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Separation Of Church And State In The United States: Lost In Translation, Carol J. Greenhouse
Separation Of Church And State In The United States: Lost In Translation, Carol J. Greenhouse
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
In this article, the absence of an American equivalent to the French word laĭcité becomes an ethnographic opening to an exploration of the church-state divide in the U.S. context. Drawing on classic social theory, sociological accounts, and current events, I suggest that the constitutional separation of church and state-in addition to whatever it may mean in legal terms-also expresses a cultural proposition. Specifically, the separation of church and state posits a dual role for local communities as both the source of federal power (through representative government) and the foundation of its moral authority. The latter role can be sustained only …
Religious Expression And Symbolism In The American Constitutional Tradition: Government Neutrality, But Not Indifference, Daniel O. Conkle
Religious Expression And Symbolism In The American Constitutional Tradition: Government Neutrality, But Not Indifference, Daniel O. Conkle
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies
In this article, I describe and analyze three principles of First Amendment doctrine. First, the Establishment Clause generally forbids governmental expression that has the purpose or effect of promoting or endorsing religion. Second, and conversely, private religious expression is broadly defined and is strongly protected by the Free Speech Clause. Third, as an implicit exception to the first principle, the government itself is sometimes permitted to engage in expression that seemingly does promote and endorse religion, but only when the expression is noncoercive, nonsectarian, and embedded within (or at least in harmony with) longstanding historical tradition. Comparing these three principles …