Written by: |
Leslie C. Griffin
William S. Boyd Professor of Law University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law
Andrew L. Seidel
Constitutional Attorney
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From the 5th Edition |
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Updates to Griffin's Law And Religion Since the Last Edition
Click links below to show/hide updates.
Chapter - I. Free Exercise of "Religion" | |
| Chapter - II. Introduction to Establishment | |
| Chapter - III. What Is an Establishment of Religion? | A. Religious Symbols and Monuments - 2 updates
Page: 152 - End of Section A posted on 2/9/2023A frieze at the United States Supreme Court pictures lawgivers. Among them is the Prophet Muhammad, who holds a Quran. Years ago, some Muslim groups tried to get the figure erased from the Court because they believe Muhammad should not be pictured because Islamic tradition does not allow such pictures and showing the face of Muhammad is offensive. Read about the story here, MuhammadFigure. Muhammad remains on the Court's frieze. What do you think of that, given all you have read in the Court's cases?
Page: 152 - End of Section A posted on 2/9/2023Eighteenth century Saint Junipero Serra is famous in California as a Franciscan missionary who founded nine of California's missions. Governor Newsom signed legislation replacing a statue of Serra on state capital grounds with a monument to California's indigenous peoples. Serra has long been accused of mistreating Native Americans and of being part of the Inquisition. Catholics have defended the Serra statues, saying such claims against Serra are outrageous. What do you think should happen to official statues or pictures of Serra? For background, read this story, Serra.
B. Public Funding of Religion - 3 updates
Page: 153 - End of Chapter posted on 7/27/2022CarsonLRCh3EndB.pdf
Page: 153 - End of Chapter posted on 1/13/2024Maine parents of religious school children filed suit against Maine's tuition assistance program, arguing that the program was an attempt to avoid obeying the Court's ruling in Carson v. Makin . They complained about Maine's rules, which “• Imposed a new religious neutrality requirement on schools, stating that “to the extent that an educational institution permits religious expression, it cannot discriminate between religions in so doing”; • Imposed a new religious nondiscrimination requirement on schools; and • Removed the religious exemption that had previously allowed religious (but “nonsectarian”) schools to handle sensitive issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in a way that reflected their faith commitments. 5 M.R.S. § 4602(5).” Should Maine win or lose? See MaineTuition.
Page: 199 - End of Section B posted on 6/9/2023The Oklahoma School Board has approved a Catholic charter school. The school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, is run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. The Oklahoma governor said this was a "win for religious liberty." The state's attorney general thinks the public funding of a religious school is unconstitutional. Which side would win in the Supreme Court of the United States? See CharterSchool.
C. The Establishment Clause as a Defense: Equal Access - 4 updates
Page: 204 - Note 2 posted on 5/30/2023A federal district court ordered a school to allow the After School Satan Club to meet on school premises. The school had blocked the group from attending due to public concerns against the group. The court said excluding ASSC violated the First Amendment. Is this consistent with Widmar? See Satan. Why do you think the ACLU brought this case?
Page: 205 - End of Note 3 posted on 10/7/2023I handed out this problem in class for students to discuss, assigning them roles for both parties and for the judges. You can read the full opinion about this problem at Wisdom Ministries, Inc. v. Garrett, No. 22-CV-0477-CVE-CDL, 2023 WL 4919660 (N.D. Okla. Aug. 1, 2023). The case has been appealed to the Tenth Circuit, so there is a lot to discuss about it. Class Problem
Page: 205 - End of Note 3 posted on 2/28/2023Do you agree with Krishna Lunch or UCLA about Krishna's free exercise, free speech and freedom of association claims to provide lunches on campus grounds? The Ninth Circuit's view of the case is provided at KrishnaLunch. What do you think the next step in this litigation is?
Page: 205 - End of Note 3 posted on 2/28/2023The Trump and Biden administrations have different approaches to religious issues on campus. Trump passed an executive order allowing the federal government to stop grants to schools that restricted the activities of religious organizations. Biden has proposed a policy to get rid of that rule, saying it is too burdensome and that the First Amendment already protects religious rights so the rule was not necessary. Which approach do you favor? See TrumpBiden.
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| Chapter - IV. Constitutional and Statutory Protection of Free
Exercise | |
| Chapter - V. Conscience, Complicity, and Conscientious Objection
Objection | |
| Chapter - VI. Conflicts Between Individual and Institutional Religious Freedom
Religious Freedom | |
| Chapter - VII. Comparative Religious Freedom
Institutionalized Persons Act | |
| Chapter - VIII. Religion and Politics | |
| Chapter - IX. Teaching About Religion and Science | |
| Chapter - X. The Old and New Law of Religion | |
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