Written by Don ByrdThe City of Lake Elsinore, California commissioned a monument to be placed outside its baseball stadium. The plan for the work depicted a soldier kneeling next to a cross. After questions that this might raise church-state concerns, the Council refused to remove the cross element and instead decided to add a Star of David, hoping to lessen the appearance of religious endorsement. It didn’t work, at least not in the eyes of the federal district court.
Yesterday, a federal judge halted the installation of the monument pending the outcome of the lawsuit, finding a likelihood of success in the plaintiff’s case.
Written by Don ByrdJudge John Meyer has ruled that yoga is not necessarily a religious exercise. Teaching yoga as it is done in California’s Encinitas School District schools, therefore, does not create a church-state problem.
Written by Don ByrdYou may have heard, the yoga wars are heating up. A lawsuit filed in California is challenging a school district’s use of yoga in the physical education curriculum, arguing that it improperly promotes a religious view. Meanwhile, the White House is taking criticism for its encouragement of yoga as a means of promoting health.
Written by Don ByrdThe 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the constitutionality of Lancaster, California’s City Council prayer policy against charges that it violates the separation of church and state.
Here, the court emphasized that because Lancaster’s policy takes great pains to avoid favoritism in determining who will give the prayer, the fact that the policy does not require nonsectarian invocations is unconcerning.
Written by Don ByrdInmates who practice the Wiccan faith in a California prison have sued over the lack of access to Wiccan chaplains. Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and Protestant chaplains are on staff, they claim, but no Wiccan, despite the fact that more prisoners are of Wiccan than Jewish, Muslim or Catholic faith at the facility. The trial court dismissed their claims, noting that not all prisoners are entitled to the chaplain of their choice. Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit agreed on the religious exercise claims, but reversed the trial court’s ruling on the Establishment Clause claim.
