Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Satan Worshipper, Witch Testing Religious Liberty

A religious liberties lawsuit brought by a Satan worshipper, a Wiccan witch, a white supremacist, and an adherent of an ancient Viking religion is drawing the impassioned support of major national religious groups as it approaches a hearing before the Supreme Court.
The case is potentially the most important religious liberties case on this year's docket, impacting how far a state can go to accommodate the religious practices of its citizens and whether Congress can require states to be more accommodating.
The case was filed by a group of Ohio inmates - Jon Cutter, J. Lee Hampton, John Gerhardt, John Miller, and Daryl Blankenship - who are demanding access to religious books, medallions, and costumes, as well as the right to worship in groups while in custody.
Ohio prison officials have dismissed their religious claims as a cover for gang activities, noting as an example that one of the plaintiffs belongs to a church that has been linked to the Ku Klux Klan. Their lawyer countered that they are sincere: Mr. Blankenship, who practices a polytheistic Nordic religion called Asatru, fasted for weeks in protest of prison rules and was hospitalized.

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