An update from the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, an independent research project
of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The public policy research arm of the State University of New York.

New! Supreme Court Declines Case on What Makes an Employer "Religious"

The Supreme Court on Monday announced it would not hear a case that focused on the right of a religious
service provider to base hiring and firing decisions on employees’ faith. At issue was whether the Lancaster
Jewish Community Center in Pennsylvania could be sued for religious discrimination for firing an evangelical
Christian worker.

A federal district court and an appellate panel said it could not, because - as a religious organization - the
Lancaster JCC fell under an exemption in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowing it to give preferential treatment
to Jewish employees. Lawyers for the fired employee, Linda LeBoon, argued that the JCC could be sued for
religious discrimination because - as a cultural, rather than primarily religious, organization - it was bound by
the 44-year-old law’s employment nondiscrimination restrictions.

At the heart of the arguments over the JCC’s hiring rights was just what constituted a "religious organization"
under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Conflicts over the legal definition of a religious organization or employer
have fueled other disputes over faith-based organizations’ rights to maintain their religious identities, especially
when they receive public funds.

Click here to read more by Roundtable Correspondent Claire Hughes.

Click here to access legal documents in this case.

Click here for a Roundtable resource page on the Hiring Rights of Religious Organizations.

New! An Interview with James Clyburn of the House Democrats’ Faith
Working Group

U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) is House Majority Whip and chairman of the House Democrats’
Faith Working Group, convened by House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in 2005 to develop a
faith agenda for the Democratic Party. Clyburn was first elected to Congress in 1992. Six years later,
he was elected Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. In 2002, his colleagues elected him as Vice
Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and in 2006, as chair of that group.

He had many years of experience in the public sphere before being elected to Congress. A minister’s
son, Clyburn was elected president of his NAACP youth chapter at age 12, and was later active in the
civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Before becoming an elected official, he was a history
teacher, an employment counselor, and director of two youth and community development programs. In
1968, he became director of a migrant and seasonal farm workers program. In the 1970s, he became the
first African American advisor to a South Carolina governor since post-Civil War Reconstruction and served
as South Carolina Human Affairs Commissioner, a position he held for 18 years.

Click here to read the interview.

Weekly Digest of Federal Grants with Faith-Based and Community
Organization Eligibility

The grant opportunities this week for community and faith-based organizations are through programs
administered by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Labor, and by the
U.S. Agency for International Development.

Potential applicants should be aware that some grant programs require specific technical expertise, or
experience in particular foreign countries.

Click here for the grants digest.

Roundtable Digest of Current Faith-Based News Stories

CCA-TBN Partnership Gives Second Chance to Inmates
Christian Newswire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8154

Michigan Dems Pitch Sex Education, Contraception Access Plan
The Associated Press

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8135

Speaking Up for Immigrants, Pontiff Touches a Flash Point
The New York Times

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8136

The Refueling Station; Living Hope Expansion Could Offer Homeless More Aid
Record Searchlight (Redding, California)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8137

Court Rules Anti-Bias Laws Apply to Religious Schools:
Teacher Who Is Not Minister Was Fired Because Of Her Age
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8153

Club Helps Girls to Just Say No:
Akron Teens Encourage One Another to Abstain in Stop Having Sex Group
Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8143

More in N.M. Relying on Food Stamps
Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8144

Youngstown Mayor: Local Is Better In War on Drugs
The Herald (Sharon, Pennslyvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8145

Woman Gets Another Chance
The Lebanon Daily News (Pennsylvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8146

State Links Working Families with Benefits
The Lima News (Ohio)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8147

Hope Center for Kids shows off renovation
Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8148

Speakers Explore Relation of Religion to Health Care
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8138

Link Between Global Warming and Poverty Focus of Earth Day Sunday
Ethics Daily

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8139

Mayor Invites Faith-Based Leaders to Forum
KPCNews.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8140

God and Country
The Herald (Sharon, Pennslyvania)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8141

Feed My Sheep Breaks Ground; New Building on 19th Street
The Biloxi Sun Herald (Mississippi)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8152

Remarks by the President at National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
Christian Newswire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8155

Faith Groups, Nonprofits Press Bayh to Switch Budget Vote
WSBT.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8142

A Common Thread: Community Leaders to Head 'Stop the Violence' Committees
The Anniston Star (Alabama)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8149

Book a Date to Help Literacy Imperative
Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8150

One More Step; Program's Founder Wants Faith-Based Groups to Pitch In
TriValleyCentral.com

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8151

Free Health Clinics Feel the Strain as Patient List Grows and Funding Shrinks:
The struggling economy is straining free or sliding-scale sites past their capacity
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8156

Adventists Join World Faith, Aid Agency Leaders against Poverty
Adventists News Network

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8157

Churches Offer Couples Ways to Prevent Divorce
The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8158

White House Compassion in Action Roundtable Highlights Partnerships with
Faith-Based and Community Organizations to Promote Healthy Marriages and Families
Christian Newswire

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/article.cfm?id=8159

Weekly Opinion Roundup - 4/22/2008
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy

http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/news/news_opinion_4_22_08.cfm