Religion Law Commons^™

Yellow Snow On Sacred Sites: A Failed Application Of The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Joshua A. Edwards

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Even Silence Has No Prayer: The Third Circuit Sacks Coach's Silent Team Prayer In Borden V. School District Of East Brunswick, Edward A. Liva

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Faith And Politics In The Post-Secular Age: The Promise Of President Obama, Francis J. Mootz Iii

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

If the modern era is properly characterized as the 'age of secularism' - a time when constitutional democracies finally have shed the last vestiges of church authority from the political realm and embrace a rationalist and humanist perspective - then the United States appears to be outside the Western mainstream. In this paper I explore how the relationship between politics and religious faith in the United States might be seen as part of the narrative of secularism that defines most other Western countries, even as the differences in the American experience might suggest an evolution of this narrative. My thesis …

Intelligent Design And Judicial Minimalism: Further Thoughts On The 'Is It Science?' Question, Jay D. Wexler

Faculty Scholarship

A few years ago, at a conference on religion in the public schools sponsored by the First Amendment Law Review at the University of North Carolina, I argued that although I thought Judge Jones' opinion in Kitzmiller' was mostly correct, the judge erred by deciding that Intelligent Design (ID) is not science. Although I continue to believe that teaching ID in public schools is unconstitutional-I have argued this point for a dozen years and will not reiterate my reasoning here -I also continue to agree with my original assessment of the judge's treatment of the so-called "is it science?" question. …

The Anabaptist Conscience And Religious Exemption To Jury Service, Michael Hatfield

Articles

While the concern over religiously devout Americans who wish to serve on juries is a serious one, a potential juror dismissed from service over his or her religiosity suffers a real but relatively abstract damage. The punishment is being sent home when they want to stay.

This Article examines a different issue with more severe consequences: religiously devout citizens who risk being jailed for refusing to serve on a jury. Rather than asking whether Jesus could serve on a jury, this Article addresses whether we should force Jesus to serve if he said God told him not to. More specifically, …

Introduction, Aals Symposium On Institutional Pluralism: The Role Of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Biblical Interpretation, Constitutional Interpretation And Ignoring Text, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

Much is made of how to interpret the Constitution. The Constitution is foundational and its law is the highest law in the land. Consequently, interpreting the Constitution correctly is important, not only so that the Constitution's words are honored but so that its ideals are honored. Similar desires accompany the interpretation of other important documents. Indeed, how a sacred text like the Bible is or can be interpreted may shed light upon how the Constitution could be or should be interpreted. This brief Essay considers how a particular vision of Christian biblical interpretation can inform constitutional interpretation. This Essay does …

If It Is Broken, Then Fix It: Needed Reforms To Employment Discrimination Law: 2009 Annual Meeting Of The Association Of American Law Schools Section On Employment Discrimination Law, Melissa Hart, Minna Kotkin, Roberto Corrada, Deborah Widiss

Publications

No abstract provided.

House Of Wisdom Or A House Of Cards? Why Teaching Islam In U.S. Foreign Detention Facilities Violates The Establishment Clause, Scott Thompson

Publications

In an attempt to erase Islamic-fundamentalist sentiments held by detainees apprehended in the course of the "war on terror," the United States government began teaching and preaching a more moderate version of the Qur'an and Islam to detainees in Iraq. One such detention program in Iraq was dubbed the House of Wisdom. But the wisdom of such a practice is highly suspect--both because it likely runs afoul of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and because it may be doing more harm than good to the American effort to defuse Islamic-extremism and anti-American sentiment. This Article examines the practice …

Preaching To The Court House And Judging In The Temple, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Secularism, Religion, And Liberal Democracy In The United States, Kent Greenawalt

Faculty Scholarship

This essay is divided into three categories: some brief remarks about forms of secularism, an outline of American constitutional law as it relates to religion, and a discussion from the standpoint of political philosophy of the proper place of religion (and other similar perspectives) in making political decisions within liberal democracies. Because the audience for whom the oral comments from which the essay is derived was mainly non-American, the middle part of the essay sets out many propositions familiar to anyone acquainted with this branch of constitutional law. And because of the informal nature of the original presentation, I offer …