The Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, Los Angeles, CA in 1907 / Wikimedia Most observers (and participants!) do not see much if any connection between Baptists and Pentecostals. Baptists are generally known as cessationists — contending that the miracles in the New Testament and the extraordinary spiritual gifts practiced like glossolalia (speaking in tongues),…
Photo by Dyana Wing So on Unsplash This article is part of our “Law, Religion, and the Constitutionalism” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. By wonderful happenstance, this year’s Constitution Day (Thursday, September 17) occurs just two days before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and one of…
Photo by Jesse Collins on Unsplash This article is part of our “Law, Religion, and the Constitutionalism” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. The meaning of the religion clauses in judicial opinions has changed dramatically over the last 150 years. Doctrine has shifted, sometimes precipitously. The case law…
Photo of Ludwigsburg, Germany marketplace/ maxmann/ Pixabay/ CCO In his dissent in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, wherein the Supreme Court invalidated student-led prayer prior to the start of high school football games, a dismayed Chief Justice William Rehnquist expressed the sentiment of many Americans, that “[t]he Court … bristles with hostility to…
Image by Tom from Pixabay The recent Supreme Court decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel (‘Morrissey-Berru’) has prompted a great deal of debate about the space made for freedom of religion or belief in anti-discrimination or equality legislation. The relevant space typically takes the form of an…
Photo of Supreme Court in Washington, D.C (Creative Commons/Public Domain) The Supreme Court delivered a precedent-setting decision on June 30, 2020, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The facts and holding of this case have already been addressed in the Canopy Forum, so I will only summarize them here. Then, following a brief discussion of…
Photo by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash Many Americans gleam over Uncle Sam’s “wall of separation” between church and state. That this wall should be thick and tall perhaps became even more evident after President Trump posed weeks ago with a Bible minutes after having the National Guard use tear gas to expel peaceful protestors for…
“Have We Gone Too Far By Tearing Down Religious Monuments?” Adrienne Phillips Religious statues and monuments are prominent cultural, historical, and ecclesiastical focal points around the world. People travel thousands of miles to view them, express their religious devotions, or just admire the beauty. Lately, there has been a surging movement to take down statues…
Image by Tatiana from Pixabay This article is part of our “Reflecting on COVID-19” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Amid efforts to reduce, if not eliminate, the spread of COVID-19, researchers are working on a vaccine to prevent future infections. At the same time, given the fears of some…
Image from Pixy This article is part of our “Reflecting on COVID-19” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. The COVID-19 crisis has strained religious institutions, along with the rest of our accustomed social order. In a few cases, it has also provoked the latest drama in the complex encounter between…