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Religious Monopolies And The Commodification Of Religion, Shima Baradaran-Robison, Brett G. Scharffs, Elizabeth A. Sewell

Pepperdine Law Review

In recent years, the number of countries in which a dominant church receives state aid and other forms of preferential treatment has increased. Dominant religions and their supporters in the former Soviet bloc and elsewhere often argue that special benefits and protection are warranted based upon the unique history and contribution of the dominant church to the identity, history, and culture of the country, and the interests of the state and its citizens. Because of the distinctive status of religion and its importance to national and cultural identity, special protection, especially against foreign and other outside influence, is deemed necessary. …

Defending Blasphemy: Exploring Religious Expression Under Ireland's Blasphemy Law, Katherine A. E. Jacob

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Note of the Year.

How To Entrench A De Facto State Church In Russia: A Guide In Progress, Robert C. Blitt

Scholarly Works

The Russian Orthodox Church's (ROC) assertion of a constitutionally inappropriate role in affairs of state has severely compromised Russia's secular constitutional framework. This gradual but steady erosion of the barrier between church and state is evidenced by a series of contemporary developments that are inexorably linked to the Church's vision of its traditional place in Russian history.

Disturbingly, each successive post-communist regime has further enabled this behavior, and there is no indication that the political transition from President Vladimir Putin to his hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, will change anything.

This paper argues that the emerging pattern of collusion presents a …

The Jurisprudence Of Colliding First Amendment Interests: From The Dead End Of Neutrality To The Open Road Of Participation-Enhancing Review, Gregory P. Magarian

Notre Dame Law Review

First Amendment interests in both speech and religion often collide with one another. A political activist claims a free speech interest in the right to purchase advertising time on a television network, while the network claims a free speech interest in its decision not to sell the time. A religious enclave claims a free exercise interest in having a dedicated public school district, while its neighbors claim a nonestablishment interest in the government's not extending the group special treatment. In this Article Professor Magarian examines the phenomenon of colliding First Amendment interests, explains and critiques the Supreme Court's failure to …

U.S. And U.K. Approaches To The War On Terror: The Surveillance Of Religious Worship, Jodie A. Kirschner

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

On Boy Scouts And Anti-Discrimination Law: The Associational Rights Of Quasi-Religious Organizations, Erez Reuveni

Erez Reuveni

This paper proposes a tripartite legal approach to analyzing the rights of private, expressive associations. Current law views private associations through a binary lens - either an organization is "religious," or it is "secular." But this dichotomy fails to account for organizations whose animating expressive purpose is both religious and secular. Using the Boy Scouts of America as a case study, this paper develops a third category of private associations, quasi-religious groups, and articulates why the category is necessary and how quasi-religious groups would fit within existing First Amendment jurisprudence. First, the article reviews numerous cases involving the Boy Scouts …

Antidiscrimination Laws And The First Amendment, David E. Bernstein

Missouri Law Review

Part I of this Article discusses the development of Supreme Court doctrine regarding First Amendment challenges to the enforcement of antidiscrimination laws. Part II discusses attempted justifications by courts and academics for applying the toothless compelling interest test in conflicts between the First Amendment and antidiscrimination laws. Rationales have ranged from Congress’ purported intent to eradicate discrimination by passing Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to the anti-caste attributes of the Reconstructions Amendments. All of these arguments fail. Also examined is the threat reliance on the compelling interest test posed to the rights of speech, expressive association, and …

Free Exercise In The Free State: Maryland's Role In Religious Liberty And The First Amendment, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Maryland arguably holds the distinction of being the state whose early history most directly ensured, and whose citizenry was most directly affected by, the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom. Because of its relatively diverse religious population, Maryland stood out as both a champion of tolerance and a hotbed of discrimination for most of its colonial experience. Similarities have been pointed out between the first provincial government in St. Mary's, Maryland, and the American plan under the Constitution, particularly with respect to religious liberty.

This article offers a brief overview of the religious history of Maryland, focuses on important state …

Religious Freedom And The Church-State Relationship In Maryland, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

Maryland holds the unique and admirable distinction of having been the State whose early history most directly ensured, and whose citizenry was most directly affected by, the first amendment's grant of religious liberty. The Supreme Court's docket is still liberally sprinkled with petitions calling for renewed interpretation of the establishment clause, and Marylanders will soon vote upon a proposed new state constitution with a similar provision - hence, the opportuneness for tracing Maryland's contribution to the cause of toleration and to the principle of church-state separation.

The scope of this article will not extend beyond a sketch of the important …