c. 2008 Religion News Service

Va. church property fight costs $2 million and counting

(RNS) The court battle over church assets between the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and 11 breakaway congregations has already cost both sides more than $2 million, according to representatives.

The secessionist Anglican District of Virginia has spent about $1 million on legal fees thus far and anticipates spending as much as $3 million to $5 million on the litigation, said Vice Chairman Jim Oakes.

The money is being raised through donations from the 11 churches, Oakes said, though only five have contributed so far.

Patrick N. Getlein, a spokesman for the Diocese of Virginia, said the diocese has spent “over a million,” on legal fees to date. The diocese recently reported that it has taken out a $2 million line of credit for the litigation.

Financial figures from the national Episcopal Church, which is also a party in the litigation, were not immediately available. Getlein said the national church is not helping the diocese pay its legal fees.

Citing theological disagreements with the national church’s increasing acceptance of gays and lesbians, the 11 congregations split from the diocese and the Episcopal Church last January. They have sinced joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, which is headed by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola.

Oakes said the assets in dispute are worth approximately $30 million; Getlein said he could not provide an estimate of their worth.

The Episcopal Church maintains that church assets are held in trust for the national church, and is attempting to block efforts by the congregations to assert ownership of the property.

The first phase of the trial, now being heard by a judge in Fairfax County, Va., is scheduled to wrap up later this month.

(OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS)

Arguments thus far have centered on whether a Civil War-era Virginia law allows a congregation to leave a religious body with its assets intact if that body is undergoing division.

The court has scheduled arguments on church ownership to begin this October, Oakes said. The litigation could take as long as three years to complete, he said.

_ Daniel Burke

Survey: `Unchurched’ Americans say church is `full of hypocrites’

(RNS) Almost three-quarters of Americans who haven’t darkened the door of a church in the last six months think it is “full of hypocrites,” and even more of them consider Christianity to be more about organized religion than about loving God and people, according to a new survey.

Almost half those surveyed _ 44 percent _ agreed that “Christians get on my nerves.”

But the survey of “unchurched” Americans by LifeWay Research also found that some 78 percent said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to tell them about his or her Christian beliefs.

Researchers, affiliated with the Southern Baptists’ LifeWay Christian Resources, defined “unchurched” as Christians who haven’t attended church in six months as well as non-Christians such as Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists.

The findings echoed a previous study by The Barna Group that found the vast majority of young non-Christians view Christianity as anti-gay, judgmental and hypocritical.

Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, said the finding that 79 percent of respondents thought Christianity was more about organized religion than about loving God and people should challenge individual Christians.

“That really needs to cause the church to check themselves a little bit and to say, `OK, how can we get back to the main thing?”’ he said.

Other findings showed many of those surveyed believed in God but don’t feel the need to express those beliefs within a church building. Almost three-quarters _ 72 percent _ agreed that God “actually exists” and an even larger percentage _ 86 percent _ said they believed they could have a good relationship with God without church involvement.

The study was based on an overall sample of 1,402 adults who were interviewed by phone in 2007, including 900 ages 18-29 and 502 age 30 and older. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

_ Adelle M. Banks

UpDATE: Airline employee to appeal case of cross necklace

LONDON (RNS) A British Airways employee who was barred from wearing a small Christian cross around her neck while at work has lost her claim against the airline for religious discrimination.

An employment tribunal ruled Tuesday (Jan. 8) that Nadia Eweida had brought the problem on herself when she breached British Airways’ dress code regulations, which banned the open wearing of such religious symbols.

Eweida’s attorneys, from the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, announced immediately they would appeal the court ruling on grounds that “Christian employees should not be singled out for discrimination.”

Eweida, 56, works as a check-in worker at London’s Heathrow airport. She argued that she, as a Christian, had been ordered to remove her religious jewelry while Muslim and Sikh employees of the airline were permitted to wear headscarves and Kara bangles, respectively.

“It’s a form of discrimination against Christians,” she claimed, and said she was “very disappointed” by the tribunal’s decision. “I’m speechless,” she told journalists, “because I went to the tribunal to seek justice.”

Benjamin Bull, the chief counsel for the Arizona attorneys, said in a statement that “the airline took no action against employees of other religions who wore jewelry or symbols of their religion. That type of intolerance is inconsistent with the values of civilized communities around the world.”

British Airways, in a statement, contended that “we have always maintained that our uniform policy did not discriminate against Christians,” but it conceded that since Eweida’s case erupted in October 2006, it had revised and eased its dress code.

“Our current policy,” the airline said, “allows symbols of faith to be worn openly and has been developed with multi-faith groups and our staff.”

Eweida testified that she rejected the airline’s offer to settle for about about $17,000, saying, “I cannot be gagged about my faith.”

Meanwhile, the case goes on, and Eweida added, “it’s not over until God says it’s over.”

_ Al Webb

Quote of the Day: 8-year-old Tejas Vohra of India

(RNS) “I loved the film because Hanuman is a boy like me and saves planet Earth. It was awesome to see the gods laughing, singing, and flying planes. The fights were really good, and in the end Hanuman sets everything right.”

Tejas Vohra, 8, of India, on new cartoons that feature Hanuman, the monkey-headed Hindu god. He was quoted by The Washington Post.

KRE/LF END RNS