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The Intersection Of Civil And Religious Family Law In The U.S. Constitutional Order: A Mild Legal Pluralism, Linda C. Mcclain
The Intersection Of Civil And Religious Family Law In The U.S. Constitutional Order: A Mild Legal Pluralism, Linda C. Mcclain
Faculty Scholarship
This chapter considers how civil and religious family law intersect in the U.S. legal system and how U.S. constitutional law shapes and constrains the accommodation of religious pluralism as it pertains to family law. To the question, “Is there too much or too little pluralism in U.S. family law?,” I answer that family law appropriately embraces a mild legal pluralism, while clearly distinguishing between civil and religious marriage. After illustrating this distinction in the context of the recent controversy over same-sex marriage, I consider two categories of cases: (1) cases in which courts consider whether to enforce terms of Jewish …
Is There A Way Forward In The 'War Over The Family'?, Linda C. Mcclain
Is There A Way Forward In The 'War Over The Family'?, Linda C. Mcclain
Faculty Scholarship
When Judge Posner, in Baskin v. Bogan, expressed incredulity -- given actual demographic trends in family formation -- that state marriage laws excluding same-sex couples furthered interests in “channeling” procreative sex and addressing accidental pregnancy, he brought together two conversations about marriage, family law, and family life that too often proceed independently. In the first, same-sex couples challenging marriage laws and the courts who rule in their favor emphasize the high stakes of exclusion by characterizing marriage as an incomparable institution and a signal that one’s intimate commitment is worthy of equal respect and dignity. To be left out of …