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Seeing Government Purpose Through The Objective Observer's Eyes: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Debates, Kristi L. Bowman
Seeing Government Purpose Through The Objective Observer's Eyes: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Debates, Kristi L. Bowman
ExpressO
In October, 2004, the Dover, Pennsylvania School District became the first in the nation to adopt a policy requiring students studying evolution to be told about the concept of intelligent design. Soon thereafter, parents filed a lawsuit challenging the policy as violating the Establishment Clause. But, Establishment Clause doctrine is one of the most splintered, incoherent areas of the Court’s jurisprudence—and even more so after the Court’s June 2005 McCreary County v. Kentucky decision. Read strictly, McCreary County imports the effects-endorsement “objective observer” into the government purpose inquiry. This subtle shift has significant ramifications: McCreary County changes the nature of …
The Rules Of The Game: "Play In The Joints" Between The Religion Clauses, Sharon Keller
The Rules Of The Game: "Play In The Joints" Between The Religion Clauses, Sharon Keller
ExpressO
This article uses the case of Locke v. Davey as an exemplar of the new Establishment clause jurisprudence which has opened the door for greater governmental support of sectarian schools and enterprises. What I believe has not been truly appreciated is that the rhetorical approach that fostered the change, if followed consistently, should increase the government’s burden in justifying pressures or sacrifices of personal rights such as Joshua Davey faced in the exemplar case.
Two Concepts Of Liberalism In Establishment Clause Jurisprudence, Kevin Pybas
Two Concepts Of Liberalism In Establishment Clause Jurisprudence, Kevin Pybas
ExpressO
The political theorist William Galston argues that the liberal political tradition contains two distinct strands of philosophical thought. One emphasizes the principle of autonomy, while the other stresses the principle of diversity. These principles, according to Galston, are in tension with each other and as guiding criterions lead to quite different public policies. Autonomy-centered liberalism seeks to promote autonomy or “individual self-direction”; it reflects a “commitment to sustained rational examination of self, others, and social practices.” As such, autonomy-centered liberals are generally suspicious of religious belief and seek to confine it to the private sphere. Diversity-centered liberalism, on the other …
Does The Establishment Clause Require Religion To Be Confined To The Private Sphere?, Kevin Pybas
Does The Establishment Clause Require Religion To Be Confined To The Private Sphere?, Kevin Pybas
ExpressO
Through the first four decades or so of the U.S. Supreme Court’s church-state jurisprudence the Court generally sought to confine religion to the private sphere, on the grounds that the establishment clause requires such a result. While the Rehnquist Court has been more open to religion in the public sphere than previous Courts, the claim that the establishment clause requires religion to be restricted to the private sphere retains strong support among a minority of Supreme Court justices. Witness Justice Souter’s fierce objection, in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), to the Court’s approval of the use of publicly funded tuition vouchers …