Written by Don ByrdIn Ohio, a Holocaust memorial planned for the Statehouse is raising questions among some lawmakers regarding potential church-state disputes. According to the Washington Post, the Governor argues the structure, which includes a prominent Star of David, will teach an important lesson about man’s capacity to be inhuman towards others. The Chair of the Advisory Board, however, is concerned the emphasis on the Jewish faith may open the monument up to constitutional challenges.
Written by Don ByrdChrista Dias received a jury verdict of $170,000 earlier this month in her suit against the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for wrongful termination. Ms. Dias was a computer teacher, a role which the trial court found was not “ministerial” and thus did not allow the defendants to argue an exemption from employment discrimination laws.
Now, the Archdiocese has filed a notice of appeal in the case. The Huffington Post Religion blog suggests the appeal’s will implicitly argue, among other things, for an expansion of the scope of the ministerial exception.
Written by Don ByrdThe Ohio House Education Committee is set to consider legislation that would authorize public schools to allow students release time for religious education off campus. HB 171 specifies students must provide their own transportation, and that no public funds may be used to support the courses. Students would receive school credit for the courses.
Written by Don ByrdA jury awarded $170,000 to teacher Christa Dias yesterday in an employment discrimination suit after she was fired for being pregnant while unmarried (via in vitro fertilization). Her employer was the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, which now may argue the case should never have gotten to a jury due to the ministerial exception, which exempts religious employers from discrimination laws regarding employees with a ministerial role.
Written by Don ByrdUntil yesterday, the Jackson School District in Ohio has refused to remove a portrait of Jesus, which hung first in a middle school , later moved to a high school, despite a church-state lawsuit claming such a depiction should not be displayed in a public school. The school district has resisted using the…creative, let’s call it, argument that the portrait isn’t school speech, but belongs to the student club that first put it up, some 60 years ago.
