Religion Law Commons^™

Developments In Liability Theories And Defenses, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

Litigators with experience in the field of religious liberty believe that courts do not seem to take religious liberty claims and defenses very seriously; however, it is difficult to know why. To be sure, the anecdotal evidence is certainly there, not only in the reported cases, but also in the actual courtroom experiences of those who attempt to raise religious liberty claims and defenses. In one Texas tort case, a trial court judge stated that she would not permit the Church "to hide behind the first amendment;" in a Maryland case a number of years ago, I was asked by …

‘By What Right?’: The Sources And Limits Of Federal Court And Congressional Jurisdiction Over Matters ‘Touching’ Religion, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

This Article examines the extent to which the Court's power "to say what the law is"" on the sensitive subject of religious liberty has been, and continues to be, constrained by the lawmaking powers of Congress and the states. Though the topic is obviously an important one, it has not been examined systematically. Most of the case law and commentary focuses on the limits which the Constitution imposes, or should be held to impose, on the powers of Congress and the states. The Court's power to define those limits appears, by contrast, to be one of those "fundamental assumptions [that] …

All Things Being Equal, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

I will discuss the effect that the proposed Religious Equality Amendment might have on existing First Amendment law.

An Anti-Liberal Argument For Religious Freedom, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

I want to consider why we protect freedom of religion as a constitutional right. The commonsense answer, which I think hits close to the truth, is that we protect it because religion is important. I will try to show that this answer is better than the alternatives which liberal theory offers.

The Structure Of The Religious Liberty Guarantee, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Aba And Aals Accreditation: What’S ‘Religious Diversity’ Got To Do With It?, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

The subject of this essay is whether, and under what circumstances, the religious commitment of an institution should become an issue in the law school accreditation process. Originally presented at the March 1994, Marquette University Conference on Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, this essay begins with the commonly shared assumption that some tensions do exist between religiously affiliated law schools and their accrediting agencies, the American Bar Association (ABA), and the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). For present purposes, the task will be to differentiate those tensions that arise from the accreditation process itself, and those that arise from the …

Hauerwas On Religious Freedom, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

The Pending Gauntlet To Free Exercise: Mandating That Clergy Report Child Abuse, Raymond C. O'Brien, Michael T. Flannery

Scholarly Articles

This Article analyzes the conflict between statutory child abuse reporting requirements for clergy and the clergy-communicant privilege for confidential communications made within specific religious practices. The constitutional conflict arises between the state's interest in the protection of children by requiring that suspected cases of abuse be reported and the clergy's interest in the free exercise of their religious tenets by maintaining confidentiality. This analysis recognizes that state legislators have broadened reporting requirements to include more and more classes of people in an effort to arrest the tremendous increase in child abuse in the past decade. As a result, the shield …

Churches And The Free Exercise Of Religion, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

The first amendment says that "Congress shall make no law . . . prohibiting the free exercise" of religion. This rule is most often used to protect individuals (religious speakers, pacifists, people claiming public benefits). This is hardly surprising. We naturally think that free exercise is an individual right, as we think that religion is a personal and private affair. I want to dispute (more modestly, to qualify) that view. I will argue that we should (sometimes) see the freedom of religion as a group right, which can conflict with, and take precedence over, individual rights.

Comment On Church And State In Seventeenth And Eighteenth Century America, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Developments In The Law Of Church-State Relations: The 1987 Term Of The United States Supreme Court, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Pedophilia: The Legal Predicament Of Clergy, Raymond C. O'Brien

Scholarly Articles

This Article identifies the present posture of child abuse and admits that the incidence of child sexual abuse among members of the clergy is documental. Indeed, incidents of child abuse seem to be more common each day throughout all segments of the population. This has affected public trust and the public has responded by revoking such traditional clerical prerogatives as the priest-penitent privilege, developing a theory of abuse in gestation, and demanding better treatment for offenders through therapy.

The precise scope of this Article is to offer recommendations concerning the legal, medical and social predicament of pedophilia regarding issues that …

The New Reproductive Technologies And The Law: A Roman Catholic Perspective, William J. Wagner

Scholarly Articles

In the next several years, the new reproductive technologies will, for better or worse, affect the civil law governing society's most basic relationships and the rights and duties that accompany them. As lawmakers deliberate over the social choices required by technological developments in human reproduction, the soundness of their decisions will depend on their understanding of the good that is at risk, and on their commitment to the law's role in defending it. In view of the fundamental nature of the societal relationships implicated, who will deny that much currently depends on the quality of lawmakers' decisions?

This article draws …

Reflections On The Symposium: An Ordered Inquiry Into The Relation Of Civil Rights Law And Religion, William J. Wagner

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Rendering Unto Caesar: Legal Responses To Religious Nonconformity In The Armed Forces, Michael F. Noone Jr.

Scholarly Articles

The focus of this article is on the role of the legal system in resolving disputes regarding the accommodation of religious beliefs in the armed forces. Generally, these disputes arise when an individual's religious sensibilities make claims upon his conscience that cannot be reconciled with the demands imposed by military discipline. Although the believer may simply refuse to serve, a more difficult problem arises when the military believer does not or cannot claim the status of a conscientious objector, but seeks legal protection for his religiously motivated behavior while remaining in the service. Such a claim of protection may be …

The Religious Foundations Of Civil Rights Law And The Study Of Law And Religion In An Interdisciplinary Framework, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

A Comment On Religious Convictions And Lawmaking, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Religious Freedom During The 1985–1986 Supreme Court Term: Adrift On Troubled Waters, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

The 1985-86 Term of the Supreme Court was characterized by continuing deep divisions within the Court regarding the nature of religious freedom, the role of religion in society, and the constitutional approach which should be adopted for cases raising religious freedom issues. In all, the Court decided five major religious freedom cases with full opinions, granted review in two cases, and denied review in at least thirty-three others. In addition, three other cases decided on the merits which did not specifically involve religious freedom did include discussion of important questions concerning the relationship of law and religion. In the summary …

Pastoral Politics And Public Policy: Reflections On The Legal Aspects Of The Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter On War And Peace, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

Taken as a whole, the Roman Catholic Bishops' 1983 pastoral letter on war and peace, "The Challenge of Peace, God's Promise, and Our Response"' has two purposes: first, to assist Catholics in the formation of their consciences; and, second, to contribute to the ongoing public policy debate concerning the morality of war in general, and of nuclear war in particular. This article will address the stated purposes of and the suggestions made in the pastoral letter from the vantage point of American statutory and constitutional law. It will make no attempt to provide definitive legal answers to the many questions …

Free Exercise And The Values Of Religious Liberty, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

One thing that has always bothered me about free exercise jurisprudence is that it rests on values we have seldom tried to state, much less justify. In a way this is not surprising. We have only recently abandoned the assumption, which may never have been true, that Americans share a common understanding of language about God and transcendent values. That understanding made it unnecessary to define for nonspeakers a meaning that even believers have trouble putting into words. But today we are probably not "a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being-at least not if "religious" is supposed to …

The Epitaph Of Johannes Teutonicus, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Johannes Teutonicus And Papal Legates, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

The Legal Activities Of The Catholic League, Robert A. Destro

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Freedom And Equality In The Religion Clauses, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

The Supreme Court has been extremely puzzled about how to treat the distribution of public benefits when the pattern of distribution may cause individuals to alter their preferences in making constitutionally protected choices. When dealing with the freedom to choose an abortion, for example, the Court held that the Hyde Amendment was constitutional because the government did not interfere with freedom when all it did was offer money to make the option it preferred (childbirth) more attractive. In free speech cases, the Court has said that when the government opens up public property or offers financial incentives to speakers it …

Pro Peccatis Patrum Puniri: A Moral And Legal Problem Of The Inquisition, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Cum Causam Que: A Decretal Of Innocent Iii, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Pluralism And The Canonists In The Thirteenth Century, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

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The French Recension Of Compilatio Tertia, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

The Rite For Taking The Cross In The Twelfth Century, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

The Manuscripts Of Johannes Teutonicus' Apparatus To Compilatio Tertia: Some Considerations On The Stemma, Kenneth Pennington

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.