Religious Overreach at the Supreme Court

Religious Overreach at the Supreme Court
Author: Scott Rutledge
Publisher: Algora Publishing
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2018-12-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1628943629

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The U.S. Supreme Court has ceased to be a strictly legal institution, if it ever was one. That?s why we see such impassioned political struggles over any appointment of a new Justice. The contentiousness includes, moreover, the nature of the role which the Justices now claim for themselves, that of an originator of new laws and policies. The question is explored here through a careful selection and reassessment of a dozen very interesting and controversial cases. A central role of the Supreme Court is the assessment of our laws, state and federal, for conformity with the authorizations and limitations set forth in the Constitution. When the Justices issue rulings which lack any persuasive connection, sometimes even any plausible connection to the constitutional text, what is happening? Many Americans are perplexed, or distressed ? or occasionally inspired ? by the nation?s highest tribunal. The Court?s power now rivals that of the legislative and executive branches, and the Justices? ambitions often seem vast. The author argues that the Court has handed down decisions which are essentially religious in character, while speaking the language of constitutional interpretation.

Religion on Trial

Religion on Trial
Author: Phillip E. Hammond
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2004
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780759106017

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The free exercise of conscience is under threat in the United States. Already the conservative bloc of the Supreme Court is reversing the progress of religious liberty that had been steadily advancing. And this danger will only increase if more conservative judges are nominated to the court. This is the impassioned argument of Religion on Trial. Against Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Chief Justice Rehnquist, the authors argue that what the First Amendment protects is the freedom of individual conviction, not the rights of sectarian majorities to inflict their values on others. Beginning with an analysis of the origins of the Constitution and then following the history of significant church-state issues, Religion on Trial shows that the trajectory of American history has been toward greater freedoms for more Americans: freedom of religion moving gradually toward freedom of conscience regardless of religion. But in the last quarter-century, conservatives have gained political power and they are now attempting to limit the ability of the Court to protect the rights of individual conscience. Writing not just as scholars, but as advocates of church-state separation, Hammond, Machacek, and Mazur make the strong case that every American needs to pay attention to what is happening on the Surpeme Court or risk losing the liberties of conscience and religion that have been gained so far.

Religious Liberty in the Supreme Court

Religious Liberty in the Supreme Court
Author: Terry Eastland
Publisher:
Total Pages: 536
Release: 1993
Genre: Law
ISBN:

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How real is the separation of church and state? Eastland introduces and summarizes over 25 of the most important rulings of the Supreme Court affecting religious liberty from 1940 to 1992. He also includes varied contemporary editorial responses from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Christian Century, Commonweal, and The New Republic.

Religious Liberty and the American Supreme Court

Religious Liberty and the American Supreme Court
Author: Vincent Phillip Munoz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 679
Release: 2015-03-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1442250321

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Throughout American history, legal battles concerning the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberty have been among the most contentious issue of the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Religious Liberty and the American Supreme Court: The Essential Cases and Documents represents the most authoritative and up-to-date overview of the landmark cases that have defined religious freedom in America. Noted religious liberty expert Vincent Philip Munoz (Notre Dame) provides carefully edited excerpts from over fifty of the most important Supreme Court religious liberty cases. In addition, Munoz’s substantive introduction offers an overview on the constitutional history of religious liberty in America. Introductory headnotes to each case provides the constitutional and historical context. Religious Liberty and the American Constitution is an indispensable resource for anyone interested matters of religious freedom from the Republic’s earliest days to current debates.

Witnessing Their Faith

Witnessing Their Faith
Author: Jay Alan Sekulow
Publisher: Sheed & Ward
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2007-12-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 146167543X

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When it was ratified in 1791, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States sought to protect against two distinct types of government actions that interfere with religious liberty: the establishment of a national religion and interference with individual rights to practice religion. Since that time, no question has so bedeviled the U.S. Supreme Court as finding the best way to interpret and apply the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. In this unique and timely book, Jay Sekulow examines not only the key cases and their historical context that have shaped the law concerning church-state relations, but also, for the first time, the impact of the religious faith and practices of Supreme Court Justices who have ruled in each case. Covering cases from the teaching of religion in public schools and the use of federal funds for parochial schools to today's debates about the Pledge of Allegiance and public displays of the Ten Commandments, Witnessing Their Faith is essential reading for anyone interested in the history and future of religious freedom in America.

Conscience and Belief

Conscience and Belief
Author: Kermit L. Hall
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2000
Genre: Constitutional history
ISBN: 9780815334316

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First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

American Crusade

American Crusade
Author: Andrew L Seidel
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2022-09-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1454948574

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Is a fight against equality and for privilege a fight for religious supremacy? Andrew L. Seidel, a constitutional attorney and author of the critically acclaimed book The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American, dives into the debate on religious liberty, the modern attempt to weaponize religious freedom, and the Supreme Court's role in that “crusade.” Seidel examines some of the key Supreme Court cases of the last thirty years—including Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (a bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple), Trump v. Hawaii (the anti-Muslim travel ban case), American Legion v. American Humanist Association (related to a group maintaining a 40-foot Christian cross on government-owned land), and Tandon v. Newsom (a Santa Clara Bible group exempted from Covid health restrictions), as well as the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade—and how a hallowed legal protection, freedom of religion, has been turned into a tool to advance privilege and impose religion on others. This is a meticulously researched and deeply insightful account of our political landscape with a foreword provided by noted constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, author of The Case Against the Supreme Court. The issue of church versus state is more relevant than ever in today’s political climate and with the conservative majority status of the current Supreme Court. This book is a standout on the shelf for fans of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris. Readers looking for critiques of the rise of Christian nationalism, like Jesus and John Wayne, and examinations like How Democracies Die will devour Seidel's analysis. Hardcover with dust jacket; 320 pages; 9 in H by 6 in W.

The Constitution & Religion

The Constitution & Religion
Author: Robert S. Alley
Publisher:
Total Pages: 552
Release: 1999
Genre: Law
ISBN:

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By carefully extracting extended footnoting and citations that, in the full text, tend to separate legal opinions from public interest, Alley has cast the justices' thoughts in a format that captures the drama and, frequently, the eloquence of the prose that is, for now, the law of the land."--BOOK JACKET.

Religion and the Law

Religion and the Law
Author: Elizabeth Eddy
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1351493868

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There are few issues as controversial as where to draw the line between church and state. The framers of the Constitution's Bill of Rights began their blueprint for freedom by drawing exactly such a line. Th e fi rst clauses of the First Amendment provide: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Th e justices of the Supreme Court have not been wanting for advice from self-appointed guardians. Th e diffi culty with such advice is that the contestants are more convincing when they criticize their opponents' interpretations than when they seek to establish the validity of their own.