In this study, federal court opinions and writings of legal scholars, spanning 63 years of establishment clause jurisprudence in the US federal courts were analysed in an effort to determine dominant trends in judicial philosophy that are of significance to science educators. The study's findings suggest that the dominant legal theory underpinning…

Tim Keller's article insightfully explores the flawed legal reasoning behind and potentially pernicious consequences of the Arizona Supreme Court's 2009 "Cain vs. Horne" ruling. He carefully examines the two fundamental flaws in the court's interpretative methodology: a failure to engage in a straightforward textual analysis of Arizona's…

In "Kitzmiller v. Dover" (2005), a court defined science to decide the legitimacy of teaching intelligent design to high school biology students. This study analyzes "Kitzmiller" in light of the complex and interrelated tensions between judicial, scientific, and democratic decision making that lie at the heart of modern…

To help clarify the school prayer controversy, this article examines recent court decisions concerning three issues: organized prayer, silent prayer or meditation, and prayers at graduation, assemblies, and extracurricular activities. In "Wallace vs. Jaffree" (1985), the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed its consistent opposition to…

In the past 2 years, the United States Supreme Court has decided two important cases that will bear directly on legislation and litigation involving school choice programs that provide financial aid to parents of children attending religious schools. Those cases are "Zelman v. Simmons-Harris" (2002) and "Locke v. Davey" (2004).…