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Italian Suit Challenging Baptism Dropped

By Howard M. Friedman

In Italy, the Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics has dropped a lawsuit on behalf of a plaintiff who was attempting to have his name deleted from a baptism register. The suit challenged the right of parents to have their children baptized. According to World Net Daily, the suit alleged that since the law does not allow parents to enroll their children in organizations like labor unions, parents should also not be able to decide that their children should become members of religious associations. The complaint cited protection of children's religious freedom and Italian Constitutional Court precedents on free will and personal privacy in religious decisions. Alliance Defense Fund, which was involved in convincing the group to drop its lawsuit as frivolous, warned that while "such lawsuits may seem far-fetched, ... foreign legal decisions are increasingly cited in American courts."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 15, 2008 (boomark / email).