c. 1997 Religion News Service

Workplace religious freedom bill introduced in Senate

(RNS) Legislation designed to strengthen existing federal law guaranteeing religious freedom in the workplace has been introduced in the Senate.

The Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA) of 1997 _ co-sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Dan Coats, R-Ind., _ was introduced Thursday (July 31). In a statement, the senators called the measure”an important step toward restoring the original intent”of 1972 legislation requiring employers to accommodate their employees’ religious practices, unless doing so caused them”undue”financial hardship or difficulties.

Kerry and Coats said the 1972 legislation _ an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 _ has been eroded by court decisions that have broadly interpreted the undue hardship clause.

The proposed law would change that clause to say”significant difficulty or expense,”which would be based on a number of factors, including company size. The bill also gives employees additional flexibility to reschedule work hours to accommodate their religious practices.

Jewish groups praised WRFA, noting that they have long said Jewish workers, as well as Seventh-day Adventists, are too often forced to choose between a job or not working on Saturday, the sabbath day for both faiths.”Because of our own particular religious practices and needs, Orthodox Jews are often passed over in hiring and job promotions and are sometimes faced with the Hobson’s Choice of either sacrificing our livelihoods or compromising our sincerely held religious beliefs,”said Abba Cohen, Washington representative for Agudath Israel, an Orthodox Jewish group.

Nathan Diament, public affairs director of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America’s, welcomed the WRFA’s”bipartisan introduction,”saying the cooperation of Kerry and Coats bode well for the bill’s eventual passage.

Rep. Jerald Nadler, D-N.Y., was drafting a similar bill to be introduced in the House of Representatives.

Michigan late-term abortion law struck down

(RNS) A federal judge in Michigan has struck down the state’s law banning certain late-term abortions as too vague to meet constitutional requirements.

But in the 88-page opinion handed down Thursday (July 31), U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen outlined a way the legislature could write a ban curbing the intact dilation and extraction procedure used in some late-term abortions _ dubbed”partial birth”abortions by its opponents _ that would withstand a court challenge.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the lawsuit prompting the ruling, said the decision was the first in the nation in which the ban was tried on its merits. Testimony by doctors was considered crucial in Rosen’s ruling.”We think this is an incredibly positive sign for other similar challenges around the country,”Louise Melling, a New York-based ACLU attorney who tried the case, told the Associated Press.

In his ruling, Rosen said the Michigan law was unconstitutional on two points: First, its definition of the banned procedure was so broad that doctors didn’t know what procedures were covered, and, secondly, it contained no exception for the health of the mother.”The statue was so broadly written and ill-defined, it could apply to more than 85 percent of post-first-trimester abortion procedures performed in Michigan and that, as a result, women seeking abortions would be required to choose less safe abortion alternatives,”Rosen said.

On the health issue, Rosen said the legislature”rejected every attempt to narrow and more specifically define the sweep”of the law.

At the same time, Rosen called the controversial procedure”gruesome and inhumane,”adding that”society, through its elected representatives, should be able to circumscribe its utility.” A spokesman for Gov. John Engler said the governor was disappointed in the ruling. A spokesman for state Attorney General Frank Kelley said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the ruling.

Alabama governor chastised by federal judge on Bill of Rights view

(RNS) A federal judge in Alabama has turned down a request by Gov. Fob James to throw out a challenge to a school-prayer law and warned the governor his views on the Bill of Rights pose a threat to democracy.

On Thursday (July 31), U.S. District Court Judge Ira DeMent issued an order denying James’ request, which had been contained in a 34-page letter the governor sent him in June urging him to dismiss the lawsuit challenging Alabama’s 1993 school prayer law.

In his letter to the judge, James had challenged the authority of U.S. Supreme Court rulings on school prayer issues, saying the High Court should leave matters of speech and religion to the individual state governments, the Associated Press reported.”The governor’s invitation to ignore the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment,”DeMent responded,”poses a serious threat to our system of democratic self-government.” DeMent had struck down the 1993 prayer law in March as unconstitutional. James, in his letter to DeMent, said that while he agreed the law should be struck down, it should have been done by the state, not a federal court.

James has emerged as a controversial figure in church-state and federal versus states’ rights issues since he threatened earlier this year to call out the National Guard to protect the display of the Ten Commandments in an Alabama courtroom. A state judge has ordered the display removed and the case is currently before the Alabama Supreme Court.

Congressmen note concern for American Scientologists in Germany

(RNS) Three congressmen have asked Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright to insure that American Scientologists are not placed under surveillance when they are in Germany.

In a letter to Albright, the congressmen _ Reps. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., Donald Payne, D-N.J., and Robert Ney, R-Ohio, _ said”placing individuals under government surveillance because of their religious beliefs is a clear human rights violation.” In its recent report on religious freedom around the world, the State Department said”Scientologists, including American citizens, have reported discrimination and harassment in Germany.” In June, the reported noted,”German authorities placed the Church of Scientology under observation for one yearâÂ?¦” Leading German officials have labeled Scientology a destructive cult more concerned with making money than religious fulfillment. The church, headquartered in Los Angeles, rejects the charge and says it is a persecuted minority.

In their letter, dated July 24, the congressmen said they were particularly concerned about American jazz musician Chick Corea, who has had past concerts canceled in Germany because he is a Scientologist. Corea, said the congressmen,”may be conducting business or traveling in Germany”again, and they asked Albright to insure that he is not placed under government surveillance.

There was no word Friday (Aug. 1) on whether Albright has responded to the congressmen.

Report: Tibetan monks and nuns fleeing to avoid Chinese

(RNS) Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns are abandoning their monasteries rather than submit to Chinese demands that they attend political re-education classes, according to a pro-Tibet monitoring organization.

Tibet Information Network, based in London, said Friday (Aug. 1) that the classes are an attempt by Chinese authorities to erode support for the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled religious and political leader, and Tibetan autonomy.

The classes are part of a broader Chinese program named”Love the Country, Love Religion,”which requires the monks and nuns to swear allegiance to Beijing.

Tibet Information Network said at least 320 monks and nuns have left their monasteries and have fled to Nepal or India.

Tibet has been occupied by China since 1950. On Tuesday (July 29), Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright told congressional leaders she would soon appoint a”special coordinator”to oversee American policy toward Tibet, a move that would significantly raise the profile of the Tibetan independence movement in the United States.

New York member of Congress and pastor chooses ministry over politics (RNS) Rep. Floyd Flake, D-N.Y., said Thursday (July 31) he will resign from Congress before the end of the year to devote more time to the church in the New York City borough of Queens that he has pastored for the last 21 years.”I believe this is one of the those situations where the congregation needs me,”Flake, a six-term member of Congress, told The New York Times.”And I want to build the church operation in a way that allows us to have the foundation to make sure our ministry grows.” Flake is pastor of Allen African Methodist Episcopal church. The church recently opened a new, $23 million building and has a growing social service program and a number of economic operations. It runs an elementary school for about 500 students, a 300-unit senior citizens complex, a bus chartering corporation and a community center that operates a health clinic and a Head Start program.

With 8,600 members, it is one of New York largest congregations and its new 2,500-seat sanctuary is the second largest predominantly black church in the city.

Quote of the Day: Kenneth L. Woodward of Newsweek magazine

(RNS) Kenneth L. Woodward, senior writer and religion editor of Newsweek magazine, writing in the Aug. 2 edition of America, a Catholic magazine, noted the convergence of religion, politics and the media in Washington.”In Washington, (former Sen. Eugene McCarthy) once observed, only two kinds of religion are tolerated: strong beliefs vaguely expressed and vague beliefs strongly asserted. Anybody who remembers Dwight D. Eisenhower _ not to mention Ronald Reagan _ knows what Senator McCarthy meant. And today we have a President who is genuinely if promiscuously religious: Clinton never met a pew he couldn’t fit in.”

DEA END RNS