Tag Archives: Group: Becket Fund

Washington Blade – “America’s Leading Gay News Source”: Following McCoy was Maryland Baptist ministers Rev. Dr. John Lund, and Rev. Dr. Nate Thomas, as well as Presbyterian pastor Bob Borger, former mega-church pastor Joel Peebles — who recently lost a court battle over control over his Jericho City of Praise Ministry — as well as some Catholic voices such as Pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Father Eric Arnold, and Maryland Catholic Conference’s Mary Ellen Russell. The testimony was concluded by an attorney specializing in representing churches and ministers, Erika Cole, the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty’s Eric Baxter, and the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund’s Brian Raum.

David French at National Review Online: I argued the case at the trial-court level (and cough lost cough) when I was at the Alliance Defense Fund and was on the appellate briefs, but the credit and congratulations go to Julea Ward, my former ADF colleagues, and my friend ADF attorney Jeremy Tedesco, who argued the case at the Sixth Circuit. Well done, Jeremy.

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot on KFUO with Roland Lettner Show to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 24:40 mins

ADF Attorney Joel Oster appeared on the Charlie Langton Show to discuss the Hosanna-Tabor ruling. | MP3 audio 18:07 mins

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot appeared on the Paul Edwards Show to discuss the ruling. | MP3 audio 11:35 mins

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot at Speak Up Movement Church Blog: The Supreme Court just handed down a fantastic ruling affirming the right of churches to employ only those individuals that share their beliefs and live their lives according to the teaching of the church.

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot appeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss yesterday’s ruling. | MP3 audio 8:33 mins

The Court says that the ministerial exception is not limited to the head of a church, but in fact does reach down to employees who qualify as “ministers” . . .

Religion Clause: The Becket Fund announced this week the filing of a lawsuit by Colorado Christian University (CCU) challenging on free exercise, free expression and other grounds regulations issued under the Affordable Care Act that require health care plans to cover all FDA-approved contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures.

The School Law Blog – Education Week: The Bronx Household of Faith’s appeal to the Supreme Court was backed by religious freedom groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The church’s Sunday services are attended by 85-100 people each week, court papers say.

Becket Fund: Today, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Belmont Abbey College over the “Affordable Care Act” (aka “Obamacare”), that forces the College to violate its deeply-held religious beliefs or pay a severe fine.

Christian Post: Two Idaho homeless shelter residents failed in their attempt to sue a Christian mission shelter for allegedly forcing them to participate in religious activities.

LA Daily News: It was her faith that led the petite 72-year-old to erect a 24-foot cross on the front lawn of her West Hills home. But the monument has infuriated some of the neighbors, who complain the symbol is an eyesore that is attracting lookie-loos to their quiet cul-de-sac and hurting their property values.

. . . the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the religious exemption in the federal Fair Housing Act applies to shield from religious discrimination claims an organization that sponsors Christian homeless shelters and a drug treatment program.

Leaving to one side the debate about the policy itself, there are significant concerns for the U.S. military’s chaplaincy corps in the post-repeal era unless specific, robust protections for the chaplains’ religious liberty and free speech rights are explicitly adopted.

Religion Clause: 5th Circuit Interprets “Equal Terms” Clause of RLUIPA: In The Elijah Group, Inc. v. City of Leon Valley, Texas, (5th Cir., June 10, 2011), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on an issue that has split various circuits– what test to use to determine whether a zoning decision violates RLUIPA’s “equal terms” clause . . . Becket Fund issued a press release on the decision.

NCRegister.com: The problem is that the NLRB’s attempts to force Catholic colleges to comply with federal labor laws are part of a larger trend, described by Kevin Theriot of the Alliance Defense Fund in a recent analysis for the Center for the Advancement of Catholic Higher Education. “Federal and state laws are increasingly being used to coerce religious institutions into actions and commitments that violate deeply held religious convictions and moral principles,” Theriot writes . . . “But an educational institution that veers from a religious founding will probably not be able to demonstrate that it is a religious organization,” Theriot warns. Authentically Catholic colleges have an “advantage” over other religious colleges because they have been given clear standards to follow in the 1990 apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

LifeSiteNews.com: bill reintroduced into the U.S. House of Representatives this month proposes federal-level punishment for states that ban homosexual couples and non-married individuals from adopting children. Effectively, the bill would ban all Catholic and Christian adoption agencies or forbid them from acting on faith beliefs. Touted as the means for fixing a “flawed” system, the “Every Child Deserves a Family Act” . . .

Asbarez.com: “The Armenian National Committee of America recently joined the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and more than 150 people representing a diverse group of more than 30 interfaith and human rights groups in saluting the ongoing efforts of the Congressional International Religious Freedom Caucus . . . Joining the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in cosponsoring the evening were (in alphabetical order): Alliance Defense Fund . . . ”

Christian Post: “The American Civil Liberties Union, backed by groups including Prison Fellowship and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, is demanding that officials at a regional corrections facility in Virginia end their illegal censoring of religious materials sent to detainees.”

Ligia M. De Jesus writing in the Washington Times: “International religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama, and legal scholars publicly expressed their support for the Italian government. Recently, the court authorized the intervention of several nongovernmental organizations as amicus curiae, …

Becket Fund: “Today the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision that could require a Lutheran elementary school to re-hire a teacher it dismissed for religious reasons. At issue in the case is the scope of the ‘ministerial exception’—a First Amendment doctrine that protects the right of religious organizations to select employees who perform religious functions.”

Allan D. Hertzke has an article at Weekly Standard that carries this sub-caption: “How a 1990 decision has come back to haunt us, and how its damage might be undone”

The Philadelphia Inquirer: “A society that respects religious liberty also allows diverse claims of truth to compete beside one another, creating an atmosphere of civil debate, transparency, and respect. The modern doctrine of religious liberty may have been incubated in America, but there are ample precedents for it in the Islamic world . . . Today’s Muslim world, however, is sadly lacking in religious freedom: according to a 2009 Pew Forum report, seven of the top 10 countries with the greatest government restrictions on religion are predominantly Muslim, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and Malaysia.”

Becket Fund: “Today, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sent a letter to Councilwoman Rochelle Spector of the Baltimore City Council offering recommendations to amend Baltimore’s proposed new zoning code. Several provisions of the code violate state and federal law as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (‘RLUIPA’) and have the potential to discriminate against houses of worship and religious schools.”

Becket Fund: “The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty will hold a briefing on Issues of Conscience under Present Law featuring Professor Robin Wilson, expert in health law and Class of 1958 Law Alumni professor of Law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, and Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director at The Becket Fund and expert in church-state law. Thursday, September 9th, 2010; 12:00 – 2:00pm.”

Judie Brown writing at Renew America: “Religious freedom is a phrase being bandied about today for all the wrong reasons. Not all legal defense teams or media types are causing it, but there is a smattering of confusion about it in the public eye these days . . . The Alliance Defense Fund tells those visiting its web site that religious freedom is under attack in America today, explaining that the American Civil Liberties Union’s http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/ReligiousFreedom ‘targeted attacks on religious freedom are more serious and widespread than you may realize. In courtrooms and schoolrooms, offices and shops, public buildings and even churches…those who believe in God are increasingly threatened, punished, and silenced.’”

Catholic News Agency: “Responding to an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) request for a government investigation into and action against Catholic hospitals which refuse to provide abortions, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has said it will offer pro bono legal help to any hospital or individual threatened for refusing to perform an abortion.”

The Becket Fund: “In a letter on Thursday, August 19, 2010, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty threatened to sue the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if it tried to force religiously affiliated hospitals to perform abortions against the conscientious objections of their doctors and nurses. The Becket Fund wrote to HHS in response to an ACLU letter which pressures HHS into forcing religiously affiliated hospitals across this country to perform abortions. After sending the letter, the ACLU called on its multi-thousand membership to mount a letter campaign to demand abortion services at Catholic hospitals.” Via Rick Garnett.

The Salt Lake Tribune: “[Byron Babione], the attorney representing the UHPA, said the individualized memorials ‘simply do not amount to a government establishment of religion’ . . . ‘We don’t intend to leave this disappointing ruling standing,’ said Babione, senior legal counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund in Arizona. “One atheist group’s agenda shouldn’t diminish the sacrifice made by Utah Highway Patrol officers and their families. The families of the fallen should be allowed to honor their loved ones as they wish.’” | ADF News Release

Religion Clause Blog: “Many advocacy groups and interested parties have issued statements on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. Here is a sampling . . . ” (links to press releases by numerous groups including ADF)

CBN: “Several members of the Afghan parliament have called for the death penalty for any Afghan who leaves Islam for Christianity . . . Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty told CBN News the U.S. sacrifice in Afghanistan isn’t bringing about true democracy . . . ”

ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: “Local governments cut off a vital part of their communities when they discourage churches from locating and growing in their neighborhoods. There is no way government can provide all the beneficial services religious organizations do – especially in this day and age when government services are being cut.”

“The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected Boulder County’s appeal of the 2008 jury decision that allowed the church to expand.”

CitizenLink: “Elijah Group, an Evangelical Christian Church, is fighting City Hall in Leon Valley, Texas. The city says it’s fine for the church to use the facilities for a day care and counseling center, but it cannot meet in the building for worship on the weekends because of zoning laws.”

Becket Fund: “Today, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sent a letter to South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, asking him to fulfill campaign promises to defend South Carolina citizens’ religious liberties against hyper-secular special interest groups. The letter asks McMaster, who is currently running for governor, to help Spartanburg County School District No. 7 defend a state law that makes released time religious instruction classes available to high school students . . . ”

Baptist Press: “Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), told reporters outside the court building, ‘The decision is favorable as far as it goes, but the Supreme Court didn’t go far enough. The box needs to come off that cross…. [T]he ACLU and its allies should not be allowed to eradicate and demolish religious symbols that acknowledge our religious heritage, acknowledge the sacrifice of our military heroes, based on the fact that one person is offended by what he sees there.’”

Becket Fund: The Federalist Society’s Religious Liberties Practice Group, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and The Cato Institute Present: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez on Wed. April 14, 2010, 12:00 noon – 2 pm. at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.

Becket Fund: “Today, the UN Human Rights Council agreed to extend the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee, a UN body that is working on a binding treaty on the ‘defamation of religions’ by adopting the motion without a vote. However, support for the flawed concept is dwindling as attempts to fast-track the drafting of a formal treaty were defeated.”

Becket Fund: In a stunning reversal of its 2002 rejection of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco today ruled, in a 193-page opinion, that the words ‘one nation under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance do not violate the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. The challenge to the Pledge was brought by atheist activist Dr. Michael Newdow. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit civil rights law firm, argued the case to the Court two years ago, along with the Department of Justice and attorneys representing a Sacramento-area school district . . . ”

9th Circuit: Teacher-led recitation of the pledge of allegiance is constitutional

Washington Times Editorial: “The school’s stance is unacceptable. As a religious organization, CLS has a constitutional right, confirmed in a series of court cases, to determine its own standards of conduct and rules for membership. This right also applies to nonreligious groups by virtue of the right of ‘expressive association,’ but the protection for religious groups is arguably stronger.”

Ashley Samelson, who works in International Programs for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, writing at First Things, On The Square: “Recently, both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been caught using the phrase ‘freedom of worship’ in prominent speeches, rather than the ‘freedom of religion’ the President called for in Cairo . . . Given that a fundamental element of any religion are truth claims that by nature may conflict with or offend those of another faith, the efforts of international institutions to restrict expression of these claims go right for the religious jugular. And in reducing freedom of religion to ‘freedom of worship’ in its political and diplomatic pronouncements, the United States can no longer invoke the First Amendment and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, thus weakening its ability to combat the international movement to criminalize religious speech.”

Catholic News Agency: “Religious freedom advocates have asked the Oregon legislature for an immediate repeal of a decades-old law that bars Oregon teachers from wearing religious dress in public schools. The law, originally an anti-Catholic measure, was implemented with the support of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.”

Becket Fund: “Today, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and a coalition of interfaith, civil rights, and bar association organizations are advocating for the religious liberty of public school teachers in Oregon. In a letter to state legislative leaders, the coalition urged the immediate repeal of an Oregon law that forbids Oregon teachers from wearing religious dress in public schools.”

Becket Fund: ” . . .  a federal judge ordered Boulder County to pay more than $1.25 million in attorneys’ fees to Rocky Mountain Christian Church.  This was a follow up to the 2008 decision, in which a jury found that Boulder County violated RLUIPA when it denied the church permission to expand its facilities.”

GoUpState.com: “The plaintiffs argue that a religious education course offered to Spartanburg High students is unconstitutional, not because of the course itself, but because of credit offered.”

Becket Fund: “Today the United Nations adopted a resolution that empowers governments to punish its own citizens for expressing their religious beliefs and speaking out against a particular faith. In a vote of 80 in favor, 61 against, and 42 countries abstaining, the concept of ‘defamation of religion’ received yet another nod of approval from the U.N. General Assembly. This vote attempts to solidify into international law a concept that restricts basic human rights.”

Watertown Daily Times reported at theBecket Fund: “The Amish say the town refuses to issue permits that allow them to build homes according to their beliefs. The Amish, members of the Old Order Swartzentruber sect, say their religious beliefs will be violated if the town forces them to install smoke detectors in their homes, submit engineering plans and allow home inspections.”

Becket Fund: “Today, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty issued an official commentary on proposed IRS regulations which affect the First Amendment rights of religious organizations. The proposed regulations, issued in response to a court decision striking down the IRS’s approval process for auditing churches, do not include any requirement for the IRS to consider the rights of churches under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act or the First Amendment.”

National Post: “More than 50 years after the words “under God” were inserted into the U.S. pledge of allegiance a new court case could help settle once and for all if those words violate the American tradition of the separation of church and state.”

Becket Fund: “In his latest constitutional challenge to the Pledge of Allegiance, atheist activist Dr. Michael Newdow has appealed a loss in New Hampshire federal district court to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.”

WORLD Magazine: “Gary McCaleb of the Alliance Defense Fund—an Arizona-based religious liberty law fund—says the Belmont Abbey case highlights the precarious relationship between religious freedom and perceived discrimination. McCaleb says the notion that religious liberty must yield to secular nondiscrimination interests is ‘a terrifying thought because religious liberty is the cornerstone of our country.’”

Weekly Standard: “‘This is the first time that an unelected bureaucrat has expounded a novel -theory of law in this fashion and applied it to a 150-year-old small religious college in North Carolina,’ Eric Kniffin, legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has taken on Belmont Abbey’s case, told me in a telephone interview.”

North Carolina Family Policy Council: “Belmont Abbey College has retained The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty to aid in its appeal of an U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruling that the school’s health insurance policy constitutes gender discrimination.”

Baptist Press: “The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Oct. 7 on the display of a cross in the middle of federal land but seemed to indicate it would not address whether the war memorial violated the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion . . . ‘I walked in thinking this was going to be predominantly a question of standing that was going to be addressed, but it seems that the court really was more focused on the minutiae of the posture’ of the case, said Shafer, senior legal counsel for ADF.”

Freedom From Religion Foundation, represented by Michael Newdow, sued two NH public school districts and Congress on behalf of several parents and students who objected to the voluntary recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in school.

Becket Fund: “On August 31, Spartanburg County School District No. 7 filed a motion asking a South Carolina federal judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group, and two parents. The Foundation’s claim in Moss v. Spartanburg County School District is that the District has violated the First Amendment by allowing students to voluntarily go off-campus for private religious instruction.”

Becket Fund: In defense of a family-owned pharmacy in the state of Washington, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty just filed a petition for a full, eleven-judge hearing at the 9th Circuit federal court of appeals. A three-judge panel of the same court ruled earlier this month that the pharmacy will likely have to abide by a State Board of Pharmacy rule that forces pharmacists to sell the so-called morning after pill, or Plan B, even when doing so violates their conscience.

Rutherford Institute: “The Rutherford Institute, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, Prison Fellowship, the Friends Committee on National Legislation and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, has demanded that officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately end their illegal practice of censoring religious material sent to detainees.”

David Cole reviews four books on same-sex “marriage” in the New York Review of Books: “Eskridge, Spedale, and West also argue that the best forum for achieving lasting victory is legislatures, not the courts. That seems less clear. There is no question that those seeking change cannot restrict their advocacy to the courts; a multitiered strategy is critical. But the recent court decisions suggest that it would be wrong to write off the judiciary.”

Becket Fund: “California pastor David Jones and his wife Mary Jones were questioned by San Diego County officials and threatened with fines over a weekly Bible study in their residence in Bonita, California, according to several news reports and televised interviews. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has offered to assist the couple or others facing the same situation in California or elsewhere in the U.S. ‘San Diego County has brought KGB tactics to Southern California,’ said Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director at the Becket Fund. ‘Government agents have no place questioning American citizens about how they choose to worship in their own home.’”

Becket Fund: “This panel seeks to uncover what the implications of the U.N. resolutions on ‘defamation of religions’ are on U.S. policy and what it seeks to defend, specifically when the weapons of choice are language, law, and financial institutions

The Becket Fund has issued this press advisory. What: Debate between National Litigation Director, Eric Rassbach and Dr. Michael Newdow regarding the Pledge of Allegiance When: April 16, 2009 from 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm Where: Stanford University Law School …

“Human rights protect people, not ideas,” said L. Bennett Graham, Becket Fund representative to the UN presently in Geneva. “The passage of this resolution by the Human Rights Council is a disaster for people of all faiths.”

Becket Fund: “Today (March 18, 2009) a coalition of a dozen religious and civil rights groups asked a Michigan appeals court to release a Christian minister put on house arrest because he claimed God would punish the judge who sentenced him.”

The Religion Clause Blog: “Last week the U.S. Supreme Court decided Negusie v. Holder, (Sup. Ct., March 3, 2009) . . . A release from the Becket Fund praising the decision points out that it has important implications for victims of religious persecution.”

Becket Fund International Freed News: Ireland is set to relax broadcasting legislation on religious advertising in order to avoid further bans on religious promotion, the London Times reported on March 8.

Becket Fund: Arguments to be heard for American Atheists v. Duncan, No. 08-4061. Memorials for fallen troopers erected on government property by Utah Highway Patrol Association challenged by American Atheists. At risk: all roadside memorials in CO, NM, UT, KS, …

Religion Clause Blog: “Summum’s attorney, Brian Barnard, has a different take on the case. He says the decision opens the way for him to amend the lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the 10 Commandments monument that is in Pioneer …

Becket Fund: “Arkansas atheists have the same rights as religious believers, to hold office and testify in court and state laws to the contrary should be stricken from the books, said lawyers at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, in …

Becket Fund:  Te Sri Lankan ambassador to the United States, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, received a letter today (2/05/2009), signed by 15 U.S. congressmen, asking that Sri Lanka shelve proposed legislation outlawing religious conversion. The bill was approved in January, and a final vote …

CNA: A coalition of Jewish, Catholic and Protestant organizations has filed an amicus brief asking that Proposition 8 be upheld. The coalition argues that the successful 2008 ballot measure, which overturned a state Supreme Court decision imposing same-sex “marriage,” prevents …

NCRegister reports: A case now pending before the Supreme Court of Arizona shows that it will take a long time to rid state law of a pervasive symbol of anti-Catholic bigotry: the so-called Blaine amendments. A “Blaine amendment” is a …

The conservative movement brought forth not only a generation of intellectuals (like Richard John Neuhaus) to clothe the naked public square, but also a new network of public interest law firms to defend religious liberty, from Christian organizations such as the Alliance Defense Fund to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which defends all faith traditions’ rights . . .

Religion Clause reports: “The Becket Fund announced yesterday that it had filed suit in a New York federal district court on behalf of eleven Amish families challenging enforcement of Morristown, NY’s building code provisions that infringe plaintiffs’ religious beliefs. The …