Law Commons^™

Does U.S. Federal Employment Law Now Cover Caste Discrimination Based On Untouchability?: If All Else Fails There Is The Possible Application Of Bostock V. Clayton County, Kevin D. Brown, Lalit Khandare, Annapurna Waughray, Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, Theodore M. Shaw

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article discusses the issue of whether a victim of caste discrimination based on untouchability can assert a claim of intentional employment discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981. This article contends that there are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is a form of religious discrimination under Title VII. The question of whether caste discrimination is a form of race or national origin discrimination under Title VII or Section 1981 depends upon how the courts apply these definitions to caste discrimination based on untouchability. There are legitimate arguments that this form of discrimination is recognized within the concept …

Religious Arguments, Religious Purposes, And The Gay And Lesbian Rights Cases, Steve Sanders

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Once We Were Slaves, Now We Are Free: Legal, Administrative, And Social Issues Raised By Passover Celebrations In Prison, Aviva A. Orenstein

Articles by Maurer Faculty

"Once we were slaves, now we are free" is a central line from the Jewish Passover Seder, a ritual meal in which participants retell the story of liberation from Pharaoh's oppression. In prison, many Jewish inmates request access to a Seder and to kosher-for-Passover food for the eight-day holiday. Prisoners' requests to celebrate Passover provide a rich example for exploring the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act (RLUIPA) and raise a host of tough questions regarding cost, safety, equal treatment of prisoners, and establishment of religion. Because kosher-for-Passover meals are more expensive and generally of higher quality than regular …

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 …

Religion, Government, And Law In The Contemporary United States, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this Essay, I discuss the relationship between religion and government in the contemporary United States, addressing the period from the 1940s to the present. In so doing, I explore questions of religious liberty, including the protection of religious “free exercise” as well as the constitutional prohibition on the establishment of religion, a prohibition that sometimes - but not always - has been construed to require a “wall of separation” between church and state. I focus especially on the Supreme Court’s evolving interpretations of the First Amendment during this period, which, I suggest, were influenced by broader religious, cultural, and …

Religious Truth, Pluralism, And Secularization: The Shaking Foundations Of American Religious Liberty, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this Essay, I recount John Locke’s 1689 Letter Concerning Toleration and explain how religious liberty continues to rest on Lockean and related justifications. These various justifications depend in part on religious-moral reasoning (both Christian and non-Christian) and in part on political-pragmatic considerations. I then discuss recent and ongoing developments in the American religious landscape, including a radical increase in religious diversity, the modernization of traditional faiths, the individualization or "spiritualization" of religion, and the increasing secularization of individual belief structures. I suggest that these developments, over time, may seriously threaten the underlying religious-moral and political-pragmatic foundations of religious liberty …

Conference: Laïcité In Comparative Perspective, Elisabeth Zoller, Marc O. Degirolami, Nina Crimm, Javier Martínez-Torrón

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Liberty: Rethinking An Imperiled Ideal By Glenn Tinder, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

"Render Unto Caesar...": Religion/Ethics, Expertise, And The Historical Underpinnings Of The Modern American Tax System, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Articles by Maurer Faculty

A variety of scholars and commentators have been recently exploring the connections between religion and current U.S. tax policy. The relationship between religion and American taxation, however, runs much deeper than our present period. Indeed, it is no coincidence that roughly a century ago the foundations of our current tax system were taking shape at the height of the religious and ethical fervor known as the Social Gospel movement. At that time, religious and ethical sentiments played a central, though ambivalent, role in fiscal reform. This Article investigates the influence of religious and ethical values on the tax reform struggles …

Book Review. The Supreme Court And Religion In American Life, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Free Exercise, Federalism, And The States As Laboratories, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Professing Professionals: Christian Pilots On The River Of Law, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Congressional Alternatives In The Wake Of City Of Boerne V. Flores: The (Limited) Role Of Congress In Protecting Religious Freedom From State And Local Infringement, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article discusses and analyzes City of Boerne v. Flores, the Supreme Court's 1997 decision invalidating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) as applied to state and local governments, and it explores a variety of ways in which Congress might respond to Boerne with legislation that might survive constitutional scrutiny. In particular, the article addresses the following statutory possibilities: more narrowly tailored legislation grounded on Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment; RFRA-like legislation grounded on Congress's power over interstate commerce or its power to implement treaties; and spending-power legislation imposing RFRA-like conditions on the receipt of federal funding …

Secular Fundamentalism, Religious Fundamentalism, And The Search For Truth In Contemporary America, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this article, I suggest that America's ongoing culture war is a product, in part, of an epistemic crisis that confounds our collective search for truth. In a previous article addressing aspects of this topic, I expressed concerns about religious fundamentalism. Here, I explore the ways in which secular thinking might likewise be described as "fundamentalist." In particular, I discuss secular fundamentalism in textual interpretation, secular fundamentalism in the form of political liberalism, and comprehensive secular fundamentalism, which extends to private questions of truth. I then discuss the various problems - not only political, but also theological - that are …

Book Review. Choosing The Dream: The Future Of Religion In American Public Life By F. M. Gedicks And R. Hendrix, Daniel O. Conkle

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Volitionalism And Religious Liberty, David C. Williams, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Church-State Relationships In America By Gerald V. Bradley, Richard M. Fraher

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Biblical Atonement And Modern Criminal Law, Jerome Hall

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In Western civilization, a rationally ordered universe and human rationality are the central tenets of theology and moral philosophy. Conceptions, values, and principles implied by these premises have become entrenched in social and legal institutions. Concluding that religious teachings, even those of antiquity, are consistent with modern legal principles is reasonable, and almost common sense. An inquiry into whether this relationship is to any extent causal is fascinating. Professor Jerome Hall, the first President of AMINTAPHIL, discusses the relationship between the Christian doctrine of atonement and principles of modern criminal law.

The Uses Of Myth: A Response To Professor Bassett, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Paul, The Lawyer, On Law, Jerome Hall

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Reinterpreting The Religion Clauses: Constitutional Construction And Conceptions Of The Self, Susan H. Williams

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The first amendment guarantees freedom from "law[s] respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The apparent tension between the two clauses of this provision has generated judicial confusion and scholarly disagreement. The perceived conflict between the religion clauses is the product of a particular understanding of what is most fundamental about human identity and the human situation - an understanding that derives from classical liberal political theory and that assumes a sharp division between the individual and his community. This Note proposes an alternative to the liberal conception of human identity, one that encompasses both the …

Biblical Atonement And Modern Criminal Law, Jerome Hall

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Legal History And The Law Of Blasphemy, Morris S. Arnold

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Tancred's "Summala De Criminibus": A New Text And A Key To The Ordo Iudiciarius, Richard M. Fraher

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Religion, Law And Ethics -- A Call For Dialogue, Jerome Hall

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Alanus Anglicus And The Summa "Induent Sancti", Richard M. Fraher

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Preferment Of Religious Institutions In Tax And Labor Legislation, Monrad G. Paulsen

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

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

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.