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Is There Any Silver Lining To Trinity Lutheran Church, Inc. V. Comer?, Caroline Mala Corbin
Is There Any Silver Lining To Trinity Lutheran Church, Inc. V. Comer?, Caroline Mala Corbin
Michigan Law Review Online
Trinity Lutheran Church, Inc. v. Comer is a significant setback for a strong separation of church and state. Missouri denied a playground grant to Trinity Lutheran because of a state constitutional provision that bans financial aid to churches. The church sued. The Supreme Court held not only that the Establishment Clause allowed the government to give taxpayer money to Trinity Lutheran, but that the Free Exercise Clause required it. The decision's many flaws are not the focus of this short Essay. Instead, this Essay dissects the Supreme Court's reasoning in order to apply it to current controversies in related areas …
Thou Shalt Not Electioneer: Religious Nonprofit Political Activity And The Threat “God Pacs” Pose To Democracy And Religion, Jonathan Backer
Thou Shalt Not Electioneer: Religious Nonprofit Political Activity And The Threat “God Pacs” Pose To Democracy And Religion, Jonathan Backer
Michigan Law Review
The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC invalidated a longstanding restriction on corporate and union campaign spending in federal elections, freeing entities with diverse political goals to spend unlimited amounts supporting candidates for federal office. Houses of worship and other religious nonprofits, however, remain strictly prohibited from engaging in partisan political activity as a condition of tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3). Absent this “electioneering prohibition,” religious nonprofits would be very attractive vehicles for political activity. These 501(c)(3) organizations can attract donors with the incentive of tax deductions for contributions. Moreover, houses of worship need …
The Right To Free Exercise Of Religion In Prisons: How Courts Should Determine Sincerity Of Religious Belief Under Rluipa, Noha Moustafa
The Right To Free Exercise Of Religion In Prisons: How Courts Should Determine Sincerity Of Religious Belief Under Rluipa, Noha Moustafa
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
Religion plays a vital role in the daily lives of many prisoners. For incarcerated persons, a connection to the divine can provide comfort during periods of isolation from their family and community. From a policy perspective, spiritual development and religious practice promote rehabilitation and reduce recidivism in inmates. While prisoners forfeit many of their civil liberties, Congress has ensured that religious exercise is not among them. As Congress enhanced religious freedom protections for prisoners, prison facilities became increasingly concerned that prisoners would feign religiosity to gain certain religious accommodations. To counter this concern, prison facilities conditioned accommodations on the sincerity …
Establishing Inequality, Gene R. Nichol
Establishing Inequality, Gene R. Nichol
Michigan Law Review
Part I outlines Nussbaum's thesis and her similarly interesting, if perhaps not always completely consistent, applications of it. Part II touches on some challenges and potential shortcomings her theory presents-for clearly there are such. But, in Part III, I argue that her wide-ranging study of the work of the religion clauses nonetheless touches something residing at the core of American citizenship. No bosses. No masters. No insiders. None outcast. Finally, and far more idiosyncratically, in Part IV I explore and expand on Nussbaum's thesis in light of a modestly serious and rather public dispute over religious equality that occurred at …
The Free Exercise Of Religion And Public Schools: The Implications Of Hybrid Rights On The Religious Upbringing Of Children, Michael E. Lechliter
The Free Exercise Of Religion And Public Schools: The Implications Of Hybrid Rights On The Religious Upbringing Of Children, Michael E. Lechliter
Michigan Law Review
This Note argues that parents have a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution to direct the religious upbringing of their children and that courts interpreting Smith have systematically misunderstood and misapplied the Supreme Court's confusing hybrid rights language. Part I explains how Yoder and Smith create and preserve parents' right to direct the religious upbringing of their children. The essential point is that the free exercise right and the parental right are not examined independently and simply added together, but instead are incorporated together to provide a specific bite to the free exercise claim. Part I also examines the lower …
Splitting Hairs: Why Courts Uphold Prison Grooming Policies And Why They Should Not, Mara R. Schneider
Splitting Hairs: Why Courts Uphold Prison Grooming Policies And Why They Should Not, Mara R. Schneider
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
Part I of this Note describes the substance of prison grooming policies and provides a sampling of cases that have challenged these policies under the Equal Protection and Free Exercise Clauses. Part II explores three theories of discrimination that describe certain types of discriminatory conduct that could be prohibited by the Equal Protection and Free Exercise Clauses. These theories inform the definition of "equal protection of the laws" and impact the analysis of equal protection challenges to prison grooming policies. Part III explores the "religious exemptions" doctrine and explains how courts have interpreted the protections offered to religious groups by …
How To Apply The Religious Freedom Restoration Act To Federal Law Without Violating The Constitution, Gregory P. Magarian
How To Apply The Religious Freedom Restoration Act To Federal Law Without Violating The Constitution, Gregory P. Magarian
Michigan Law Review
Learned commentators have called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 ("RFRA" or "the Act") "perhaps the most unconstitutional statute in the history of the nation" and "the most egregious violation of the separation of powers doctrine in American constitutional history." In the 1997 case of City of Boerne v. Flores, the Supreme Court struck down the Act in its applications to state and local governments, declaring that "RFRA contradicts vital principles necessary to maintain separation of powers and the federal balance." The Act's applications to federal law, however, survived Boerne, which means that plaintiffs with religious freedom claims against …
The Convergence Of The First Amendment And Vatican Ii On Religious Freedom, Robert F. Drinan S.J.
The Convergence Of The First Amendment And Vatican Ii On Religious Freedom, Robert F. Drinan S.J.
Michigan Law Review
Did the United States radiate the views of James Madison on the free exercise of religion to the world? That, in essence, is the main thrust of this provocative study by John T. Noonan, Jr., Professor Emeritus at the University of California Law School, Berkeley, and a Senior Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Noonan is, of course, the author of magisterial books on abortion, birth control, legal ethics, and related issues. He writes as a committed Catholic who takes pride in the religion that he learned as a child in his native Brookline, Massachusetts. …
Restoring Rights To Rites: The Religious Motivation Test And The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Steven C. Seeger
Restoring Rights To Rites: The Religious Motivation Test And The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Steven C. Seeger
Michigan Law Review
This Note argues that the religious motivation test best secures the religious liberty guaranteed by the Constitution and the RFRA. Part I examines the text and legislative history of the Act and establishes that Congress intended to protect religiously motivated practices. Part II argues that the free exercise case law prior to Smith, to which the RFRA explicitly appeals, did not require litigants to prove centrality or compulsion. Part III demonstrates that the religious motivation test protects the full spectrum of religious practices and religious groups, unlike the centrality test and the compulsion test. Part IV illustrates that the motivation …
Balancing Cultural Integrity Against Individual Liberty: Civil Court Review Of Ecclesiastical Judgments, Michael G. Weisberg
Balancing Cultural Integrity Against Individual Liberty: Civil Court Review Of Ecclesiastical Judgments, Michael G. Weisberg
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note considers the standard of deference that civil courts should apply in cases where a religious judicatory already has decided an issue which subsequently is submitted for civil court resolution. It proposes a framework designed to protect the rights of religious groups to preserve their cultural integrity while also protecting individuals' personal liberty and the interests of the secular state. The analysis is necessarily framed by the opposing demands of the First Amendment's religion clauses. The Free Exercise Clause prohibits civil courts from intruding into religious societies' internal affairs, and the Establishment Clause limits religious authority over secular issues. …
The Integration Of Religious Liberty, John Witte Jr.
The Integration Of Religious Liberty, John Witte Jr.
Michigan Law Review
A Review of A Nation Dedicated to Religious Liberty: The constitutional Heritage of the Religion Clauses by Arlin M. Adams and Charles J. Emmerich
Michigan's Teacher Certification Requirement As Applied To Religiously Motivated Home Schools, Donald D. Dorman
Michigan's Teacher Certification Requirement As Applied To Religiously Motivated Home Schools, Donald D. Dorman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note defends the thesis that the teacher-certification requirement of Michigan's compulsory attendance statute is unconstitutional as applied to people who, for sincere religious reasons, believe they must teach their children at home. Michigan courts have incorrectly applied a rational-basis test in regulating religiously motivated home schools, rather than the strict scrutiny required by the U.S. Supreme Court for cases involving both the free exercise of religion and parents' interest in directing their children's education.
Toward A Universal Standard: Free Exercise And The Sanctuary Movement, Troy Harris
Toward A Universal Standard: Free Exercise And The Sanctuary Movement, Troy Harris
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note will first look at the combination of circumstances and beliefs that compel members of the Sanctuary Movement to break the law. Second, it will examine current free exercise doctrine that may provide first amendment protection to Sanctuary workers, concluding that the cases reflect two parallel, yet incompatible, rationales. Following one line of cases, Sanctuary activity should be protected; following the other line, it should be condemned. Third, this Note will resolve the inconsistency of these rationales by proposing a new universal test for free exercise claims. Fourth, it will explore the details of recent cases involving Sanctuary workers …
The Elementary And Secondary Education Act The Implications Of The Trust-Fund Theory For The Church-State Questions Raised By Title I, Jon Feikens
Michigan Law Review
The issues raised by the granting of federal aid both to education in general and to non-public education in particular have caused considerable controversy in recent years. Although several federal statutes dealing with various aspects of both types of aid had been enacted previously, the early 1960's saw an increased desire on the part of Congress to enter this area with a comprehensive plan. Finally, in 1965, the question of aid to education in general was resolved in favor of carrying the war on poverty to the elementary and secondary schools. Simultaneously, a so-called "church-state settlement" was reached whereby it …