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Full-Text Articles in Law

Madison 1, Bush 0: Survey Testing Mr. Madison's Hypotheses, Daniel Gordon Dec 2012

Madison 1, Bush 0: Survey Testing Mr. Madison's Hypotheses, Daniel Gordon

Touro Law Review

For over fifty years, James Madison warned the American colonies and the new United States of America of the dangers of linking religion with government. Madison fought in his home state of Virginia to separate church and state and continued the fight as a congressman and as president. Between 2001 and 2009, President George W. Bush overtly linked religion with government. President Bush's efforts provide the opportunity to test President Madison's hypothesis that danger arises in American society when religion and government are linked. The Gallup Organization in its public opinion testing provides the means used in this Article to …


Ideology 'All The Way Down'? An Empirical Study Of Establishment Clause Decisions In The Federal Courts, Gregory C. Sisk, Michael Heise May 2012

Ideology 'All The Way Down'? An Empirical Study Of Establishment Clause Decisions In The Federal Courts, Gregory C. Sisk, Michael Heise

Michigan Law Review

As part of our ongoing empirical examination of religious liberty decisions in the lower federal courts, we studied Establishment Clause rulings by federal court of appeals and district court judges from 1996 through 2005. The powerful role of political factors in Establishment Clause decisions appears undeniable and substantial, whether celebrated as the proper integration of political and moral reasoning into constitutional judging, shrugged off as mere realism about judges being motivated to promote their political attitudes, or deprecated as a troubling departure from the aspirational ideal of neutral and impartial judging. In the context of Church and State cases in …


Saving The Preachers The Tax Code's Prohibition On Church Electioneering, Nicholas P. Cafardi Dec 2011

Saving The Preachers The Tax Code's Prohibition On Church Electioneering, Nicholas P. Cafardi

Nicholas P. Cafardi

Churches, like other 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to a prohibition on electioneering. This prohibition has survived decades of constitutional challenges because the tax exemption that 501(c)(3) organizations enjoy is a privilege and not a right. This article examines the claim of churches that they have a right to intervene in elections contrary to existing IRS regulations based on the free exercise clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and finds such claims wanting.

The article explains that tax exemption and the ability to attract tax deductible gifts are a form of government and taxpayer subsidy. This subsidy exists for 501(c)(3) …