Written by Don ByrdA federal judge in Oklahoma made permanent yesterday her temporary injunction (affirmed by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals) barring enforcement of the state’s law banning sharia law. Because the state failed to demonstrate a “compelling state interest based on an actual problem,” she argued, targeting Sharia law violates both the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses of the First Amendment.
The court rejected the state’s argument that the measure could be saved by simply removing the offending passages and leaving the rest.
Written by Don ByrdThe IRS maintains the same rule for churches and religious organizations that it does for all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations: To maintain tax-exempt status, such organizations must refrain from engaging in political campaigning for or against candidates. A commission created by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), however, is urging the government to remove that restriction for churches and religious organizations on the argument that a ban on politics in the pulpit violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom.
Written by Don ByrdA Pennsylvania charter school found in July to be in violation of the separation of church and state due to excessive entanglement with the church that houses it has been allowed to stay open this fall, pending appeal.
Written by Don ByrdHere’s a brief update to an important story in the ongoing saga of religious freedom as it relates (or doesn’t relate) to the contraception coverage mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
By a 7-5 margin, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals voted not to rehear a panel’s recent ruling. Late last month, a 3-judge panel denied Conestoga Wood Services an injunction against the mandate. The 2-1 decision rested on the conclusion that for-profit, secular corporations cannot exercise religion, a finding that lands them in direct conflict with a ruling in the 10th Circuit on a similar challenge.
Written by Don ByrdWriting for the Washington Post, Susan Hayward, a senior program officer in the Religion and Peacemaking Center of Innovation at the U.S. Institute of Peace, offers strategic advice to the new Office of Faith-Based Initiatives at the U.S. State Department. The Office is tasked with enhancing diplomatic relations through partnerships and dialogue with religious communities around the world. She emphasizes the importance of an overtly inclusive process that goes beyond mere talk.
