Securing Religious Liberty
Title | Securing Religious Liberty PDF eBook |
Author | Jesse H. Choper |
Publisher | Quid Pro Books |
Total Pages | 272 |
Release | 2013-03 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 1610271726 |
Although the Constitution of the United States states that there shall be no laws that either establish or prohibit religion, the application of the Religion Clauses throughout United States history has been fraught with conflict and ambiguity. In this classic and much-cited book, a leading constitutional scholar proposed a set of guidelines meant to provide for the consistent application of the First Amendment's Religion Clauses. Jesse Choper's thoughtful and pragmatics guidelines are designed to provide maximum protection for religious freedom without granting anyone an advantage, inflicting a disadvantage, or causing an unfair burden. Although Choper does not call for the wholesale overturning of judicial precedents or established social practices, the standards he has proposed would result in significant--and controversial--modifications to existing doctrines and customs. Choper argues, for instance, that while vocal prayer and Bible reading in public schools should continue to be prohibited, we can and should allow for silent prayer and objective courses in creation science. His standards would also, among other things, eliminate the tax exemption on property used exclusively for religious purposes while allowing parochial schools to receive public funds for the non-religious component of their education. Quality ebook formatting includes linked notes, active TOC, and linked Index and Table of Cases.
Religious Liberty in America
Title | Religious Liberty in America PDF eBook |
Author | Louis Fisher |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 288 |
Release | 2002 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN |
It is often assumed that the judiciary—especially the Supreme Court—provides the best protection of our religious freedom. Louis Fisher, however, argues that only on occasion does the Court lead the charge for minority rights. More likely it is seen pulling up the rear. By contrast, Congress frequently acts to protect religious groups by exempting them from general laws on taxation, social security, military service, labor, and countless other statutes. Indeed, legislative action on behalf of religious freedom is an American success story, but one that renowned constitutional authority Fisher argues has been poorly understood by most of us. Taking in the full span of American history, Fisher demonstrates that over the course of two centuries of American government Congress has often been in the forefront of establishing and protecting rights that have been neglected, denied, or unrecognized by the Court-and that statutory provisions far outstrip, in both number and importance, the court cases that have expanded religious rights. In this concise and insightful book, Fisher presents a series of important case studies that explain how Supreme Court rulings on religious liberty have been challenged and countermanded by public pressures, legislation, and independent state action. He tells how religious groups interested in securing the rights of conscientious objectors received satisfaction by taking their cases to Congress, not the courts; how public uproar over a 1940 Supreme Court ruling sustaining compulsory flag-salutes resulted in a court reversal; and how Congress intervened in a 1986 ruling upholding a military prohibition of skullcaps for Jews. By describing other controversies such as school prayer, Indian religious freedom, the religious use of peyote, and statutory exemptions for religious organizations, Fisher convincingly demonstrates that we must understand the political and not just the judicial context for the safeguards that protect religious minorities. As this book shows, the origin and growth of an individual's right to believe or not believe—and the securing of that right—has occurred almost entirely outside the courtroom. Religious Liberty in America persuasively challenges judicial supremacists on church-state issues and provides a highly readable introduction for all students and citizens concerned with their right to believe as they wish.
Liberalism’s Religion
Title | Liberalism’s Religion PDF eBook |
Author | Cécile Laborde |
Publisher | Harvard University Press |
Total Pages | 345 |
Release | 2017-09-25 |
Genre | Philosophy |
ISBN | 0674976266 |
Cécile Laborde argues that religion is more than a statement of belief or a moral code. It refers to comprehensive ways of life, theories of justice, modes of association, and vulnerable collective identities. By disaggregating these dimensions, she addresses questions about whether Western secularism and religion can be applied more universally.
Religious Liberty
Title | Religious Liberty PDF eBook |
Author | United States. Congress. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 30 |
Release | 2001 |
Genre | Ecclesiastical law |
ISBN |
Liberty for All
Title | Liberty for All PDF eBook |
Author | Andrew T. Walker |
Publisher | Brazos Press |
Total Pages | 272 |
Release | 2021-05-04 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 1493431153 |
Christians are often thought of as defending only their own religious interests in the public square. They are viewed as worrying exclusively about the erosion of their freedom to assemble and to follow their convictions, while not seeming as concerned about publicly defending the rights of Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and atheists to do the same. Andrew T. Walker, an emerging Southern Baptist public theologian, argues for a robust Christian ethic of religious liberty that helps the church defend religious freedom for everyone in a pluralistic society. Whether explicitly religious or not, says Walker, every person is striving to make sense of his or her life. The Christian foundations of religious freedom provide a framework for how Christians can navigate deep religious difference in a secular age. As we practice religious liberty for our neighbors, we can find civility and commonality amid disagreement, further the church's engagement in the public square, and become the strongest defenders of religious liberty for all. Foreword by noted Princeton scholar Robert P. George.
Religious Liberty in Crisis
Title | Religious Liberty in Crisis PDF eBook |
Author | Ken Starr |
Publisher | Encounter Books |
Total Pages | 192 |
Release | 2021-04-13 |
Genre | Law |
ISBN | 164177181X |
What was unfathomable in the first two decades of the twenty-first century has become a reality. Religious liberty, both in the United States and across the world, is in crisis. As we navigate the coming decades, We the People must know our rights more than ever, particularly as it relates to the freedom to exercise our religion. Armed with a proper understanding of this country’s rich tradition of religious liberty, we can protect faith through any crisis that comes our way. Without that understanding, though, we’ll watch as the creeping secular age erodes our freedom. In this book, Ken Starr explores the crises that threaten religious liberty in America. He also examines the ways well-meaning government action sometimes undermines the religious liberty of the people, and how the Supreme Court in the past has ultimately provided us protection from such forms of government overreach. He also explores the possibilities of future overreach by government officials. The reader will learn how each of us can resist the quarantining of our faith within the confines of the law, and why that resistance is important. Through gaining a deep understanding of the Constitutional importance of religious expression, Starr invites the reader to be a part of protecting those rights of religious freedom and taking a more active role in advancing the cause of liberty.
First Freedom First
Title | First Freedom First PDF eBook |
Author | C. Welton Gaddy |
Publisher | National Geographic Books |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 2008-04-01 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 0807042242 |
The United States is the most religiously diverse nation in the world, due in large part to the clauses of the First Amendment that guarantee freedom for and from religion. But as we debate displaying Christmas trees at city hall and the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, we must ask: in what other ways is our religious liberty being compromised. In First Freedom First, with clear language and recognizable examples, two of the most trusted voices on church-state separation address head-on the many areas where religion and politics overlap, with consequences for all Americans. This book is for anyone concerned about such issues as: * Churches hosting politicians and insisting they give testaments of their faith * Science teachers questioning the theory of evolution in their public school classrooms * Public religious debates on private issues involving end-of-life decisions and reproductive choices * Federal funding for religious organizations, including those that discriminate openly With religion a constant presence in political discussions, First Freedom First offers practical and easy ways to remind our leaders and our community of the importance of keeping religion and politics separate, for the sake of both institutions.