Law Commons^™

Originalism V. Originalism: How James Madison's Understanding Of The Establishment Clause Can Help Combat Christian Nationalism, Patrick Sawyer

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Note will focus on what can be done to prevent Christian Nationalism from ending the Establishment Clause. Part I will focus on the cases that defined former Establishment Clause doctrine and how recent cases have done away with the parameters laid out in those earlier cases. Part II will focus on the understanding that James Madison had about the Establishment Clause. Part III will argue that Madison’s understanding of complete separation can and should be codified either under Congress’ enforcement power under the Fourteenth Amendment or the Spending Power of Article I. Part IV will consider how a statute …

Appendix B - Tax Funds For Religious Schools, Allan Walker Vestal

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Tax-Funded Education Savings Account Payments To Religious Schools Violate State Constitution Compulsion Guarantees: The Iowa Example, Allan Walker Vestal

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

[...] This Article makes the unremarkable and conservative argument that the transfer of public funds to religious schools under Iowa’s education savings account program violates the Iowa Constitution’s compulsion guarantee.

We start by looking at the Iowa compulsion guarantee, including a review of the Iowa authorities which have construed it, the historical record and setting of its adoption, and the history of its New Jersey antecedent. We then introduce the education savings account mechanism by which Iowa’s religious schools stand to receive more than a third of a billion dollars annually by FY 2027. After that, we consider whether education …

Secondary Meaning And Religion: An Analysis Of Religious Symbols In The Courts, Eric D. Yordy, Elizabeth Brown

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In the Supreme Court’s most recent freedom of religion case, Justice Alito and Justice Ginsburg disagreed about the actual and potential meaning of the Latin cross, a traditional symbol of Christianity in which the upright leg of the cross is longer than the horizontal arms of the cross. Justice Alito stated that the Latin cross, while not losing its religious meaning, has acquired what might be called a “secondary meaning” as a symbol of World War I. He couched his analysis in language suggesting that a religious symbol’s meaning may depend on its circumstances. While he also denied that he …