Freedom Of Religion

A Quaker math instructor who was fired by Cal State East Bay after she refused on religious grounds to sign a state loyalty oath has been reinstated, university officials said Friday. Marianne Kearney-Brown, a pacifist, was concerned that signing the oath to "support and defend" the California and U.S. constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic" could commit her to take up arms. She was fired Feb.

When the largest church in Boulder County, Colo., wanted to double its size two years ago, county commissioners said no. Rocky Mountain Christian Church already dominated a rural corner of the county northwest of Denver. If it became any larger, commissioners said, it would destroy the area's country atmosphere. But the church didn't accept the decision quietly.

Whether the issue is a Nativity scene in a town square or the Ten Commandments at a city hall, Americans never seem to tire of debating whether public displays of religion are constitutional. Year after year, courts give their blessings to some displays and the ax to others. After more than 200 years debating the 1st Amendment, why haven't we found consensus?

A woman whose Muslim religious practice requires that she cover her head in public sued the Orange County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday, alleging her rights were violated when jail officials forced her to remove a head scarf while locked up for about eight hours. Souhair Khatib filed suit in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, alleging that her right to practice her religion had been violated, causing her "extreme mental and emotional distress."

A Catholic bishop detained numerous times for his ties to the Vatican has died in police custody, according to a religious news agency and a monitoring group. Han Dingxiang, 70, from Hebei province just south of Beijing, reportedly died Sunday of cancer. A few close relatives were called to the hospital, but contact with fellow church members had been cut off after his most recent detention in September 2005.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to expand the rights of church groups, turning down appeals in a pair of cases. In the first case, the justices declined to hear a free-speech claim from an evangelical minister in Northern California who wanted to hold worship services in a public library meeting room.

In a victory for religious freedom, the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the Bush administration's claim that it can bar a small congregation in New Mexico from using a hallucinogenic tea during its rituals. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., speaking for a unanimous court, said the government had not shown the harm in allowing 130 followers of a Brazilian sect to use their tea. Administration lawyers had argued that strict federal drug laws should prevail over their claim of religious freedom.

The United States and three NATO allies with troops in Afghanistan urged the Kabul government Tuesday to respect the religious freedom of an Afghan convert to Christianity who faces the death penalty there. The United States, which counts Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a key ally in the region, raised the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens' constitutional right to choose their faith.

The Bush administration stepped up pressure Thursday on Afghanistan's government to free a man who could be sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity, a case that is further heightening tensions between the West and the Islamic world. A day after President Bush expressed his concern, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Afghan President Hamid Karzai and urged him "in the strongest terms" not to punish Abdur Rahman, a 41-year-old medical aid worker.

The chief judge trying the case of an Afghan man who converted from Islam to Christianity has criticized international calls for his release, saying no one has the right to pressure the court. Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Friday joined the chorus of Western leaders who have expressed outrage, saying he would protest personally to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "This is appalling. When I saw the report about this I felt sick, literally," Howard told an Australian radio network.