Religion & Law

India: Evidence shows mosque was imposed on Hindu site

Posted on October 06, 2010
Koenraad Elst writing in The Brussels Journal: "[T]he mere fact that the Rama Janmabhumi (Rama?s birthplace) site in Ayodhya is well-established as a sacred site for Hindu pilgrimage, is reason enough to protect its functioning as a Hindu sacred site, complete with proper Hindu temple architecture...

Dutch Court hears Muslims? complaints against Wilders

Posted on October 06, 2010
"Muslims in the Netherlands say that remarks by politician Geert Wilders have poisoned attitudes toward them, making them feel unwelcome and at risk, according to complaints disclosed at his hate speech trial Wednesday."

Joe Infranco on Grassroots America, We the People: Pulpit Freedom Sunday

Posted on October 06, 2010
ADF attorney Joe Infranco appeared on "Grassroots America, We the People" with George Stephenson to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday. | MP3 audio 18:31 mins

Matt Bowman on AFA Focal Point: Pro-lifers being targeted by the FBI

Posted on October 06, 2010
ADF attorney Matt Bowman appeared on AFA Focal Point with Bryan Fischer to discuss the issue. | MP3 audio 10:07 mins | Related LifeSiteNews: FBI, Obama Admin Join Pro-Abort Groups to Host Training Seminar against Pro-Life Activity

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Crowds, protesters at high court for speech case

Posted on October 06, 2010
Associated Press: "Members of a fundamentalist church are circling the Supreme Court in protest, brandishing an assortment of the kinds of mocking placards they've been carrying to military funerals"

2 men arrested in Romania over child pornography

Posted on October 06, 2010
Associated Press: "Authorities say two Romanian men have been arrested for allegedly taking pornographic photos of children and putting them online."

Supreme Court struggles with funeral protest case

Posted on October 06, 2010
Associated Press: "Supreme Court justices on Wednesday pondered the vexing question of whether the father of a dead Marine should win his lawsuit against a fundamentalist church group that picketed his son's funeral . . . Justice Stephen Breyer said the Internet aspect of the case troubled him because the church was saying something 'very obnoxious' about private individuals...

Churches, other groups do more background checks

Posted on October 06, 2010
Associated Press: "More churches and religious groups are conducting background checks and taking other steps to protect children against mistreatment in the wake of the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic Church for years."

Richmond, VA restores ?Christmas? to parade name

Posted on October 06, 2010
Richmond Parade: "In light of the outpouring of support for retaining 'Christmas' in the name, our board has voted to change the name to the 'Dominion Christmas Parade.' Dominion has been informed of this decision."

O?Donnell trailing in Del. Senate race, some GOP not supporting her

Posted on October 06, 2010
Associated Press: "A new poll shows Republican Christine O'Donnell badly trailing Democrat Chris Coons in a Delaware Senate race that Republicans were heavily favored to win until the tea party-backed O'Donnell pulled off an upset in the GOP primary last month...

Charles J. Chaput: The Catholic role in America after virtue

Posted on October 06, 2010
CatholicCulture.org has the text of remarks given by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput to the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars on Sunday, Sept. 26: "The inquisitors of today's developed societies are secular, not religious. The real enemies of human freedom, greatness, imagination, art, hope, culture and conscience are those who attack religious belief, not believers ...

Fighting back against arbitrary government rule

Posted on October 06, 2010
Conn Carroll writing at The Heritage Foundation / The Foundry: "The injustice done to Abner Schoenwetter illustrates a very real problem that is currently undermining the civil liberties of all Americans. Between 2000 and 2007, Congress created 452 entirely new crimes, a rate of over one new crime every week...

AP-GfK Poll: Working-class whites shun Dems

Posted on October 06, 2010
My Way News: "An Associated Press-GfK poll shows whites without four-year college degrees preferring GOP candidates by twice the margin of the last two elections, when Democrats made significant gains in the House and Senate. The poll, conducted last month, found this group favoring GOP hopefuls 58 percent to 36 percent - a whopping 22 percentage-point gap...

Euro-socialists want to shut down hospitals opposed to abortion and euthanasia

Posted on October 06, 2010
"This Thursday the Council of Europe, a transnational body created in 1949 to promote democracy and human rights, will vote on a resolution and series of recommendations on conscience protection."

Jordan Lorence: Bargain Alert: Our ?Christian? college will teach your kids decadence, atheism, and doubt for only $42,000 a year!

Posted on October 06, 2010
ADF Attorney Jordan Lorence writing at The Christian Post / Advancing Religious Liberty: "The . . . sobering but unsurprising video that purports to be of freshman orientation at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota . . . is also available on Youtube...

The Toledo Blade: Churches? choice

Posted on October 06, 2010
Editorial in The Toledo Blade: "The ADF has protested the ban for three years, yet none of the pastors has been fined or prosecuted. The IRS has ignored the provocations. That is a mistake. The ADF and the pastors who flout the law have been emboldened by the government?s lack of follow-through...

Homeschoolers leave Sweden under pressure and protest

Posted on October 06, 2010
HSLDA: "The Pettersson family (names changed to protect privacy) has been traveling across Europe for the last nine months, staying temporarily with relatives and living as visitors in foreign lands. Despite having submitted the appropriate paperwork to homeschool legally in Sweden, this family is one of many who have encountered persecution from the Scandinavian state heralded as a 'social utopia...

Homeschooling family fears own government; won?t return to home

Posted on October 06, 2010
WorldNetDaily: "A family ? exiled to live as visitors in foreign countries for nine months already ? has decided to leave Sweden permanently because of the threat of government action against them over their choice to homeschool their children, according to a new report ...

Church?s choice: Its endorsements from the pulpit or tax-free status

Posted on October 06, 2010
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial: "This is a mistake. The ADF and the pastors who flout the law have been emboldened by the government's lack of follow-through. One pastor said he even planned to send a recorded copy of his political sermon to the IRS to see if it would come after him...

NY: Church-state group appeals Greece prayer decision

Posted on October 06, 2010
Greece Post: "Non profit church-state group Americans United for Separation of Church and State are appealing a decision reached by U.S. District Court Judge Charles Siragusa in August, which declared the opening prayer at Greece town board meetings to be constitutional ...

Alan Sears: Persecuted Minneapolis psychiatrist wins damages from city

Posted on October 06, 2010
ADF President and CEO Alan Sears writing at Inside the Issues: "The case of Dr. Michael Campion almost sounds more like a men?s clothing store than a legal showdown. Dr. Campion?s Christian faith didn?t suit the city of Minneapolis, so it fired him. The firing didn?t suit Dr...

ADF continues to fight for elementary student barred from reading Bible at recess

Posted on October 06, 2010
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a notice of appeal Tuesday in the ongoing battle for a public school student who was prohibited from reading and discussing the Bible during recess. ADF is appealing a jury verdict against the student and a court order that denied his request for a new trial.

Indiana: School district sued over 1st grade Bible class

Posted on October 06, 2010
Chicago Tribune: "An Indiana first-grader and his mother are accusing his school district of violating the Constitution by teaching the Bible in a classroom during school hours." Complaint in D.G. v. Fairfield Community Schools, No. 3:10-cv-00415-JD (N...

?Government unconstitutionally forced Idaho inmate to participate in religion, Americans United tells court?

Posted on October 06, 2010
Americans United for Separation of Church and State: "In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today, Americans United told a federal appeals court that an Idaho inmate was unfairly treated by a local judge and an Idaho homeless shelter that tried to force her to convert to Christianity and participate in Pentecostal worship...

ACLU sues SC jail over Bible policy

Posted on October 06, 2010
Associated Press: "A South Carolina jail was sued Wednesday over its policy barring inmates from having any reading material other than the Bible."

NJ: Millburn library changes room policy after ADF challenge

Posted on October 06, 2010
NorthJersey.com: "The Millburn Free Public Library trustees have changed the facility's meeting room rental policy. The discussion about the policy stems from a letter from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a group formed to legally defend religious freedom and fundamental rights...

ADF urges UN to protect religious expression

Posted on October 06, 2010
Christian Web News: "On Thursday, a consultation paper was sent by the Alliance Defense Fund along with several other Christian groups to a United Nations human rights body, asking it not to reinterpret language in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in a way that could make Christian speech into 'hate speech...

Exodus International pulls support for event challenging homosexuality

Posted on October 06, 2010
CNN Belief Blog: "'All the recent attention to bullying helped us realize that we need to equip kids to live out biblical tolerance and grace while treating their neighbors as they'd like to be treated, whether they agree with them or not,' said Alan Chambers, President of Exodus International, the group that sponsored the event this year ...

Strategists: Teen suicides are opportunity to advance homosexual agenda

Posted on October 06, 2010
Associated Press: "Political strategists think the tears and reflection might be an opportunity to advance gay rights."

FFRF: ?Blessing high schooler helmets treads on constitution?

Posted on October 06, 2010
Freedom From Religion Foundation: "The Freedom From Religion Foundation fired off a letter to the Redlands [Calif.] Unified School District over a serious violation of the separation of church and state occurring at Redlands High School football practices and games...

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