Law Commons^™

December 29, 2007: More On Craig Unger The Neocons And Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

More on Craig Unger the Neocons and Religion

December 28, 2007: The Neocons And Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

The Neocons and Religion

Mormons, Muslims, And Multiculturalism: The Deeply Dispiriting Romney-Huckabee Religion Showdown, Kenneth Anderson

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

American University, WCL Research Paper No. 2008-AbstractThis essay (6,000 words), which appeared in the Weekly Standard ostensibly as a comment on Mitt Romney's religion speech of December 2007, contains something to offend nearly everyone. It bluntly attacks presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and his evangelical followers for their demand for a Christian president, and calls them religious bigots.The essay also rejects, however, a central claim of Romney's religion speech, that all religious doctrines are beyond criticism or political argument - asserting that Romney, in the attempt to insulate himself from any questions of religion, has endorsed what might be called conservative …

December 23, 2007: The Evangelical Stance On Global Warming, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

The Evangelical Stance on Global Warming

December 19, 2007: More On Philip Pullman, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

More on Philip Pullman

December 7, 2007: Mitt Romney's Talk On Religion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Mitt Romney's Talk on Religion

Norming "Moderation" In An "Iconic Target": Public Policy And The Regulation Of Religious Anxieties In Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The maintenance of a “moderate mainstream” Muslim community as a bulwark against the fraying of harmonious ethnic relations has become a key governance concern post-September 11. In light of the global concern—and often paranoia—with diasporic Islam, Islamic religious institutions and civil society have been portrayed in the popular media as hotbeds of radicalism, promoters of hatred, and recruiters for a “conflict of civilization” between the Muslim world and the modern world. Having declared itself a terrorist's “iconic target,” Singapore has taken a broad-based community approach in advancing inter-religious tolerance, including a subtle initiative to include the “Muslim civil society” in …

Egypt’S Supreme Administrative Court Denies Constitutional Rights To Bahá’Í Religious Minority, Karlijn Van Der Voort

Karlijn Van der Voort

No abstract provided.

Locating Authority In Law, And Avoiding The Authoritarianism Of 'Textualism', Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Working Paper Series

Much modern jurisprudence attempts to move the locus of authority away from people with authority in order to locate it instead, for example, in rules or texts. This article argues that authority, wherever it exists, is a quality of the actions of persons. The article mounts this argument by showing how Justice Scalia's textualism is the legal analogue of a largely discredited form of "Christian positivism," one that leads to a form of authoritarianism. The article goes on to argue that authorianism can be avoided only by individuals' and their communities' becoming authoritative, including in the making and enforcement of …

Giving Voice To The Religious, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The relevance of moral values endorsed by religious persons in public decision-making has often been debated. The issue comes to the fore again in relation to the debate on Section 377A of the Penal Code dealing with acts of gross indecency between males. With the flourishing of diverse viewpoints that is a natural consequence of a liberal democratic society, and with greater participation by an increasingly sophisticated citizenry online and in the media, particularly in a nation in which those without religious affiliations make up only 15 per cent of the population, the ground rules of public discourse must be …

October 10, 2007: The Importance Of Religion To Hallowed Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

The Importance of Religion to Hallowed Secularism

The Limits Of Group Rights: Religious Institutions And Religious Minorities In International Law, Bernadette A. Meyler

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Scholars and advocates of religious liberty within the United States are beginning to suggest that our constitutional discourse has focused too intently on individual rights and that our attention should now turn to the interests of religious institutions and the notion of church autonomy. The reoriented jurisprudence encouraged by such proposals is not without parallel in other national contexts, including those of Europe. Heeding calls to attend to church autonomy could thus bring the United States into closer harmony with its European counterparts. Placing priority on church autonomy might, however, generate unforeseen obstacles to the exercise of religious liberty. In …

Giving Voice To The Religious, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The relevance of moral values endorsed by religious persons in public decision-making has often been debated. The issue comes to the fore again in relation to the debate on Section 377A of the Penal Code dealing with acts of gross indecency between males. With the flourishing of diverse viewpoints that is a natural consequence of a liberal democratic society, and with greater participation by an increasingly sophisticated citizenry online and in the media, particularly in a nation in which those without religious affiliations make up only 15 per cent of the population, the ground rules of public discourse must be …

Norming "Moderation'' In An "Iconic Target'': Public Policy And The Regulation Of Religious Anxieties In Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The proposed research will examine Singapore’s response to terrorism post September 11, in particular the maintenance of a “moderate mainstream” Muslim community as a bulwark against the fraying of harmonious ethnic relations. In light of the global concern—and often paranoia—with diasporic Islam, Islamic religious institutions and civil society have been portrayed in the popular media as hotbeds of radicalism, promoters of hatred, and recruiters for a ‘conflict of civilization’ between the Muslim world and the modern world. Islamist attacks in Madrid and London have since brought increased urgency to the question of how to contain or moderate Islamic radicalism among …

Secularization, Legal Indeterminacy, And Habermas's Discourse Theory Of Law, Mark C. Modak-Truran

Mark C Modak-Truran

The unexpected vitality of religion has motivated scholars in many fields like anthropology, sociology, political science, international relations, and philosophy to revisit their assumptions about the supposed secularization of their disciplines. Despite this robust re-examination in other disciplines, the secularization of law arguably constitutes the most widely-held but least-examined assumption in contemporary legal theory. Legal scholars and philosophers have surprisingly ignored one exception—Jürgen Habermas’s discourse theory of law. Accordingly, this article focuses on Habermas’s sophisticated awareness of the tension between the secularization of law and legal indeterminacy and treats his discourse theory of law as a significant test of the …

Religious V. Secular Ideologies And Sex Education: A Response To Professors Cahn And Carbone, Vivian E. Hamilton

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Deep Purple: Religious Shades Of Family Law, Naomi Cahn, June Carbone

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Motivational Law, Arnold S. Rosenberg

Arnold S Rosenberg

This article introduces a new concept of law’s motivational functions and the laws that serve those functions, which I call “motivational law.” Motivational law consists of those rules and principles, a purpose or function of which is to motivate people to comply with laws that regulate their conduct toward each other or their environment. Motivational laws include obscenity and censorship laws, religious laws on diet, dress, liturgy and ritual, military disciplinary rules, “soft law,” the doctrine of consideration in contract law, and even procedural due process.

Drawing on cognitive dissonance theory and other behavioral research, I conclude that motivational law …

Preaching, Fundraising And The Constitution: On Proselytizing And The First Amendment , Mark Strasser

Mark Strasser

In a series of cases, the Court has suggested that proselytizing, whether or not including solicitation of donations, is entitled to robust constitutional protection. The Court recently affirmed that view in Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Incorporated v. Village of Stratton. Yet, the relevant jurisprudence is much less clear than either the Court or commentators seem willing to admit. When one considers the cases involving the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), one sees that the protections for proselytizing, especially when involving solicitation, are much weaker than might first be thought. This Article explores the proselytizing cases, …

The Place Of Storytelling In Legal Reasoning: Abraham Joshua Heschel's Torah Min Hashamayim, Stefan H. Krieger

Stefan H Krieger

This article reads the teachings of two rabbis from the Second Century through the lenses of cognitive science on legal thinking and shows the relationship between their narratives and legal opinions. Cognitive scientists posit that both logical and narrative thinking are essential modes of cognitive functioning. The stories and legal decisions of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Ishmael, as described by Abraham Joshua Heschel in his masterpiece, Torah Min Hashamayim support these insights. Heschel was one of the preeminent Jewish theologians of the twentieth century, and this book was recently translated into English under the title Heavenly Torah. Both rabbis lived …

Where Lies The Emperor's Robe? An Inquiry Into The Problem Of Judicial Legitimacy, Gregory C. Pingree

Gregory C. Pingree

Gregory C. Pingree Article Abstract

Where Lies the Emperor’s Robe?

An Inquiry Into The Problem of Judicial Legitimacy

Today the American judiciary is, by any reasonable assessment, under attack. In politicians’ pious calls for religious retribution in response to controversial judicial decisions (e.g., in the Terri Schiavo case); in recent state ballot initiatives calling for “Jail-4 Judges” who don’t render decisions ideologically satisfactory to some groups; in the embattled and nearly intractable confirmation process for federal judges; and certainly in the wake of Bush v. Gore, which left many Americans convinced that the judiciary is not the impartial branch it …

Jesus’ Legal Theory—A Rabbinic Interpretation, Chaim Saiman

Working Paper Series

This article locates the ancient debates between Jesus and the Talmudic rabbis within the discourse of contemporary legal theory. By engaging in a comparative reading of both Gospel and rabbinic texts, I show how Jesus and his rabbinic interlocutors sparred over questions we now conceptualize as the central concerns of jurisprudence. Whereas the rabbis approach theological, ethical and moral issues through an analytical, lawyerly interpretation of a dense network of legal rules, Jesus openly questions whether law is the appropriate medium to structure social relationships and resolve interpersonal conflicts. Through an examination of Talmudic sources, this paper argues the controversies …

July 12, 2008: Secular Israeli Democracy, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Secular Israeli Democracy“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Democrats Get Religion – Just In Time, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals

Nonreligion, Neutrality, And The Seventh Circuit’S Mistake, Sara S. Ruff

Sara S Ruff

In this article I argue that atheism is a not a religion for First Amendment purposes; therefore, atheists are not entitled to protection under the Free Exercise Clause. However, this lack of protection under the Free Exercise Clause is of no consequence because atheism is adequately protected under the Establishment Clause. Further, by attempting to bring claims under the Free Exercise Clause, atheists are jeopardizing their protections under the Establishment Clause. Finally, I address a recent wrongly-decided Seventh Circuit case which threatens to undermine the Religious Clauses overall.

Social Capital In Constitutional Law: The Case Of Private Norm Enforcement Through Prayer At Public Occasions, Paul E. Mcgreal

Paul E. McGreal

Distinguishing private action from government action is the first question of constitutional law. The distinction blurs most when the government and private actors jointly cause harm. Not surprisingly, then, the Supreme Court’s cases in this gray area have been inconsistent. For example, state court enforcement of a private racially restrictive covenant is government action, but agency placement of a child in a home where the child is abused is private action. The ad hoc nature of these decisions reflects a reluctance to fully embrace joint government-private causation of constitutional harm: Without a limiting principle, doing so would threaten to convert …

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 …

Prophetic Politics: The Struggle For Civil Rights And The Ecclesial Experiences Of Blacks And Latinos , Stephen M. Siptroth

Stephen M. Siptroth

This article focuses on the importance of Church-based support for minority civil rights movements and contrasts the positive role churches and religious leaders played in the Black Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s with the lack of support the Catholic Church provided to the early Latino Civil Rights Movement of the same time period. I suggest that the lack of Church-based support for the Latino Civil Rights Movement is one explanation as to why the movement failed to gain momentum during a period in which the Black Civil Rights Movement was achieving substantive victories.

If They Can Raze It, Why Can't I? A Constitutional Analysis Of Statutory And Judicial Religious Exemptions To Historic Preservation Ordinances, Erin Guiffre

Georgetown Law Historic Preservation Papers Series

In 1996, America almost lost a great piece of its history. The Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, located in Los Angeles, was in danger of being destroyed. The "Baroque-inspired Italianate structure" was completed in 1876 by architect Ezra F. Kysor. The cathedral is one of only a few structures from Los Angeles' early history remaining. As an important part of history and a beautiful piece of architecture, the cathedral was listed on California's register of historic places. In 1994, an earthquake damaged part of the building. After an inspection by the building and safety department in 1996, the only portion of …

"Honor Thy Father And Mother": Children’S Obligations To Honor & Support Parents - A Comparative Analysis Of Jewish And American Secular Law, Samuel Asher Blaustein

Sam A Blaustein

This article will contrast and compare the duties of children to their parents under traditional Jewish and modern secular American law. The focus is on the adult child’s duty to support parents. Whereas the mandates proscribed by Jewish law increase with age, American law focuses on emancipation and personal autonomy. That said, recent American law encourages children to provide care to elderly parents. The history and reasoning behind both sources will be addressed.