Religion Provisions of the Virgin Islands Constitution (2007)

One of my current research projects involves analysis of the religion provisions of various constitutions enacted since the year 2000. From time to time on this blog, I'll post extracts of those provisions arranged according to categories such as "Religious Freedom" (guarantee of individual rights), "Established Religion" (joining religion and government), "Establishment Clause" (separating religion and government), "Ceremonial Deism" (symbolic references to religion that have little or no legal effect), "Equal Protection of Religion" (non-discrimination guarantees), "Preamble", "Religious Education", and "Religious Limitations".

Here are the religion provisions of the Virgin Islands Constitution enacted in 2007. There's not much that is particularly interesting, although the religious freedom guarantee is more elaborate than most and specifically provides for government subsidies of religious education.
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Virgin Islands Constitution (2007)

Preface
"Acknowledging that the society of the Virgin Islands is based upon certain moral, spiritual and
democratic values including a belief in God . . ."

Equal Protection Religion
"Article 9. Whereas those fundamental rights and freedoms are enjoyed without distinction of any kind, such as sex, race, colour, language, religion . . ."

Religious Freedom
"21.—(1) No person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his or her freedom of conscience.
(2) Freedom of conscience includes freedom of thought and of religion, freedom to change one’s
religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and either in public or in private, to manifest and propagate one’s religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and
observance. (3) No religious community or denomination shall be prevented from or hindered in providing religious instruction for persons of that community or denomination in the course of any education provided by it whether or not it is in receipt of any government subsidy, grant or other form of financial assistance designed to meet, in whole or in part, the cost of such education. (4) No person shall be compelled to take any oath which is contrary to his or her religion or belief or to take any oath in a manner which is contrary to his or her religion or belief, although such person may be required to make an affirmation in lieu of taking an oath."

Ceremonial Deism
"Schedule 1: 1. Oath of allegiance
I, ……………………., do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors, according to law. So help me God.
...
3. Oath for due execution of office
I, ……………………, do swear that I will well and truly serve Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the
Second and the people of the Virgin Islands in the office of [here insert the description of the
office]. So help me God."

"Law, Sociology, and Religion: An Awkward Threesome"

Grace Davie, Law, Sociology, and Religion: An Awkward Threesome, Oxford Journal of Law & Religion (2011) pp. 1-13.

This short article is an attempt to help bridge the gap between lawyers and sociologists when it comes to religion. As Davie notes, "Lawyers and sociologists are differently trained and ask different questions about religion, as indeed about everything else. They do not always listen to each other." (p. 1) Davie goes on to discuss, in a very broad and somewhat meandering way, three topics of interest to both lawyers and sociologists in the field of religion: constitutional issues, human rights, and family law/end of life concerns, all presented in a European context.

The main thesis of the article--that law is a reflection of, and often influenced by, broader social issues, is one that is as true as it is (or should be) obvious. However, the article is useful in its insightful discussion of some more specific issues. For example, on the suppression of Muslim women wearing veils in France, Davie explains:

"In France, an egalitarian approach strongly encourages assimilation into French culture, with the entirely positive goal that all citizens should enjoy similar rights. This leads in turn to a mistrust of alternative loyalties and their outward expression—whether to religion or to anything else. It follows that in France ‘communautarisme’ is a pejorative word, implying a less than full commitment to the nation embodied in the French state." (p. 8-9)

Overall, however, although well-intentioned, I don't see this article enjoying much success in persuading lawyers and sociologists to give more creedence to each other's discipline.

Insulting Islam Gets Egyptian Christian Three Years in Prison

Reuters has reported that a 17-year-old Christian youth in Egypt has been sentenced to three years in prison for mocking Islam and Mohammad on his Facebook page. The youth, Gamal Abdoud Massoud, drew cartoons to post on the website and also allegedly shared some with his friends in a village near the city of Assiut. In December, word that the cartoons had been distributed led to violence in Massoud's community, as several Muslims attacked Christians and burned their homes.

Thanks to Religion Clause Blog for first bringing this to my attention.

Religion Provisions of the Bhutan Constitution

One of my current research projects involves analysis of the religion provisions of various constitutions enacted since the year 2000. From time to time on this blog, I'll post extracts of those provisions arranged according to categories such as "Religious Freedom" (guarantee of individual rights), "Established Religion" (joining religion and government), "Establishment Clause" (separating religion and government), "Ceremonial Deism" (symbolic references to religion that have little or no legal effect), "Equal Protection of Religion" (non-discrimination guarantees), "Preamble", "Religious Education", and "Religious Limitations".

Here are the religion provisions of the 2008 Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan. As you can see, it strongly establishes Buddhism as the state religion in Bhutan, while simultaneously containing a curious statement that it's the responsibility of religious entities to ensure that "religion remains separate from politics".

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Bhutan Constitution 2008
Preamble
BLESSED by the Triple Gem, the protection of our
guardian deities,

Established Religion
Article 2.2 The Chhoe-sid-nyi of Bhutan shall be unified in the person of
the Druk Gyalpo who, as a Buddhist, shall be the upholder of
the Chhoe-sid.

Article 3.1 Buddhism is the spiritual heritage of Bhutan, which promotes
the principles and values of peace, non-violence, compassion
and tolerance.

Article 3.4 The Druk Gyalpo shall, on the recommendation of the Five
Lopons, appoint a learned and respected monk ordained in
accordance with the Druk-lu, with the nine qualities of a
spiritual master and accomplished in ked-dzog, as the Je
Khenpo.

Article 3.5 His Holiness the Je Khenpo shall, on the recommendation of
the Dratshang Lhentshog, appoint monks with the nine
qualities of a spiritual master and accomplished in ked-dzog
as the Five Lopons.

Article 3.7 The Zhung Dratshang and Rabdeys shall continue to receive
adequate funds and other facilities from the State.

Article 9.20 The State shall strive to create conditions that will enable the
true and sustainable development of a good and compassionate
society rooted in Buddhist ethos and universal human values.

Establishment Clause
Article 3.3 It shall be the responsibility of religious institutions and
personalities to promote the spiritual heritage of the country
while also ensuring that religion remains separate from politics
in Bhutan. Religious institutions and personalities shall remain
above politics.

Religious Freedom
Article 7.4 A Bhutanese citizen shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. No person shall be compelled to
belong to another faith by means of coercion or inducement.

Equal Protection of Religion
Article 7.15 All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to equal
and effective protection of the law and shall not be
discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, language,
religion, politics or other status.

Ceremonial Deism
Article 10.6 At the commencement of each session of Parliament, the Druk
Gyalpo shall be received in a joint sitting of Parliament with
Chibdrel Ceremony. Each session shall be opened with a Zhugdrel-
phunsum tshog-pai ten-drel and each session shall
conclude with the Tashi-mon-lam. [prayers for fulfilment of good wishes & aspirations]

First Schedule (Flag): The lower orange half that extends to the top symbolizes the spiritual
tradition. It also symbolizes the flourishing of the Buddhist teachings
in general and that of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions in particular.

First Schedule (National Emblem): There
are four other jewels inside the circle where the two vajras intersect.
They symbolize the spiritual and secular traditions of the Kingdom
based on the four spiritual undertakings of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Russian Court Finds Bhagavad Gita & Commentary Not Extremist Literature

The prosecutor for the Siberian city of Tomsk has twice failed in a Russian lower court to have the Bhagavad Gita, and/or commentary accompanying a translation of it, deemed "extremist literature". The prosecutor accused the scriptures (held sacred by Hindus) as inciting "social hatred" and "violence against non-believers." The accompanying commentary was penned by the founder for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON), commonly known as the Hare Krishnas. An appeal to a higher court is possible.

Further information can be found on The Hindu, and thanks to Religion Clause Blog for first bringing this story to my attention.

"The Acquittal of Geert Wilders and Dutch Political Culture"

Robert A. Kahn, The Acquittal of Geert Wilders and Dutch Political Culture (Working Paper--University of St. Thomas School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series) (2011). Available here: http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=1956192

Kahn's working paper discusses the 2011 acquittal of Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders on charges of hate speech and group defamation. Wilders faced trial over comments he made in a variety of media outlets condemning Islam as a violent religion and warning about the rise in Muslim immigration. Kahn argues that although many see the acquittal as a victory for freedom of speech, this view is, at best, only partially accurate: "The standard explanation of the Wilders' verdict, while not without merit, only goes so far. If Wilders' trial was indeed a victory for freedom of speech, it was a partial one. The hate speech laws remained intact." (p. 15) Kahn goes on to analyze the trial and acquittal according to three alternative themes: (1) the frequent comparisons by commentators to the Nazi-era, with Muslims cast in the role of Jews; (2) the role of politicians--should they receive more or less free speech protection? Some judges believed Wilders' words were more harmful because he was the head of a small political party and could in theory see his views enacted into law, while others thought his views entitled to more protection because they could be seen as sincere legislative proposals; and (3) the role of Dutch elites in overseeing the trial; for example, prosecutors initially decided not to charge Wilders, but this decision was overturned by an appellate court, and one of the judges handling Wilders' case found himself in hot water after it was revealed he lectured a defense witness on why the charges were appropriate.