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2009

Religion Law

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Protecting Neglect: The Constitutionality Of Spiritual Healing Exemptions To Child Protection Statutes, Scott St. Amand Jan 2009

Protecting Neglect: The Constitutionality Of Spiritual Healing Exemptions To Child Protection Statutes, Scott St. Amand

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

This comment examines the historically uncertain balance between an individual's right to freely exercise his religious beliefs and the state's countervailing interest to protect the welfare of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens. By detailing the history of this fragile relationship through its statutory and judicial renderings, this comment will illustrate that spiritual exemptions to child protection statutes violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and conflict directly with multiple landmark Supreme Court decisions.


The Pulpit Initiative: Fighting To Return America's First Freedom To Her Churches, David Abbondanza Jan 2009

The Pulpit Initiative: Fighting To Return America's First Freedom To Her Churches, David Abbondanza

Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest

This Comment looks at the foundational principles of the Pulpit Initiative and examines first, whence the need for a change came, and second, whether it is likely to come about. Part 11 examines the historical developments that resulted in the 1954 amendment banning pastors from speaking on candidates from the pulpit. Part III focuses on the ADF and its rationale for bringing about change along with the constitutional reasoning behind its arguments. Part IV provides some concluding remarks surrounding this initiative's likely future and whether the ADF and its associated pastors stand a chance of succeeding against the United States …