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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Law

Merry Season’S Controversy, Lorin Geitner Jan 2011

Merry Season’S Controversy, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

Discussion of the infamous "Christmas Controversy" – the legality of religious symbols in holiday displays on public land. This issue is examined both from the viewpoint of an attorney and a scholar of religion: From a legal point of view, the article examines the holdings of three major Supreme Court cases which have addressed this issue. From the viewpoint of religious scholarship, the article examined the relevant sociology of religion, which is also an important factor in accounting for why, in spite of settled precedents, this issue remains controversial.


Eruv And Establishment, Lorin Geitner Dec 2009

Eruv And Establishment, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

An examination of how the Orthodox Jewish practice known as an "eruv", based in Jewish religious law, can help illustrate the tension between the Establishment and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment.


Law And Religion – The First Amendment And The Problems Of Alienation, Lorin Geitner Dec 2009

Law And Religion – The First Amendment And The Problems Of Alienation, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

A survey of the different patterns of the relationship between of law to religion (and vice versa) in the course of world history, in order to provide historical and legal context and argue for the notion that the United States, truly, a secular society, but rather a religiously pluralistic one.


Secularism, Religion, And Liberal Democracy In The United States, Kent Greenawalt Jan 2009

Secularism, Religion, And Liberal Democracy In The United States, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

This essay is divided into three categories: some brief remarks about forms of secularism, an outline of American constitutional law as it relates to religion, and a discussion from the standpoint of political philosophy of the proper place of religion (and other similar perspectives) in making political decisions within liberal democracies. Because the audience for whom the oral comments from which the essay is derived was mainly non-American, the middle part of the essay sets out many propositions familiar to anyone acquainted with this branch of constitutional law. And because of the informal nature of the original presentation, I offer …


Accommodating Religion And Law In The Twenty-First Century, Andrew J. King Jan 2006

Accommodating Religion And Law In The Twenty-First Century, Andrew J. King

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.


The Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Responding To Smith; Reconsidering Reynolds, Keith Jaasma Jan 1995

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Responding To Smith; Reconsidering Reynolds, Keith Jaasma

Keith Jaasma

This comment examines the cae of Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, and Congress' response to that decision in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Comment further examines whether the Supreme Court's 1879 Decision in Reynolds v. United States, which upheld laws against polygamy in the Utah Territory, would continue to be viable in light of the RFRA and Free Excercise Clause cases that have been decided since.