Religion Law Commons^™

Between Description And Prescription: Law, Wittgenstein, And Constitutional Faith, Gregory Brazeal

West Virginia Law Review

The occasions on which ajudge or legal scholar has peered into the depths of the Constitution and found, to her surprise, that the Constitutionrequiresthe opposite ofher ideologicalpreferences, are extremely rare. Yetjudges andscholarscontinuetopresenttheirconclusionsastheproduct ofideologicallyneutralreasoning,while often criticizingthe ideologicalbiasin thereasoningoftheiropponents.A Wittgensteinianperspectiveonthenatureof legaldiscoursecanshed lighton thispuzzlinglypersistentstateofaffairs. Legal discourse, includingconstitutionalargument, is partly defined by the blending ofdescriptive reasoningabout what the law is with prescriptivereasoningabout what the law ought to be. To reach a legal conclusion based on a blend of descriptiveandprescriptivereasoning,andtophrasethis conclusion aspurely descriptive, as legal actors habitually do, is not to violate the rules of legal discourse, but to abide by them. Taking this conception …

Church Liability For Clergy Sexual Abuse: Have Time And Events Overthrown Swanson V. Roman Catholic Bishop Of Portland?, Sonia J. Buck

Maine Law Review

In Swanson v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, Albert and Ruth Swanson sued their former pastor, Father Maurice Morin, after the couple's marriage counseling sessions with Father Morin led to a sexual relationship between Father Morin and Mrs. Swanson. The Swansons brought claims against Father Morin for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent pastoral counseling. They also sued the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, a corporation, and Bishop Joseph Gerry in his personal capacity (collectively referred to as the “Church”) for negligence in selecting, training, and supervising Father Morin. The Maine Superior Court dismissed the claims against …

Education Funding In Maine In Light Of Zelman And Locke: Too Much Play In The Joints?, Sarah M. Lavigne

Maine Law Review

The United States Supreme Court has struggled with the countervailing directives of the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause for decades. One area in which this battle has been particularly contentious is the issue of public funding of religious schools. On one hand, opponents argue that such funding is an impermissible co-mingling of church and state, thereby violating the Establishment Clause. Meanwhile, proponents of public funding of religious schools argue that, to withhold funding from religious schools would place a burden on those wishing to send their children to religious schools, thereby impermissibly preventing individuals from practicing their faith …

God's Green Earth? The Environmental Impacts Of Religious Land Use, Kellen Zale

Maine Law Review

Boulder County, Colorado has been at the forefront of the environmental movement for decades. Starting with its citizens’ vote in 1967 to implement a tax specifically to preserve open space, the city has long been known for its progressive environmental policies. At the center of Boulder’s environmental protection efforts is a comprehensive system of land use regulations designed to mitigate the slow chokehold of ever-encroaching development on wetlands and open space, on groundwater and soils, and on wildlife and native species. Numerous communities across the country have followed Boulder’s much-praised model and enacted their own environmental zoning laws to protect …

Applying Strict Scrutiny: An Empirical Analysis Of Free Exercise Cases, Caleb C. Wolanek, Heidi Liu

Montana Law Review

Applying Strict Scrutiny: An Empirical Analysis of Free Exercise Cases

Catholic Institutions In Court: The Religion Clauses And Political-Legal Compromise, Angela C. Carmella

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Who Decides? The Title Ix Religious Exemption And Administrative Authority, Elise S. Faust

BYU Law Review

The Title IX religious exemption demonstrates how statutory religious exemptions can help further social change by neutralizing potential conflict with religious dissenters. Part of the reason for its success is that it is narrowly constructed and automatically applies to qualifying institutions. However, the regulations contradict the statutory text by potentially giving the Department of Education discretion to grant or deny exemptions. Were the Department to fully exercise this power, its actions would conflict with both the language of the statute and the Constitution. The Department of Education’s recent scrutiny of the “controlled by” language of the exemption provides an example …

Why Religious Freedom? Why The Religiously Committed, The Religiously Indifferent, And Those Hostile To Religion Should Care, Brett G. Scharffs

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law: If These Walls Could Talk: Giving Undue Deference To Religious Actors By Expanding The Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine—Pfeil V. St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Unaltered Augsburg Confession, Jeremy D.F. Krahn

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

God And State Preambles, Peter J. Smith, Robert W. Tuttle

Marquette Law Review

Those who question the permissibility of official acknowledgements of God might be surprised to learn that the preambles of forty-five of the fifty state constitutions expressly invoke God. The practice is common in both liberal and conservative states and is equally prevalent in all regions of the country. Virtually all of those preambles give thanks to God, and many also seek God's blessing n the state's endeavors. Yet there has been no detailed assessment of the preambles' history or significance. This paper seeks to remedy that gap.

The preambles complicate the claim that official acknowledgements of God are incompatible with …