Steve Aden begins service as Christian Legal Society's Chief Litigation Counsel
On January 5, 2004, attorney Steven H. Aden began serving as Chief Litigation Counsel for the Center for Law and
Religious Freedom of the Christian Legal Society.
Steve, a 1989 graduate of Georgetown University School of Law, most recently served as Chief Litigation Counsel to The
Rutherford Institute, an international civil rights public interest law firm. During his tenure at the Rutherford
Institute, Steve represented clients in numerous cutting edge religious liberty cases such as Good News Club v. Milford
Central School and Donovan v. Punxsutawney Area School District.
Steve will have primary responsibility for the Center's efforts to defend and advance religious freedom through
litigation. He will particularly focus on protecting religious organizations from the unconstitutional and
discriminatory application of governmental "non-discrimination" policies. Such policies are often used to deny
faith-based organizations fair access to rights and privileges when those organizations refuse to abandon their religious
identity by hiring people who do not share their religious and moral commitments. Steve is excited about the prospect of
defending religious liberty through the CLS Center.
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Constitutionality of RLUIPA Statute
On December 8, 2003, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia strongly affirmed the constitutionality
of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), rejecting a lower court decision that held that the
religious accommodation provisions of the Act violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The Center for Law and Religious Freedom joined in a friend of the court brief authored by The Becket Fund for
Religious Liberty asking the Fourth Circuit to strike down the lower court's decision in Madison v. Riter and affirm
RLUIPA's constitutional validity.
The Fourth Circuit's well-reasoned opinion recognizes that Congress has the authority
to lift burdens on the free exercise of religion in order to enable the preservation of this fundamental right. This is
not government promotion of religion, but the 'benevolence' toward religion that the First Amendment requirement of
religious neutrality was intended to foster.
View Fourth Circuit Court Opinion.
Oral Argument Scheduled in the Pledge of Allegiance Case
The Center, along with The Center for Public Justice, Concerned Women for America, and Christian Educators Association
International, filed a friend of the court brief in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Michael A. Newdow. The brief
addressed whether a public school policy that requires teachers to lead willing students in reciting the Pledge of
Allegiance, which includes the words "under God," violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the
Constitution.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced oral argument will be held on March 24, 2004.
View the Center's Brief.
Center Director Scheduled to Speak at CCCU Presidents Conference
Center Director Gregory S. Baylor was invited to participate in The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities' Presidents Conference, which will be held in Washington, DC on February 3, 2004. Greg will be a panelist in plenary sessions regarding Church-State issues, during which he will discuss the major opportunities and threats on CCCU campuses.
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