WRESTLING WITH GOD: THE COURTS' TORTUOUS TREATMENT OF RELIGION

Document Type

Book

Publication Date

January 2006

Keywords

Religion, Supreme Court, First Amendment, Free Speech, Judicial process, Freedom of Religion

Disciplines

Constitutional Law | First Amendment | Law | Religion Law

Abstract

The relationship between church and state is both controversial and unsettled. For decades, the courts have vacillated dramatically in their rulings on when a particular governmental accommodation rises to the level of an impermissible state establishment of religion. Without a comprehensive theory of the First Amendment establishment clause, religion cases have devolved into a jurisprudence of minutiae. Seemingly insignificant occurrences, such as a student reading a religious story or a teacher wearing a cross on a necklace, have led to years of litigation. And because of the constant threat of judicial intrusion, a pervasive social anxiety exists about the presence of religion in American public life. This anxiety, in turn, leads to more litigation, as opposing parties constantly try to influence the fluctuating direction of the courts' religion doctrines.

City

Washington, DC

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