Religion Law Commons^™

A More Capacious Concept Of Church, Philip Hackney, Samuel D. Brunson

Articles

United States tax law provides churches with extra benefits and robust protection from IRS enforcement actions. Churches and religious organizations are automatically exempt from the income tax without needing to apply to be so recognized and without needing to file a tax return. Beyond that, churches are protected from audit by stringent procedures. There are good reasons to consider providing a distance between church and state, including the state tax authority. In many instances, Congress granted churches preferential tax treatment to try to avoid excess entanglement between church and state, though that preferential treatment often just shifts the locus of …

An Extended Essay On Church Autonomy, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

The doctrine of church autonomy has its own exclusive line of precedent running from Watson v. Jones (1872) through Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral (1952) - where the doctrine was first recognized as having First Amendment stature - and culminating with renewed vigor for religious institutional autonomy in the unanimous decision of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC (2012). Attention to church autonomy has expanded rapidly since the Supreme Court’s decision in Hosanna-Tabor, and its scope is much disputed as it pushes aside other claims and interests. In its most familiar form—the “ministerial exception” - it is …

What Is Caesar's, What Is God's: Fundamental Public Policy For Churches, Lloyd Histoshi Mayer, Zachary B. Pohlman

Journal Articles

Bob Jones University v. United States is both a highly debated Supreme Court decision and a rarely applied one. Its recognition of a contrary to fundamental public policy doctrine that could cause an otherwise tax-exempt organization to lose its favorable federal tax status remains highly controversial, although the Court has shown no inclination to revisit the case and Congress has shown no desire to change the underlying statutes to alter the case’s result. That lack of action may be in part because the IRS applies the decision in relatively rare and narrow circumstances.

The mention of the decision during oral …

Law Library Blog (September 2020): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Is This A Christian Nation?: Virtual Symposium September 25, 2020, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Let My Arm Be Broken Off At The Elbow, Chad J. Pomeroy

Faculty Articles

Though the American legal system is deferential toward religion and churches, it is undeniable that the Church of Latter-day Saints-and other like organizations-are not just churches. They are, instead, important participants in the market economy, some of them global business enterprises of major proportions. This twinning of profit and spirit is seamless for many religions, with numerous modem churches preaching a "prosperity gospel" that promises spiritual and temporal blessings in return for donations."' Still other churches-such as the Church of Scientology-directly charge for religious services that are "necessary" for spiritual improvement and advancement in the church hierarchy. And still others …

Master File, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. V. Colo. Civil Rights Comm., __ U.S. __ (2017): Legislative History Of Sb08-200, Matt Simonsen

Research Data

This Master File of the legislative history of a 2008 amendment to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) was researched and compiled by Matt Simonsen, J.D. Candidate 2019, University of Colorado Law School, and submitted to law professors Craig Konnoth and Melissa Hart. The SB08-200 Master File is cited in Brief of Amici Curiae Colorado Organizations and Individuals in Support of Respondents, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, __U.S.__ (2018) (No. 16-111).

449 p.

Churches' Lobbying And Campaigning: A Proposed Statutory Safe Harbor For Internal Church Communications, Edward A. Zelinsky

Articles

President Trump, reiterating the position he took during the presidential campaign, has recently reaffirmed his pledge to “get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment,” the provision of the Internal Revenue Code which prohibits tax-exempt institutions from participating in political campaigns. The Code also bars tax-exempt institutions, including churches, from substantial lobbying activities.

Rather than the blanket repeal of the Johnson Amendment proposed by President Trump, I argue for a statutory safe harbor for the internal communications of churches. This limited safe harbor would protect in-house church discussions from both Section 501(c)(3)’s ban on substantial lobbying and from that …

Newsroom: Donald Trump Vs. Roger Williams 05-09-2017, David Logan

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Magna Carta’S Freedom For The English Church, Dwight G. Duncan

Faculty Publications

Even after, eight centuries, this provision of Magna Carta is one of the few that remains in effect. A statement of principle that the Church in England should be free from outside domination, it is an ancestor of our American belief in separation of Church and State and the guarantee of free exercise of religion contained in the First Amendment. In English history, people died for this principle, on various sides of the denominational divides. It was not always vindicated in practice. But, since at least the end of the thirteenth century, it has ever been on the statute books …

Bankrupting The Faith, Pamela Foohey

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Article presents the results of a comprehensive empirical study of religious organizations that filed bankruptcy under Chapter 11 from the beginning of 2006 to the end of 2011. It examines the institutions’ characteristics, reasons for filing, and case outcomes to investigate whether Chapter 11 is an effective solution to their financial problems. In investigating the religious organizations’ cases, the Article also assesses the role of bankruptcy courts in adjudicating Chapter 11 cases and places the cases within theories about the larger purposes of Chapter 11.

The study finds that the vast majority of debtors are small organizations that operate …

Liberty Of The Exercise Of Religion In The Peace Of Westphalia, Gordon A. Christenson

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This essay honors my dear friend of half a century, Burns Weston. In it, I take a fresh look at the backdrop and structure of toleration and religious freedom in the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 and in the American Constitution, with special focus on a recent unanimous Supreme Court decision of first impression. That important decision protects inner church freedoms in ecclesiastical employment, the so-called "ministerial exception" to federal and state employment discrimination laws.

"Of all the great world religions past and present," writes the noted historian Perez Zagorin, "Christianity has been by far the most intolerant." Violence and …

The Siren Song Of History: Originalism And The Religion Clauses, Jeffrey Shulman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

It is hard to foresee much happiness in the lot of those seeking the original meaning of the Religion Clauses. We may acknowledge the opacity of the historical record, the variety of viewpoints held by founders forgotten and non-forgotten, the humanness of the founders who did not always practice what they preached, even the basic indeterminancy of language; still, we are seduced by the siren song of interpretive certainty. But the search for greater clarity is not without its payoff. As the three books under review here illustrate, the more we look for answers in the historical record, the more …

Hein And Goldilocks Principle, Maya Manian

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Two weeks into his presidency, George W. Bush issued an executive order establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) to encourage religious groups to provide federally funded social services. In particular, the OFBCI and its corresponding centers in various executive agencies sought to help religious organizations obtain federal grant monies by providing technical assistance to help them navigate the often byzantine bureaucracy surrounding federal grant-making. The OFBCI achieved its goal of increasing federal grants to religious organizations, in part by funding workshops and conferences designed to aid religious groups pursuing federal financing. Concerned that the Bush …

The Balance Sheet Of Law And Religion, Frank E. Horack Jr.

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.