Religious Freedom and the Constitution

Religious Freedom and the Constitution

Author: Christopher L. Eisgruber

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2010-04-10

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 0674034457

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Religion has become a charged token in a politics of division. In disputes about faith-based social services, public money for religious schools, the Pledge of Allegiance, Ten Commandments monuments, the theory of evolution, and many other topics, angry contestation threatens to displace America's historic commitment to religious freedom. Part of the problem, the authors argue, is that constitutional analysis of religious freedom has been hobbled by the idea of "a wall of separation" between church and state. That metaphor has been understood to demand that religion be treated far better than other concerns in some contexts, and far worse in others. Sometimes it seems to insist on both contrary forms of treatment simultaneously. Missing has been concern for the fair and equal treatment of religion. In response, the authors offer an understanding of religious freedom called Equal Liberty. Equal Liberty is guided by two principles. First, no one within the reach of the Constitution ought to be devalued on account of the spiritual foundation of their commitments. Second, all persons should enjoy broad rights of free speech, personal autonomy, associative freedom, and private property. Together, these principles are generous and fair to a wide range of religious beliefs and practices. With Equal Liberty as their guide, the authors offer practical, moderate, and appealing terms for the settlement of many hot-button issues that have plunged religious freedom into controversy. Their book calls Americans back to the project of finding fair terms of cooperation for a religiously diverse people, and it offers a valuable set of tools for working toward that end.


Book Synopsis Religious Freedom and the Constitution by : Christopher L. Eisgruber

Download or read book Religious Freedom and the Constitution written by Christopher L. Eisgruber and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-10 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion has become a charged token in a politics of division. In disputes about faith-based social services, public money for religious schools, the Pledge of Allegiance, Ten Commandments monuments, the theory of evolution, and many other topics, angry contestation threatens to displace America's historic commitment to religious freedom. Part of the problem, the authors argue, is that constitutional analysis of religious freedom has been hobbled by the idea of "a wall of separation" between church and state. That metaphor has been understood to demand that religion be treated far better than other concerns in some contexts, and far worse in others. Sometimes it seems to insist on both contrary forms of treatment simultaneously. Missing has been concern for the fair and equal treatment of religion. In response, the authors offer an understanding of religious freedom called Equal Liberty. Equal Liberty is guided by two principles. First, no one within the reach of the Constitution ought to be devalued on account of the spiritual foundation of their commitments. Second, all persons should enjoy broad rights of free speech, personal autonomy, associative freedom, and private property. Together, these principles are generous and fair to a wide range of religious beliefs and practices. With Equal Liberty as their guide, the authors offer practical, moderate, and appealing terms for the settlement of many hot-button issues that have plunged religious freedom into controversy. Their book calls Americans back to the project of finding fair terms of cooperation for a religiously diverse people, and it offers a valuable set of tools for working toward that end.


The Agnostic Age

The Agnostic Age

Author: Paul Horwitz

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-02-17

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 019973772X

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"Argues that the fundamental reason for church-state conflict is our aversion to questions of religious truth. By trying to avoid the question of religious truth, law and religion has ultimately reached a state of incoherence. He asserts that the answer to this dilemma is to take the agnostic turn: to take an empathetic and imaginative approach to questions of religious truth, one that actually confronts rather than avoids these questions, but without reaching a final judgment about what that truth is"--Jacket.


Book Synopsis The Agnostic Age by : Paul Horwitz

Download or read book The Agnostic Age written by Paul Horwitz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-02-17 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Argues that the fundamental reason for church-state conflict is our aversion to questions of religious truth. By trying to avoid the question of religious truth, law and religion has ultimately reached a state of incoherence. He asserts that the answer to this dilemma is to take the agnostic turn: to take an empathetic and imaginative approach to questions of religious truth, one that actually confronts rather than avoids these questions, but without reaching a final judgment about what that truth is"--Jacket.


Religion and the Constitution, Volume 1

Religion and the Constitution, Volume 1

Author: Kent Greenawalt

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-07-26

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 9780691141138

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Balancing respect for religious conviction and the values of liberal democracy is a daunting challenge for judges and lawmakers, particularly when religious groups seek exemption from laws that govern others. Should members of religious sects be able to use peyote in worship? Should pacifists be forced to take part in military service when there is a draft, and should this depend on whether they are religious? How can the law address the refusal of parents to provide medical care to their children--or the refusal of doctors to perform abortions? Religion and the Constitution presents a new framework for addressing these and other controversial questions that involve competing demands of fairness, liberty, and constitutional validity. In the first of two major volumes on the intersection of constitutional and religious issues in the United States, Kent Greenawalt focuses on one of the Constitution's main clauses concerning religion: the Free Exercise Clause. Beginning with a brief account of the clause's origin and a short history of the Supreme Court's leading decisions about freedom of religion, he devotes a chapter to each of the main controversies encountered by judges and lawmakers. Sensitive to each case's context in judging whether special treatment of religious claims is justified, Greenawalt argues that the state's treatment of religion cannot be reduced to a single formula. Calling throughout for religion to be taken more seriously as a force for meaning in people's lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare.


Book Synopsis Religion and the Constitution, Volume 1 by : Kent Greenawalt

Download or read book Religion and the Constitution, Volume 1 written by Kent Greenawalt and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-26 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Balancing respect for religious conviction and the values of liberal democracy is a daunting challenge for judges and lawmakers, particularly when religious groups seek exemption from laws that govern others. Should members of religious sects be able to use peyote in worship? Should pacifists be forced to take part in military service when there is a draft, and should this depend on whether they are religious? How can the law address the refusal of parents to provide medical care to their children--or the refusal of doctors to perform abortions? Religion and the Constitution presents a new framework for addressing these and other controversial questions that involve competing demands of fairness, liberty, and constitutional validity. In the first of two major volumes on the intersection of constitutional and religious issues in the United States, Kent Greenawalt focuses on one of the Constitution's main clauses concerning religion: the Free Exercise Clause. Beginning with a brief account of the clause's origin and a short history of the Supreme Court's leading decisions about freedom of religion, he devotes a chapter to each of the main controversies encountered by judges and lawmakers. Sensitive to each case's context in judging whether special treatment of religious claims is justified, Greenawalt argues that the state's treatment of religion cannot be reduced to a single formula. Calling throughout for religion to be taken more seriously as a force for meaning in people's lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare.


Religion and the Constitution

Religion and the Constitution

Author: Michael W. McConnell

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780735561373

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Refresh your course in Religious Liberty, Religion and the Constitution, or Religious Institutions and the Law with this timely revision. Religion and the Constitution, Second Edition, pays careful attention to significant recent developments as it


Book Synopsis Religion and the Constitution by : Michael W. McConnell

Download or read book Religion and the Constitution written by Michael W. McConnell and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Refresh your course in Religious Liberty, Religion and the Constitution, or Religious Institutions and the Law with this timely revision. Religion and the Constitution, Second Edition, pays careful attention to significant recent developments as it


Religion and the Constitution, Volume 2

Religion and the Constitution, Volume 2

Author: Kent Greenawalt

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2008-05-19

Total Pages: 568

ISBN-13: 1400828236

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Balancing respect for religious conviction and the values of liberal democracy is a daunting challenge for judges and lawmakers, particularly when religious groups seek exemption from laws that govern others. Should students in public schools be allowed to organize devotional Bible readings and prayers on school property? Does reciting "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance establish a preferred religion? What does the Constitution have to say about displays of religious symbols and messages on public property? Religion and the Constitution presents a new framework for addressing these and other controversial questions that involve competing demands of fairness, liberty, and constitutional validity. In this second of two major volumes on the intersection of constitutional and religious issues in the United States, Kent Greenawalt focuses on the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which forbids government from favoring one religion over another, or religion over secularism. The author begins with a history of the clause, its underlying principles, and the Supreme Court's main decisions on establishment, and proceeds to consider specific controversies. Taking a contextual approach, Greenawalt argues that the state's treatment of religion cannot be reduced to a single formula. Calling throughout for acknowledgment of the way religion gives meaning to people's lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare.


Book Synopsis Religion and the Constitution, Volume 2 by : Kent Greenawalt

Download or read book Religion and the Constitution, Volume 2 written by Kent Greenawalt and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2008-05-19 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Balancing respect for religious conviction and the values of liberal democracy is a daunting challenge for judges and lawmakers, particularly when religious groups seek exemption from laws that govern others. Should students in public schools be allowed to organize devotional Bible readings and prayers on school property? Does reciting "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance establish a preferred religion? What does the Constitution have to say about displays of religious symbols and messages on public property? Religion and the Constitution presents a new framework for addressing these and other controversial questions that involve competing demands of fairness, liberty, and constitutional validity. In this second of two major volumes on the intersection of constitutional and religious issues in the United States, Kent Greenawalt focuses on the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which forbids government from favoring one religion over another, or religion over secularism. The author begins with a history of the clause, its underlying principles, and the Supreme Court's main decisions on establishment, and proceeds to consider specific controversies. Taking a contextual approach, Greenawalt argues that the state's treatment of religion cannot be reduced to a single formula. Calling throughout for acknowledgment of the way religion gives meaning to people's lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare.


Collected Works on Religious Liberty, Vol. 1

Collected Works on Religious Liberty, Vol. 1

Author: Douglas Laycock

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 889

ISBN-13: 0802864651

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One of the most respected and influential scholars of religious liberty in our time, Douglas Laycock has argued many crucial religious liberty cases in the U.S. appellate courts and Supreme Court. His noteworthy scholarly and popular writings are being collected in four comprehensive volumes under the title Religious Liberty. This first volume gives the big picture of religious liberty in the United States, fitting a vast range of disparate disputes into a coherent pattern - from public school prayers to private school vouchers to regulation of churches and believers. Laycock's clear overviews provide the broad, historical, helpful context often lacking in today's press.


Book Synopsis Collected Works on Religious Liberty, Vol. 1 by : Douglas Laycock

Download or read book Collected Works on Religious Liberty, Vol. 1 written by Douglas Laycock and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 889 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most respected and influential scholars of religious liberty in our time, Douglas Laycock has argued many crucial religious liberty cases in the U.S. appellate courts and Supreme Court. His noteworthy scholarly and popular writings are being collected in four comprehensive volumes under the title Religious Liberty. This first volume gives the big picture of religious liberty in the United States, fitting a vast range of disparate disputes into a coherent pattern - from public school prayers to private school vouchers to regulation of churches and believers. Laycock's clear overviews provide the broad, historical, helpful context often lacking in today's press.


Original Intent

Original Intent

Author: David Barton

Publisher: Wallbuilder Press

Published: 2000-03

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 9781932225266

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In their own words, the Supreme Court has become "a national theology board," "a super board of education," and amateur psychologists on a "psycho-journey." The result has been a virtual rewriting of the liberties enumerated in the Constitution. A direct victim of this judicial micromanagement has been the religious aspect of the First Amendment. For example, the Court now interprets that Amendment under: a "Lemon Test" absurdly requiring religious expression to be secular, an "Endorsement Test" pursuing an impossible neutrality between religion and secularism, and a "Psychological Coercion Test" allowing a single dissenter to silence an entire community's religious expression. Additional casualties of judicial activism have included protections for State's rights, local controls, separation of powers, legislative supremacy, and numerous other constitutional provisions. Why did earlier Courts protect these powers for generations, and what has caused their erosion by contemporary Courts? Original Intent answers these questions. By relying on thousands of primary sources, Original Intent documents (in the Founding Fathers' own words) not only the plan for limited government originally set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights but how that vision can once again become reality. Book jacket.


Book Synopsis Original Intent by : David Barton

Download or read book Original Intent written by David Barton and published by Wallbuilder Press. This book was released on 2000-03 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In their own words, the Supreme Court has become "a national theology board," "a super board of education," and amateur psychologists on a "psycho-journey." The result has been a virtual rewriting of the liberties enumerated in the Constitution. A direct victim of this judicial micromanagement has been the religious aspect of the First Amendment. For example, the Court now interprets that Amendment under: a "Lemon Test" absurdly requiring religious expression to be secular, an "Endorsement Test" pursuing an impossible neutrality between religion and secularism, and a "Psychological Coercion Test" allowing a single dissenter to silence an entire community's religious expression. Additional casualties of judicial activism have included protections for State's rights, local controls, separation of powers, legislative supremacy, and numerous other constitutional provisions. Why did earlier Courts protect these powers for generations, and what has caused their erosion by contemporary Courts? Original Intent answers these questions. By relying on thousands of primary sources, Original Intent documents (in the Founding Fathers' own words) not only the plan for limited government originally set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights but how that vision can once again become reality. Book jacket.


Sex and the Constitution: Sex, Religion, and Law from America's Origins to the Twenty-First Century

Sex and the Constitution: Sex, Religion, and Law from America's Origins to the Twenty-First Century

Author: Geoffrey R. Stone

Publisher: Liveright Publishing

Published: 2017-03-21

Total Pages: 704

ISBN-13: 1631493655

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A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A “volume of lasting significance” that illuminates how the clash between sex and religion has defined our nation’s history (Lee C. Bollinger, president, Columbia University). Lauded for “bringing a bracing and much-needed dose of reality about the Founders’ views of sexuality” (New York Review of Books), Geoffrey R. Stone’s Sex and the Constitution traces the evolution of legal and moral codes that have legislated sexual behavior from America’s earliest days to today’s fractious political climate. This “fascinating and maddening” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) narrative shows how agitators, moralists, and, especially, the justices of the Supreme Court have navigated issues as divisive as abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and contraception. Overturning a raft of contemporary shibboleths, Stone reveals that at the time the Constitution was adopted there were no laws against obscenity or abortion before the midpoint of pregnancy. A pageant of historical characters, including Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, Anthony Comstock, Margaret Sanger, and Justice Anthony Kennedy, enliven this “commanding synthesis of scholarship” (Publishers Weekly) that dramatically reveals how our laws about sex, religion, and morality reflect the cultural schisms that have cleaved our nation from its founding.


Book Synopsis Sex and the Constitution: Sex, Religion, and Law from America's Origins to the Twenty-First Century by : Geoffrey R. Stone

Download or read book Sex and the Constitution: Sex, Religion, and Law from America's Origins to the Twenty-First Century written by Geoffrey R. Stone and published by Liveright Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-21 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A “volume of lasting significance” that illuminates how the clash between sex and religion has defined our nation’s history (Lee C. Bollinger, president, Columbia University). Lauded for “bringing a bracing and much-needed dose of reality about the Founders’ views of sexuality” (New York Review of Books), Geoffrey R. Stone’s Sex and the Constitution traces the evolution of legal and moral codes that have legislated sexual behavior from America’s earliest days to today’s fractious political climate. This “fascinating and maddening” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) narrative shows how agitators, moralists, and, especially, the justices of the Supreme Court have navigated issues as divisive as abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and contraception. Overturning a raft of contemporary shibboleths, Stone reveals that at the time the Constitution was adopted there were no laws against obscenity or abortion before the midpoint of pregnancy. A pageant of historical characters, including Voltaire, Thomas Jefferson, Anthony Comstock, Margaret Sanger, and Justice Anthony Kennedy, enliven this “commanding synthesis of scholarship” (Publishers Weekly) that dramatically reveals how our laws about sex, religion, and morality reflect the cultural schisms that have cleaved our nation from its founding.


Religion and the Constitution

Religion and the Constitution

Author: Kent Greenawalt

Publisher:

Published:

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 9781282721876

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Calling throughout for religion to be taken more seriously as a force for meaning in peoples lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare. Includes information on abortion, atheism, atheists, Bear v. Reformed Mennonite Church, Harry Blackmun, William Brennan, Catholicism, Catholics, child custody, Christianity, Christians, conscientious objection to military service, discrimination, Employment Division v. Smith, Establishment Clause, religious exemptions, Fourteenth Amendment, Free Exercise Clause, Free Speech Clause, harassment by employers, Hinduism, Hindus, Islam, Muslims, Jehovahs Witnesses, Judaism, Jews, Lyng v. Northwestern Indian Cemetery Protective Association, Native American Church, Sandra Day OConnor, Protestantism, Protestants, religion, religious beliefs, Sherbert v. Verner, Sunday closing laws, Wisconsin v. Yoder, zoning, Zummo v. Zummo, etc


Book Synopsis Religion and the Constitution by : Kent Greenawalt

Download or read book Religion and the Constitution written by Kent Greenawalt and published by . This book was released on with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Calling throughout for religion to be taken more seriously as a force for meaning in peoples lives, Religion and the Constitution aims to accommodate the maximum expression of religious conviction that is consistent with a commitment to fairness and the public welfare. Includes information on abortion, atheism, atheists, Bear v. Reformed Mennonite Church, Harry Blackmun, William Brennan, Catholicism, Catholics, child custody, Christianity, Christians, conscientious objection to military service, discrimination, Employment Division v. Smith, Establishment Clause, religious exemptions, Fourteenth Amendment, Free Exercise Clause, Free Speech Clause, harassment by employers, Hinduism, Hindus, Islam, Muslims, Jehovahs Witnesses, Judaism, Jews, Lyng v. Northwestern Indian Cemetery Protective Association, Native American Church, Sandra Day OConnor, Protestantism, Protestants, religion, religious beliefs, Sherbert v. Verner, Sunday closing laws, Wisconsin v. Yoder, zoning, Zummo v. Zummo, etc


Constitutional Redemption

Constitutional Redemption

Author: J. M. Balkin

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2011-05-09

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0674058747

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Political constitutions are compromises with injustice. What makes the U.S. Constitution legitimate is Americans’ faith that the constitutional system can be made “a more perfect union.” Balkin argues that the American constitutional project is based in hope and a narrative of shared redemption, and its destiny is still over the horizon.


Book Synopsis Constitutional Redemption by : J. M. Balkin

Download or read book Constitutional Redemption written by J. M. Balkin and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-09 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Political constitutions are compromises with injustice. What makes the U.S. Constitution legitimate is Americans’ faith that the constitutional system can be made “a more perfect union.” Balkin argues that the American constitutional project is based in hope and a narrative of shared redemption, and its destiny is still over the horizon.