When the government chooses to cooperate with private organizations to provide public services, the Supreme Court has made clear that the First Amendment prohibits religious discrimination. Three cases--"Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer" (2017), "Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue" (2020), and…

Several provisions of federal education law, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), require public school districts to provide certain educational services to students attending private schools on an "equitable" basis. Both ESEA and IDEA give…

Background: Over the past decade, courts increasingly have considered cases that involve clashes between public, secular private, and religious institutions in education. Such clashes appear to have intensified as recently as the 2019-2020 Supreme Court term, and the confirmation of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Court in 2020 suggests…

In the early 1980s, the University of Notre Dame Law School's Center for Constitutional Studies surveyed 801 religiously affiliated colleges to determine which federal laws and regulations had a "serious potential" of interfering with the character and mission of the schools. From the 226 responses, the Center identified 11 issues, three…

Discusses court cases which involved the First Amendment rights of two Jewish high school seniors. Presents the arguments between the seniors and their school board to have graduation day changed from the Jewish Sabbath so the seniors could participate in both events. (MK)

While adherents to many religions can be identified by distinctive clothing or accessories, the wearing of such garb by teachers is not necessarily related to evangelism in the classroom. The following case and the accompanying question-and-answer discussion illustrate the problem of the principal caught between the rock of First Amendment…

Analyzes the April 1990 Supreme Court decision that a member of a religion may not challenge, under the First Amendment free exercise clause, a generally applicable criminal law that infringes on a specific religious practice. Discusses political and legal implications for the Native American Church and other minority religions. (SV)

Discusses Eighth Circuit Court's upholding of an Oklahoma nontenured second-grade teacher's claim of religious discrimination and violation of First Amendment right of expression when school board declined to renew her contract on recommendation of a principal concerned with parent objections to New Age thinking in a letter sent home attached to a…

Discusses the complexity of the Constitutional separation of church and state. Citing specific cases, argues against strict separation on the grounds that the Supreme Court has, historically, managed to accommodate the separationist approach without inhibiting any religion. Advocates tuition vouchers for parochial school students as a way of…

Examines the parameters of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and relevant First Amendment case law, reviews several analogous court decisions in private employment, and analyzes Yott vs. North American Rockwell Corporation (case involving an employee who, on religious grounds, refused to join a union) and its application to public employment.…

The Supreme Court determined that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act provided an exception for religious organizations from the prohibition against religious discrimination. However, the opinion does not address the issue of religiously oriented educational institutions. Two recent cases involving Marquette University in the Seventh Circuit are…

Analyzes the unwillingness of the federal courts to view the traditional braided hairstyle worn by American Indian students as worthy of protection under the Tinker "symbolic speech" doctrine. Examines the legacy of the Tinker doctrine for Indian students and presents an argument for expanding this precedent. (Author/MLF)

Two court cases involving parental objections to a school's curriculum on religious grounds carry important implications for the balance of control school boards and parents exert over the public school curriculum. (TE)

It is argued that the court decision in Widmar v. Vincent, striking down a university's restriction on building use for religious activities, is consistent with the First Amendment's Establishment Clause precedent, does not threaten to undermine its purpose or intended reach, and may in fact clarify it. (MSE)

Asserts that the development of religious liberty in the United States can be used to view the nation's history. Reviews significant events and issues related to religious liberty from colonial times to the present. Concludes that the struggle between individual liberty and government authority will continue to link religion and history. (CFR)