Photo by Brad Dodson on Unsplash. One of the most contentious issues in constitutional law is whether governmental action amounts to “an establishment of religion” in violation of the First Amendment. For the past fifty years, the Court has often, but not always, resolved Establishment Clause cases using the three-pronged test established by Lemon v. Kurtzman. Under the…
Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash. This is Part II of Laura Ford’s essay on Social Identity Pietism and the First Amendment Balance. The First Amendment Balance & Social Peace In a careful historical study of American cultural and jurisprudential developments relating to First Amendment religious freedom, Philip Hamburger has persuasively argued that the U.S.…
Photo by Darya Tryfanava on Unsplash. This is the final remnant of the Christianity of their ancestors, the last enduring bit of their inheritance: a social gospel, without the gospel. – Joseph Bottum, An Anxious Age (2014) The law commands and requires us to do certain things. The law is thus directed to our behavior and…
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash. This article is part of our “Law and Religion Under Pressure: A One-Year Pandemic Retrospective” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Constitutional theory and theology often intersect within a society. Theology may inform and influence constitutional assumptions and constitutional theory may shape some…
Photo by Tom Gainor on Unsplash. This article is part of our “Chaos at the Capitol: Law and Religion Perspectives on Democracy’s Dark Day” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. We are shocked. Morally outraged. How could a U.S. president, touting “law and order,” incite a blatant attack on “American democracy”…
Photo by Jorge Alcala on Unsplash. Constitutional Theology is the intersection of theology with constitutional theory. Constitutional Theology recognizes that the constitutional design will reflect society’s beliefs about the nature of humanity or those who rule. At the same time, it acknowledges that, if the constitutional system is to work, a faith’s interactions with the…
Tear gas outside the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021 by Tyler Merbler. CC BY 2.0. This article is part of our “Chaos at the Capitol: Law and Religion Perspectives on Democracy’s Dark Day” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Over the last several months, the Republican party and…
Photo by David Veksler on Unsplash This article is part of our “Notorious ACB: Law, Religion, and Justice Barrett’s Ascent to the Court” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. The No Religious Test Clause within Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution is a special text in…
Photo by Ruslan Gilmanshin from Alamy This article is part of our “Notorious ACB: Law, Religion, and Justice Barrett’s Ascent to the Court” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. At every confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice, inevitably, commentators appear advocating 18-year term limits for Supreme Court Justices, under…
Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Brooklyn, NY. Source: Jim Henderson / Wikimedia CC0-1.0 This article is part of our “Notorious ACB: Law, Religion, and Justice Barrett’s Ascent to the Court” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. The U.S. government designates certain entities as “religious” and enforces different rules…