Religion & Law

UK: Christianity is a ?faded memory? for most young people

Posted on October 05, 2010
Christian Today: "Most youngsters consider Christianity irrelevant to their lives but they are not as hostile towards religion as their parents' generation, researchers in the Church of England have found . . . [Sylvia Collins-Mayo, a sociologist of religion] said that young people only sought a religious perspective on 'rare occasions' and that when they did, they often 'made do' with a 'very faded, inherited cultural memory of Christianity in the absence of anything else...

ADF files motion on behalf of high-ranking member of House Judiciary Committee to defend federal DOMA

Posted on October 05, 2010
"Alliance Defense Fund attorneys representing U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, filed two motions to intervene to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act in federal court Tuesday."

Canadian Bishops? agency goes to court to conceal info on groups they fund

Posted on October 05, 2010
LifeSiteNews: "LifeSiteNews (LSN) has learned that the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (D&P) has applied to the federal court to block an access to information request from LifeSiteNews."

New Zealand: Five-year battle over abortion back in court

Posted on October 05, 2010
Otago Daily Times: "The five-year battle between anti-abortion group Right to Life and the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC) resumed today, with both parties appealing an historic 2008 High Court ruling that found the law had been misinterpreted."

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ACLU calls for dismissal of second Santa Rosa school prayer lawsuit

Posted on October 05, 2010
Santa Rosa Press Gazette: "The ACLU has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the Santa Rosa County School District that claims it violates the rights of students and teachers by agreeing not to promote religion in schools."

No substance to Military Religious Freedom Foundation?s proselytizing complaint

Posted on October 05, 2010
OneNewsNow: "Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis (USA-Ret.), a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and now a Pentagon advisor, has followed Weinstein's complaints over the years . . . 'The fact that you have a large group of evangelicals [on campus] who are open about their faith -- there's nothing wrong with that...

UK: Muslim preacher to sue Home Office

Posted on October 05, 2010
Press TV: "Muslim preacher Zakir Naik is to sue the Home Office for banning him from entering the UK for a speaking tour for unjustified reasons."

?Abstinence? money goes to Planned Parenthood?

Posted on October 05, 2010
OneNewsNow: "Fifteen Planned Parenthood affiliates were awarded grants -- or a part of a wining grant as a subcontractor -- totaling nearly $19 million. The grants are part of President Obama's 'Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative' that focuses less on abstinence and more on contraceptive use...

Scots police to investigate decade-old ?hate incidents?

Posted on October 05, 2010
The Christian Institute: "Scottish police officers could be forced to investigate ?hate incidents? that took place up to ten years ago ? even though no crime was ever committed. The alarming policy comes in light of the new ?hate crime? guidance published by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS)...

City employee pushing for domestic partner benefit extension in Green Bay

Posted on October 05, 2010
Fox 11: "The City of Green Bay could be extending benefits to the domestic partners of city employees. The issue hasn't reached the full council yet, but Tuesday night the Personnel Committee tried to better define the debate."

Pro-lifers decry University of Michigan?s new embryonic stem cell line

Posted on October 05, 2010
Catholic News Agency: "On Oct. 3, the University of Michigan wrote in a press release that 'after several attempts,' the school successfully created a new embryonic stem cell line known as UM4-6 . . . In a statement on Oct. 4, however, Michigan Right to Life condemned the creation ...

NJ: Same-sex announcement causes stir in Teaneck-based Jewish weekly newspaper

Posted on October 05, 2010
The Record: "A week after publishing a same-sex marriage announcement for the first time in its history, The Jewish Standard said Monday that it will not publish such announcements in the future because it received a "firestorm" of criticism from Orthodox rabbis...

Kenyan polygamist dies, leaving 100 widows

Posted on October 05, 2010
TIME News Feed: "Ancentus Akuku, a legendary Kenyan polygamist, passed away due to natural causes; he was in his late 90s. He first married in 1939, became a polygamist at 22 and married his last wife in 1992. He had more than 100 wives, and more than 200 children, each of whom he named personally...

?Gay? Saudi prince ?strangled? servant in London hotel

Posted on October 05, 2010
AFP: "A gay Saudi prince strangled and beat his male servant to death during an apparent sex attack in a London hotel room, a court heard on Tuesday."

One in 4 students, young adults binge drink: CDC

Posted on October 05, 2010
Reuters: "One in four high school students and adults ages 18 to 34 engaged in binge drinking in the past month, putting themselves and those around them at risk, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday."

Is polygamy the next challenge to traditional marriage?

Posted on October 05, 2010
Religion & Politics Examiner: "Advocates for polygamy are closely watching the Supreme Court in British Columbia, Canada, as a case is set to challenge the legal obstruction of polygamy there. With the new TLC reality show, 'Sister Wives' (about a family of polygamists) gaining attention here in the United States, how far off is the challenge to the laws in this country that make polygamy illegal? Advocates for it argue that what right does the law have to come between what consenting adults agree to?"

New research shows abortion not necessary for pregnant women with cancer

Posted on October 05, 2010
Christian Post: "The study, reviewed this past weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology?s Breast Cancer Symposium, challenges traditional medical advice that expecting mothers should terminate their pregnancies in order to receive life-saving cancer treatment...

DeMint defends ?no gay teachers? comment

Posted on October 05, 2010
UPI: "U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., defended his comment that gays and unwed mothers should be banned as teachers, saying school boards should control hiring."

Israel: U.S. Secretary of State condemns burning of Mosque and Quran in Hebron

Posted on October 05, 2010
Office of the Spokesman of the Secretary of State: "Question: What is our reaction to the burning of a mosque and copies of the Quran in Hebron by Israeli settlers? We condemn this attack in the strongest terms and call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice...

Bloomberg?s new ad to support redefining marriage

Posted on October 05, 2010
New York Magazine / Daily Intel: "As Alicia Keyes croons about concrete jungles in the background, Michael Bloomberg's new ad on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign to support gay marriage shows the mayor saying, 'I'm a New Yorker and I support marriage equality...

The Catholic Church gets ?political? in Minnesota

Posted on October 05, 2010
Rob Vischer writing at Mirror of Justice: "Of course the DVD campaign is political -- how could it not be? It may not be partisan, but we should be careful not to conflate 'partisan' and 'political.' The Church's teaching has political implications, just as the Gospel has political implications...

David Cameron holds out promise of tax credits for couples

Posted on October 05, 2010
Telegraph: "Married couples could get new tax breaks to compensate for losing child benefit, David Cameron has suggested." Iona Institute: Government should consider cuts to child benefit for higher earners, Minister for Children says

France charges man for burning, urinating on Koran

Posted on October 05, 2010
Reuters: "A blogger who filmed himself burning the Koran and urinating on it to put out the flames is to appear in court in eastern France, charged with incitement to religious hatred, legal sources said on Tuesday."

Protecting doctors? choices and consciences

Posted on October 05, 2010
Christopher Kaczor, Professor of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University, writing at U.S. Catholic: "At the upcoming Conference on Life & Choice in the Abortion Debate, held at Princeton University, I plan to talk about the importance of protecting the right of conscience by looking at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee Opinion #385 entitled, 'The Limits of Conscientious Refusal in Reproductive Medicine' ...

New Zealand: No full autopsy in deference to Muslim beliefs

Posted on October 05, 2010
The Dominion Post: "The religious beliefs of a Muslim family outweighed public interest in deciding whether a full autopsy was needed to determine the cause of death of two Malaysian tourists, a coroner says."

Traverse City, MI extends ?gay protections?

Posted on October 05, 2010
Interlochen Public Radio: "Last night, the Traverse City Commission voted unanimously to approve a law that says gays and lesbians can't be fired or denied housing solely on the basis of their sexual orientation."

Poll: Tea Party overwhelmingly Christian and socially conservative

Posted on October 05, 2010
NPR: "So, first, it's an overwhelmingly Christian group. 81% identify as Christian, and nearly half (47%) say they are part of the religious right or conservative Christian movement." Public Religion Research Institute.

Malawi Muslims burn Bibles in protest

Posted on October 05, 2010
Reuters: "Muslims in southern Malawi have been burning Bibles in protest against their distribution in Islamic schools by Gideon's International, a senior Muslim Association of Malawi official said on Tuesday."

NC: Religious symbols on public property debated

Posted on October 05, 2010
Wilmington Star News: "Talk about not holding the lighting ceremony at the Word?s Largest Living Christmas Tree this year spurred another potentially controversial topic during the council?s agenda meeting Monday ? religious symbols on public property...

Saudi Arabia: 14 overseas Filipino workers nabbed for joining religious service

Posted on October 05, 2010
ABS CBN News: "About 14 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were reportedly among the 100 expatriates arrested during a forbidden religious service in Saudi Arabia."

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