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Unleashing Or Harnessing 'Armies Of Compassion'?: Reflections On The Faith-Based Initiative, Linda C. Mcclain Jan 2008

Unleashing Or Harnessing 'Armies Of Compassion'?: Reflections On The Faith-Based Initiative, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

A central tenet of President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative, launched in 2001, is that the federal government, by entering into more partnerships with religious and community organizations, should put the power of faith to work to solve pressing social problems. Proponents of the initiative have invoked the eighteenth-century French writer Alexis de Tocqueville's famous observations about the American propensity to join various voluntary associations as well as the Catholic principle of subsidiarity. Seven years into the faith-based initiative, challenging questions remain about what, exactly, it means to put faith to work. Such questions deserve attention, given the institutionalization of …


Cultural Values And Government, Walter E. Dellinger Iii Jan 2008

Cultural Values And Government, Walter E. Dellinger Iii

Faculty Scholarship

Mr. Dellinger Mr. Dellinger originally delivered these remarks for the panel entitled The Role of Government in Defining Our Culture, at the Federalist Society’s 2006 National Lawyers Convention, on Saturday, November 18, 2006, in Washington, D.C. commenting on the Ninth Circuit decision Finley v. National Endowment for the Arts. The case involved the constitutionality of the Helms Amendment which required that the National Endowment for the Arts take decency into account in choosing who should be awarded artistic grants.


Shifting Out Of Neutral: Intelligent Design And The Road To Nonpreferentialism, Kelly S. Terry Jan 2008

Shifting Out Of Neutral: Intelligent Design And The Road To Nonpreferentialism, Kelly S. Terry

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Creeping Impoverization: Material Conditions, Income Inequality, And Erisa Pedagogy Early In The 21st Century, Maria O'Brien May 2007

Creeping Impoverization: Material Conditions, Income Inequality, And Erisa Pedagogy Early In The 21st Century, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

To say that poverty remains one of the most pressing issues of our time is a colossal understatement. A staggering number of people on the planet live in poverty. In the United States alone, the working poor and those living at or below the poverty line make up 12.6 percent of our populace.' While these individuals may not all be in imminent danger of starving or homelessness, they often lack basic safeguards that those in the upper socio-economic levels of society take for granted: basic health insurance, access to pension programs, disability coverage, and the certainty of a living wage …


The Role Of The 'Natural Family' In Religious Opposition To Human Rights Instruments, Linda C. Mcclain Jan 2007

The Role Of The 'Natural Family' In Religious Opposition To Human Rights Instruments, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter examines how the vision of the natural family articulated by several prominent conservativereligious organizations in the United States shapes their opposition to certain human rights instruments. TheUnited Nations' 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child seems to reflect an advance in internationalhuman rights formulations and to have generated a high degree of formal commitment by governments, as evidenced by its quick and virtually universal ratification. However, the United States stands nearly alone innot having ratified the Convention, and the religious groups examined in this chapter strenuously urge that it should not do so, lest it undermine the …


The Role Of Religion In The Schiavo Controversy, Barbara A. Noah Jan 2006

The Role Of Religion In The Schiavo Controversy, Barbara A. Noah

Faculty Scholarship

The brief life of Theresa Marie Schiavo and the dispute over her end-of-life care captured public awareness in a way that few such cases have done. The reasons for the nearly unprecedented public attention to her case are two-fold. The decision by various religious groups and governmental entities to intervene in the dispute surrounding her care in order to promote conservative causes (some of them only tenuously related to her particular medical circumstances) prompted unusually intense media coverage. In addition, the ensuing publicity surrounding Theresa's tragic condition--an unexpected cardiac arrest left her in a permanent vegetative state at the age …


Between Rogues And Liberals: Towards Value Pluralism As A Theory Of Freedom Of Religion In International Law, Peter G. Danchin Jan 2006

Between Rogues And Liberals: Towards Value Pluralism As A Theory Of Freedom Of Religion In International Law, Peter G. Danchin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Intelligent Judging: Evolution In The Classroom And The Courtroom, George J. Annas Jan 2006

Intelligent Judging: Evolution In The Classroom And The Courtroom, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

Religious arguments have permeated debates on the role of the law in medical practice at the beginning and the end of life. But nowhere has religion played so prominent a role as in the century-old quest to banish or marginalize the teaching of evolution in science classes. Nor has new genetics research that supports evolutionary theory at the molecular level dampened antievolution sentiment. Requiring public-school science teachers to teach specific religion-based alternatives to Darwin's theory of evolution is just as bad, in the words of political comedian Bill Maher, as requiring obstetricians to teach medical students the alternative theory that …


Family Constitutions And The (New) Constitution Of The Family, Linda C. Mcclain Jan 2006

Family Constitutions And The (New) Constitution Of The Family, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

This article looks at a topic that has received little attention in the legal literature: constitution making by families. Of what interest is it to constitutional law and family law, and to those interested in the state of the family, that families undertake to draft - and are urged by assorted experts on the family to draft - family constitutions (by analogy to the U.S. constitution) and family mission statements (by analogy to corporate mission statements)? This article contends that this reported trend is a fruitful topic of inquiry, since it bears on important questions about the dynamics of family …


'God's Created Order', Gender Complementarity, And The Federal Marriage Amendment, Linda C. Mcclain Jan 2006

'God's Created Order', Gender Complementarity, And The Federal Marriage Amendment, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

Does marriage, in the United States, need the protection of an amendment to the federal constitution, which would enshrine marriage as only the union of a man and a woman? In answering "yes" to this question, sponsors and supporters of the Federal Marriage Protection Amendment (FMPA), in the House of Representatives and the Senate, have made various appeals to the gender complementarity of marriage: (1) opposite-sex marriage is part of "God's created order;" (2) procreation is the purpose of marriage and has a tight nexus with optimal mother/father parenting; (3) marriage bridges the "gender divide" by properly ordering heterosexual desire …


Too Much, Too Little: Religion In The Public Schools, Jay D. Wexler Jan 2006

Too Much, Too Little: Religion In The Public Schools, Jay D. Wexler

Faculty Scholarship

The current state of religion in the nation's public schools is odd indeed. On the one hand, the courts have consistently held that public school teachers may not lead their students in an organized prayer. Yet on the other hand, most people seem to agree that there is no problem with those same teachers leading their students in the Pledge of Allegiance, an exercise that asks students on a daily basis, not only to explicitly recognize the existence of a single god, but also to link the nation's very identity to that highly contested theological proposition. Likewise, despite the fact …


Sacred Visions Of Law, Robert L. Tsai Jan 2005

Sacred Visions Of Law, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

Around the time of the Bicentennial Celebration of the U.S. Constitution's framing, Professor Sanford Levinson called upon Americans to renew our constitutional faith. This article answers the call by examining how two legal symbols - Marbury v. Madison and Brown v. Board of Education - have been used by jurists over the years to tend the American community of faith. Blending constitutional theory and the study of religious form, the article argues that the decisions have become increasingly linked in the legal imagination even as they have come to signify very different sacred visions of law. One might think that …


Darwin, Design, And Disestablishment: Teaching The Evolution Controversy In Public Schools, Jay D. Wexler Jan 2003

Darwin, Design, And Disestablishment: Teaching The Evolution Controversy In Public Schools, Jay D. Wexler

Faculty Scholarship

The controversy over teaching evolution in public schools is once again hot news. Ever since the Supreme Court decided in 1987 that Louisiana could not constitutionally require teachers to give equal time to teaching creation science and evolution, critics of evolution have adopted a variety of new strategies to change the way in which public schools present the subject to their students. These strategies have included teaching evolution as a "theory" rather than as a fact, disclaiming the truth of evolutionary theory, teaching arguments against evolution, teaching the allegedly nontheistic theory of intelligent design instead of creationism, removing evolution from …


Framing The Public Square, Jay D. Wexler Jan 2002

Framing The Public Square, Jay D. Wexler

Faculty Scholarship

For at least the past decade or so, law-and-religion scholars have vigorously debated the issue of whether it is proper for American citizens to rely on religious reasons when talking about and reaching decisions on issues of public concern, including law. Those who argue that religion should be kept out of such decisionmaking and discourse contend that reliance on religious reasons: (1) violates principles of separation of church and state, (2) unfairly excludes nonbelievers from meaningful participation in public discourse, (3) creates unacceptable divisiveness, and (4) risks the domination of Christian beliefs in public discourse to the detriment of religious …


Preparing For The Clothed Public Square: Teaching About Religion, Civic Education, And The Constitution, Jay D. Wexler Jan 2002

Preparing For The Clothed Public Square: Teaching About Religion, Civic Education, And The Constitution, Jay D. Wexler

Faculty Scholarship

Although law and religion scholars have long argued about whether American culture marginalizes religious belief, many important indicators suggest that religion indeed plays a prominent role in contemporary American life. America is an extremely religious nation. Polls consistently show that about ninety percent of Americans continue to believe in God, and both church attendance and membership remain at high levels. This religiosity, moreover, spills out into the public square. A great many Americans rely on religious reasons when thinking and talking about public issues. Ninety percent of the members of Congress, by one report, consult their religious beliefs when voting …


Is Tom Shaffer A Covenantal Lawyer?, Marie Failinger Jan 2002

Is Tom Shaffer A Covenantal Lawyer?, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

In this festschrift article in honor of Tom Shaffer, the author considers what Shaffer’s work may share with “covenantal” ethics, a form of ethical argument that is not interchangeable with other traditions familiar from Shaffer’s body of work, such as the ethics of friendship or care or the ethics of virtue. Describing the ancient understanding of covenants, the article explores a few of the complexities arising from covenantal ethics in a professional context, themes such as the creation of obligation by historical decision, which has implications for the treatment of strangers; the ambivalence of covenantal ethics on the value of …


Re/Forming And Influencing Public Policy, Law And Religion: Missing From The Table, Laura M. Padilla Jan 2001

Re/Forming And Influencing Public Policy, Law And Religion: Missing From The Table, Laura M. Padilla

Faculty Scholarship

Taking a leap to be at a table from which Mexican American women have always been absent, and are still not invited, takes tremendous courage, knowing that much personal sacrifice will be required. This Essay addresses why Mexican American women have been absent from the tables of influence in the worlds of public policy, religion, and law, and how they can establish their presence as part of an anti-subordination agenda.


Latinas And Religion: Subordination Or State Of Grace?, Laura M. Padilla Jul 2000

Latinas And Religion: Subordination Or State Of Grace?, Laura M. Padilla

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay addresses how religion simultaneously subordinates Latinas while serving as a source of strength. More specifically, it focuses on Catholicism and how the same church and religion have a fragmented and varied impact on Latinas, particularly Mexican-Americans, with whom I am most familiar.


Religion And The Public Defender, Sadiq Reza Apr 1999

Religion And The Public Defender, Sadiq Reza

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay will argue that the public defender, or any other attorney appointed by the court to defend adults or juveniles charged with criminal offenses, should not undertake, or fail to undertake, any action to the legal detriment of a client on the basis of a conflict the attorney perceives between religious and professional imperatives, except in the rare case of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another. This argument rests on the following four premises: (1) the public defender occupies a unique position in our legal system, and options that may be available to lawyers who serve private …


Religious Rituals And Latcrit Theorizing, Margaret E. Montoya Jan 1998

Religious Rituals And Latcrit Theorizing, Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

After the first annual LatCrit conference held at La Jolla, California, Professor Keith Aoki observed that "issues of religion and spirituality are submerged not far below the surface of emerging Latina/o Critical Theory." He proposed that LatCrits begin to "unbracket" religious affiliation and identity in the construction and representation of individual and group racial identities. Professor Aoki further posited that "[i]n a paradoxical way, religion simultaneously may be both more and less difficult to voluntarily discard than race, language or nationality as a constitutive element of one's individual and group identity.


Jacob's Blessing, Cooperative Grace, And Practicing Law With A Limp, John M.A. Dipippa Jan 1998

Jacob's Blessing, Cooperative Grace, And Practicing Law With A Limp, John M.A. Dipippa

Faculty Scholarship

How does a lawyer's religious beliefs affect the lawyer's practice? I will answer that question by reflecting on baseball players, wrestling with mysterious strangers, and practicing law with a limp. This essay is divided into four sections. First, I will share the story of baseball star Sandy Koufax's refusal to pitch on Yom Kippur. Second, I will present a brief theology of grace. Third, I will discuss the Genesis story of Jacob's wrestling match with the Angel. Finally, I will relate a personal experience from my own practice. In truth, each of these sections demonstrates the same theme: that God's …


An Overview Of The Arkansas Civil Rights Act Of 1993, Theresa M. Beiner Jan 1997

An Overview Of The Arkansas Civil Rights Act Of 1993, Theresa M. Beiner

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Planned Constitution Never Got Written, But Israel Still Got Constitutional Law, Marcia R. Gelpe Jan 1995

Planned Constitution Never Got Written, But Israel Still Got Constitutional Law, Marcia R. Gelpe

Faculty Scholarship

Israel's development of constitutional law without a written constitution presents a fascinating picture of how a system, unable to develop a constitution in the usual manner, has developed one in another manner. It shows how innovative lawmaking can be - and sometimes must be - to maintain a democratic political system.


A Constitutional Right Of Religious Exemption: An Historical Perspective, Philip A. Hamburger Jan 1992

A Constitutional Right Of Religious Exemption: An Historical Perspective, Philip A. Hamburger

Faculty Scholarship

Did late eighteenth-century Americans understand the Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution to provide individuals a right of exemption from civil laws to which they had religious objections? Claims of exemption based on the Free Exercise Clause have prompted some of the Supreme Court's most prominent free exercise decisions, and therefore this historical inquiry about a right of exemption may have implications for our constitutional jurisprudence. Even if the Court does not adopt late eighteenth-century ideas about the free exercise of religion, we may, nonetheless, find that the history of such ideas can contribute to our contemporary analysis. …


A Judicial Postscript To The Church-State Debates Of 1989: How Porous The Wall, How Civil The State?, William W. Van Alstyne Jan 1990

A Judicial Postscript To The Church-State Debates Of 1989: How Porous The Wall, How Civil The State?, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Scholarship

This work is a continuation of the debate regarding the Establishment Clause. The focus lies with Justice O’Connor’s concurrence in County of Allegheny v. ACLU and how this opinion harkens back to a concept shared by Jefferson and Madison, that the establishment clause is designed to prevent government favoritism.