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Religious laws

Menu:

"Separation of church and state" issues

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Quotation:

"When the government puts its imprimatur on a particular religion it conveys a message of exclusion to all those who do not adhere to the favored beliefs. A government cannot be premised on the belief that all persons are created equal when it asserts that God prefers some." Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. 1

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Note:

This section should really be called "religion and state," so that it represents a wall of separation between all religions -- Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Wicca, etc. -- and the federal, state and municipal governments in the U.S. However, the term "church and state" is so well entrenched that we will continue to use it here.

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This section includes the following topics:

bulletIntroduction to the concept of separation of church and state, and the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

bulletReligion in the U.S. public schools, libraries, etc. Praying, teaching religion, news items, etc.
 
bulletUnsuccessful Constitutional amendments during the 1990s to legalize public school prayer imposed by the school board
bulletThe Istook Amendment (1995-1996)
bulletThe Istook Amendment (1997)
bulletThe Istook Amendment (1998-2001)

bulletConflicts, primarily at the local level:
bulletSchool prayers, municipal council prayers, displaying the Ten Commandments, etc.
bulletNativity displays, state and municipality mottos, symbols, crests. etc.
bulletSpecific events

bulletU.S. Government official religious discrimination:
bulletDiscrimination by the Air Force Academy, Veterans' Admin., Chaplain service, & Bureau of Prisons
bullet
 
bulletOther issues:
bulletCongress moves to limit separation of church and state
bulletSupreme Court limits separation: "Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation"
bulletReactions to this case
bulletPublic opinion polls on church/state separation issues
bulletRepudiation of separation of church and state by the Missouri house
bulletU.S. Representative advocates for Christian-only congress and legislatures
bulletU.S. agencies active in church/state separation
bulletGod in the European Union constitution

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Related essays:

bulletLaws regarding religious freedom
bulletThe Bible and public prayer
bullet"Charitable choice" - Government funding of religious programs
bulletQuotes about the wall of separation

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Helpful Resources

bulletThe Yahoo! search engine has a entire directory on church-state issues at: http://dir.yahoo.com/
bullet Plucked Strings: Liberal Christian Voices sells shirts, art, stationery and more. They have a "Separate Church and Hate" aisle at: http://www.cafepress.com/

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Sponsored links:

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Other references:

  1. U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Agostini v. Felton (1997), at: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/

  2. E.S. Gaustad, "Faith of Our Fathers: Religion and the New Nation", Harper & Row, New York, NY, (1987)
  3. James Davidson and Os Guiness, editors, "Articles of Faith, Articles of Peace: The Religious Liberty Clauses and the American Public Philosophy". Hunter, Washington DC (1990).
  4. A.A. Lipscomb & A.E. Bergh, editors, "The Writings of Thomas Jefferson", Washington, (1907), Vol. 16, P. 281
  5. Kristen J. Amundson, "Religion in the Public Schools", American Assn. School Administrators, 1986-JUN, ISBN: 087652109X
  6. Richard McMillan, "Religion in the Public Schools : An Introduction" , Mercer University Press, 1984-SEP, ISBN: 0865540934
  7. Deborah Mayo-Jefferies, "Religious Freedom in the Education Process: A Research Guide to Religion in Education (1950-1992)", William S Hein & Co., 1994-JUN, ISBN: 0899418716
  8. J.W. Whitehead, "The rights of Religious Persons in Public Education", Crossway, Wheaton, IL, (1994)
  9. Mary Leonard, "Religion and Politics: Christian soldiers march onward - and wayward", Boston Globe, Boston Ma, 1997-MAR-9
  10. Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, 200 Maryland Ave., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002, (202) 544-4226
  11. Lemon vs. Kurtzman, Supreme Court ruling (1971) at: http://cns-web.bu.edu/pub/dorman/lemon_v_kurtzman.html 
  12. "Freedom of Religion," at: http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/410/410lec10.htm 

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Copyright © 1995 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last updated 2007-DEC-14
Author: B.A. Robinson

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