Georgia (filed today). The law was challenged by, among others, a minister, who said that he wanted to possess a gun at church, with the church’s permission; the law, as I read it (see § 16-11-127 and § 16-11-127.1) categorically forbids such possession at “churches or church functions,” except by […]
Reconsidering Ground Zero Mosque Leader Feisal Abdul Rauf
By Ilya Somin on January 18, 2011 3:27 pm in Religion, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom, War on Terror
Back in August, I wrote a post criticizing efforts to use government power to stop the building of the Ground Zero Mosque and explaining why I see no good objection to having a Muslim cultural center or mosque near Ground Zero. But I was also highly critical of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, leader of the […]
Assign Supposedly Blasphemous Paper to Your Students — Get Your Hand Chopped Off
The Press Trust of India reports: The police has filed a chargesheet against 27 accused in the brutal attack on Professor T. J. Joseph, a private college lecturer in Kerala. His right hand had been chopped off allegedly by [Muslim radical] activists of the … Popular Front of India (PFI) on July 4, 2010 … […]