Religion and the Law
On Religious Divisiveness and the Judicial Role
Justice Breyer thought the Establishment Clause authorizes judges to improve the tone of political discourse. It does not.
Justice Breyer's Establishment Clause Particularism
Justice Breyer saw church-state controversies as highly and inevitably fact-bound, solvable only through a judicial balancing exercise.
Roy Moore Is (Still) Constitutionally Illiterate
A lesson in how to ensure you lose a case in court.
"Appeasement"? Or, Avoiding Error?
Justice Breyer did not always vote with the Court’s strict-separationist justices. Good for him.
Justice Breyer and the Establishment Clause
Even without writing majority opinions, his contributions were important.
Court Upholds Order Limiting Divorced Father's Talking to Gay Son About Sexual Orientation and Religion
"[W]e find no error by the trial court in finding that Father had mentally abused N. The circuit court concluded that N. was 'frightened,' 'scared,' and 'fearful' of his Father's anger and his Father's refusal to accept his sexual orientation."
Do the Natcons Get Anything Right?
Plus: A listener asks if the Roundtable has given the arguments of those opposed to low-skilled immigration a fair hearing.
Conservatives Pushing 'Common Good Capitalism' Sound a Lot Like Progressives
The ideology champions the same tired policies that big government types predictably propose whenever they see something they don't like.
Establishment Clause Related to School's Transcendental Meditation Program Sent to Transcendental Mediation
OK, not really, but the judge partly denied the motion for summary judgment, which would allow it to go to trial.
Was This Couple Married 0, 1, or 2 Times?
Florida Law + New York Law + Jewish Law = ....
Florida Pastors Are Worried This Immigration Bill Could Infringe on Religious Liberties
S.B. 1718 would make it a third-degree felony to “harbor” or “transport” undocumented immigrants. Some Florida faith leaders say it could threaten their church activities.
Divorced Father Inflicted "Mental Injury" on 12-Year-Old Son By Religious Criticisms of Son's Felt Homosexuality
The Appellate Court of Maryland just upheld the lower court's finding, and related protective order.
No First Amendment Protection for 12 Cypress Trees,
when plaintiff's "connection to his trees [was] rooted in a vague and indeterminate concept of spirituality, quantum physics, and cosmic mechanics."
SCOTUS Will Decide Whether Federal Law Shields a Religious Postal Employee Who Refuses To Work on Sundays
The Supreme Court considers the scope of federally required religious accommodations at work.
S. Ct. Will Decide: When Must Employers Accommodate Religious Employees' Objections to Work Rules?
Will Justices Marshall and Brennan's views on how interpret the Congressional statute on this question be vindicated, 45 years later?
N.Y. Law Banning Gun Carrying in Churches (Including When Authorized by Church) Unconstitutionally …
discriminates against religious institutions
Marines Must Exempt Sikhs from Boot Camp Shaving Requirements
So holds the D.C. Circuit, relying on federal statutes protecting religious freedom.
Supreme Court Debates Whether Web Designers Can Be Forced To Make Gay Wedding Pages
A million hypotheticals bloom in arguments over when and where the government may compel speech.
Court Holds That Indiana RFRA Provides Religious Exemptions from Abortion Ban
Note that the decision is not inconsistent with the Supreme Court's holding in Dobbs, though it may of course still be overturned on appeal on other grounds.
Sixth Circuit Upholds Injunction Barring Air Force from Requiring COVID Vaccines for Religious Objectors
From the sounds of it, the Air Force's attorneys didn't think too carefully about how to respond to Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) claims.
Sick of the Pilgrims? Celebrate Roger Williams Instead
While we often spend Thanksgiving remembering a different set of Puritan settlers, the religious, freedom-loving Roger Williams is an apt hero for the more liberty-minded.
RFRA, Sharia, and Guns (Oh My)
A court rejects a claim of religious exemption from the ban on gun possession by felons and unlawful drug users.
Court Upholds Removal of Child From Parents, Related to Child's Transgender Identity
The facts are complicated, and involve a good deal more than just disagreement as to gender identity; but it seems to me like an important controversy.
No Implicit Requirement of Sharia Mediation or Arbitration
"Movants ... argue[] that Plaintiff's complaint fails to state a claim because the 'loan documents reflect the parties' agreement that Sharia law would govern their contractual relationship' and that '[p]ursuant to age old Islamic principles, parties are to pursue the alternative dispute resolution processes of mediation or arbitration before seeking adjudication of their quarrels.'"
Muslim Male Inmate Entitled to Religious Exemption from Strip Searches by Female-to-Male Transgender Guard
"[A] prisoner's right to be free from highly invasive intrusions on bodily privacy by prison employees of the opposite sex—whether on religious or privacy grounds—does not change based on a guard's transgender status."
