Canopy Forum

“Perilous Times Ahead for Religious Freedom on Public College and University Campuses?” by Charles J. Russo

Mar 16, 2023Canopy ForumEssaysChristianity, Education, March 2023, Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J.

“Library” from Pixabay (License) After its recent attempts to challenge conscience exemptions for medical professionals whose faiths prevent them from participating in procedures such as abortion or gender reassignment surgery, the Biden administration has continued its assault on religious freedom. This time the administration and the Federal Department of Education (DOE) are placing the status…

“The Contemporary Presence of Discovery’s Assertion in Canada” by Mark Tremblay

Mar 14, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesFederal Indian Law, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, March 2023, Property Law, Tremblay, Mark

“First Nations dancers watch the Canada Day celebrations in Calgary, Alberta – 2022” by Dwayne Reilander / Wikimedia CC-BYSA-4.0. This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series. If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Many groups and organizations have taken actions…

“Order, Economy, and Legality: Johnson v. M’Intosh after Two Hundred Years” by Andrew Little

Mar 11, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesFederal Indian Law, History, Human Rights / Civil Rights, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Little, Andrew, March 2023, Property Law

Indian Creek in Bears Ears National Monument by US Bureau of Land Management. This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series. If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Mother Earth is the wellspring of indigenous culture, religion, and economic life.It forms…

“Introduction to the 200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands Series” by Philip P. Arnold, Sandra L. Bigtree, and Adam DJ Brett

Mar 10, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesArnold, Philip P., Bigtree, Sandra L., Brett, Adam DJ, Federal Indian Law, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, March 2023, Property Law

Introduction As historians of religions, we are interested in myths, history, and creation narratives. The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) includes all these elements. The Johnson decision illustrates one of the powerful ways in which Christianity has played a hegemonic role within American law and culture at the expense of…

“Federal Anti-Indian Law: The Legal Entrapment of Indigenous Peoples” by Peter d’Errico

Mar 7, 2023Canopy ForumLiterature Highlights, Seriesd'Errico, Peter, Federal Indian Law, Human Rights / Civil Rights, Indigenous Religious Traditions, March 2023, Politics

Federal Anti-Indian Law: The Legal Entrapment of Indigenous PeoplesPeter d’Errico The following is an excerpt from Peter d’Errico’s Federal Anti-Indian Law: The Legal Entrapment of Indigenous Peoples (Bloomsbury, September 2022). 2023 is the bi-centennial year of Johnson v. McIntosh, the case that put ‘Christian discovery’ into US property law in a way that simultaneously created…

“The Polish Contribution to the Global Legal Culture” by Franciszek Longchamps de Bérier and Rafael Domingo

Feb 21, 2023Canopy ForumLiterature HighlightsChristianity, Domingo, Rafael, February 2023, Longchamps de Bérier, Franciszek, Politics, Religious Freedom

The Polish Contribution to the Global Legal Culture Franciszek Longchamps de Bérier and Rafael Domingo The following is excerpted from the Introduction of Law and Christianity in Poland: The Legacy of the Great Jurists, edited by Franciszek Longchamps de Bérier and Rafael Domingo and out now from Routledge. Poland stands out considerably on the international scene for its…

“The Banality of Anti-Judaism” by Matthew Cavedon

Feb 18, 2023Canopy ForumEssaysCavedon, Matthew P., February 2023, Judaism, Religious Freedom

European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg with Flags by Cédric Puisney (CC BY 2.0). Last year, Dr. Mia Brett wrote on Canopy Forum about the ways in which American law has demonstrated insensitivity to Jewish religious liberty. I found much to criticize in her characterization of Christian involvement in the pro-life movement. But her…

“Extremism, Dissent, or ‘Just a Job’? The Lethal Concoction of India’s Anti-Terror Laws and Media Policy in the Kashmir Valley” by Annapurna Menon

Feb 17, 2023Canopy ForumEssaysAsia (Geography), February 2023, Hinduism, Human Rights / Civil Rights, Menon, Annapurna

Kashmir Valley in India by Kriti Kuhoo (CC BY-SA 4.0). A prominent Kashmiri journalist, Fahad Shah has completed one year in prison, where he is being held under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The charges against him are broad; they primarily accuse Shah’s work and magazine, The…

“When a Constitutional Democracy Meets Islam: The Italian Case” by Francesco Alicino

Feb 14, 2023Canopy ForumEssaysAlicino, Francesco, Europe (Geography), February 2023, Islam, Religious Freedom

“Italian Parliament Building” by Marco Verch (CC BY 2.0). In a constitutional democracy, the right to freedom of religion implies that everyone can freely profess, practise, and propagate their faith in various forms, alone or in community with others, in public or private, in worship, teaching, and observance. With this in mind, the political-legal task…

“The Conscience Rights of Health Care Professionals Under the Affordable Health Care Act and its Regulations: An Emerging Controversy” by Charles J. Russo

Feb 11, 2023Canopy ForumEssaysChristianity, February 2023, Healthcare, Religious Freedom, Russo, Charles J.

One of the more contentious issues surrounding medical care concerns the conscience rights of health care professionals such as doctors, physician assistants, nurses, and the faith-based institutions in which they work. Controversy arises when individuals and/or their institutional policies refuse to comply with federal rules mandating that they violate their sincerely held religious beliefs, which…

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