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And The Ban Plays On . . . For Now: Why Courts Must Consider Religion In Marriage Equality Cases, Matthew E. Feinberg

Matthew E Feinberg

The gay marriage ban: it is one of the most controversial issues in politics, in society, in religion, and in law today. In each venue, anything goes, everyone has an opinion, and the result is rarely consistent. The decisions may be different, but the claimants’ arguments are usually the same – banning same-sex marriage denies same-sex couples equal protection under the law.

The pink elephant in the marriage equality courtroom is religion, yet it is extremely rare for same-sex marriage bans to receive First Amendment religious rights-based inquiry. In 2009, the Supreme Court of Iowa changed all that. In its …

Religion, Spirituality And Clinical Practice : An Exploration Of Practical Applications, Julia E. Gallichio

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this study was to elicit clinicians' perspectives and practices with religion and spirituality in clinical practice. Recent social work researchers note the roots of social work in spirituality and believe it can reinvigorate social work practice. Four focus groups were conducted in three different geographical locations with clinicians who included social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. It was found that the clinicians believed that including spirituality in practice benefits the client either in secular or sectarian ways. The application of spiritual practices varied widely. The majority of participants in this study reported the use of mindfulness and meditation …

Religion, The Law And The Human Rights Of Women In The Middle East: A Quantitative Analysis, Tyra Murielle Bouhamdan

Political Science Theses

The human rights of women in The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been a subject of unresolved debate among sociologists, economists, and political scientists alike, as this region’s gender related human rights performance remains uniquely weaker compared to other geographic regions in the world. Most notably, the human rights of women in the region have been lagging in the area of family law. The following paper assesses gender inequity in the MENA region from a legal perspective, with a focus on family law and legal pluralism, and with the intent to shed light on domestic legal institutions as …

American Civil Religion: An Idea Whose Time Is Past, Frederick Mark Gedicks

Faculty Scholarship

From the founding of the United States, Americans have understood loyalty to their country as a religious and not just a civic commitment. The idea of a 'civil religion' that defines the collective identity of a nation originates with Rousseau, and was adapted to the United States Robert Bellah, who suggested that a peculiarly American civil religion has underwritten government and civil society in the United States.

Leaving aside the question whether civil religion has ever truly unified all or virtually all Americans, I argue that it excludes too many Americans to function as such a unifying force in the …

Religion And Jacksonian America, Keith E. Whittington

Schmooze 'tickets'

No abstract provided.

Beyond Tolerance, Amy Speach

Syracuse University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Trends In Black-White Church Integration, Philip Q. Yang, Starlita Smith

Ethnic Studies Review

Historically, the separation of blacks and whites in churches was well known (Gilbreath 1995; Schaefer 2005). Even in 1968, about four years after the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. still said that "eleven o'clock on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week" (Gilbreath 1995:1). His reference was to the entrenched practice of black and white Americans who worshiped separately in segregated congregations even though as Christians, their faith was supposed to bring them together to love each other as brothers and sisters. King's statement was not just a casual …

Gay Equality, Religious Liberty, And The First Amendment, Matthew J. Murray

Matthew Murray

Are gay rights laws and religious liberty fundamentally in conflict? Would legal recognition of same-sex marriage lead to a wave of litigation threatening the religious liberty of those who object to such unions on religious grounds? Opponents of same-sex marriage have vocally asserted as much. This Article argues, however, that modifications in civil marriage laws in fact pose little to no threat to the liberty of religious objectors. Rather, the real arena of potential conflict between religious liberty and gay equality arises in the context of sexual orientation nondiscrimination laws. But these tensions are not new. The courts should be …

Reply, Martha Nussbaum

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.