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Full-Text Articles in Law
Comparing Literary And Biblical Hermeneutics To Constitutional And Statutory Interpretation, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.
Comparing Literary And Biblical Hermeneutics To Constitutional And Statutory Interpretation, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.
Pepperdine Law Review
Interpreters determine the meaning of language. To interpret literary and biblical texts, scholars have developed detailed rules, methods, and theories of human understanding. This branch of knowledge, “hermeneutics,” features three basic approaches. First, “textualists” treat words as directly conveying their ordinary meaning to a competent reader today. Second, “contextualists” maintain that verbal meaning depends on generally shared linguistic conventions in the particular historical and cultural environment of the author—and that therefore translations or commentaries are necessary to make the writing intelligible to a modern reader. Third, “hermeneutic circle” scholars argue that texts have no objective meaning. Rather, a person’s subjective …
Reconsidering Thornton V. Caldor, Christopher C. Lund
Reconsidering Thornton V. Caldor, Christopher C. Lund
Law Faculty Research Publications
No abstract provided.
Religious Accommodation, The Establishment Clause, And Third-Party Harm, Mark Storslee
Religious Accommodation, The Establishment Clause, And Third-Party Harm, Mark Storslee
Journal Articles
In the wake of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, religious accommodation has become increasingly controversial. That controversy has given rise to a new legal theory gaining popularity among academics and possibly a few Supreme Court justices: the idea that the First Amendment's Establishment Clause condemns accommodations whenever they generate anything beyond a minimal cost for third parties.
The third-party thesis is appealing. But this Article argues that there are good reasons to believe it falls short as an interpretation of the Establishment Clause. In its place, the Article offers a new theory for understanding the relationship between costly accommodations and the …
Taking Stock Of The Religion Clauses, John D. Inazu
Taking Stock Of The Religion Clauses, John D. Inazu
Scholarship@WashULaw
After a few decades of relative quiet, the Supreme Court has in recent years focused once again on the religion clauses and related statutes.