When Shrugging is Not an Option
- May/June 2025
- April 30, 2025
By Marci A. Hamilton Illustration By Sally Wern Comport The Supreme Court recently denied certiorari in a case testing whether state government could post the Ten Commandments. At the same time, a federal district court in Pennsylvania held that the government's display of the commandments violates the establishment clause. As I have noted in my
READ MORE"Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he considers to be true." —Pope Pius IX, Condemned proposition, Syllabus of Errors, 1867. "The day that this country ceases to be free for irreligion it will cease to be free for religion – except for the
READ MOREA short drive down a quiet country road, incongruous by its being located between the large population centers of San Francisco and Sacramento, is the Vacaville Seventh-day Adventist Church. Actually, the church itself isn't quite finished. At present the complex consists of a one-room church school and a fellowship hall where weekly worship is conducted.
READ MORE"The Establishment of Religion" clause of the First Amendment means at least this: neither the state nor the federal government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go or remain away from
READ MOREBy Mark A. Kellner Illustration By Jeff Dever/Freshart The continuing battle over California's Women's Contraceptive Equity Act, or WCEA, is not only due to occupy part of that state's supreme court calendar this fall, but also highlights the continuing tensions between the free exercise of religion and government in America's most populous state. At issue
READ MOREBy Bruce Cameron Illustration by James Mellett The main problem with becoming a lawyer is not lawyer jokes;it is going to law school. I remember my fears. Most college seniors who wanted to get into my school were rejected. Those who got in nursed the general suspicion that they might not be as smart as
READ MOREBy Jim Walker Illustration by Ralph Butler IN DEALING WITH PIRATES AND TERRORISTS THE NEWLY FORMED UNITED STATES of AMERICA REAFFIRMED ITS NONRELIGIOUS STATUS. Unlike governments of the past, the American Founders set up a government divorced from religion. The establishment of a secular government did not require a reflection to themselves about its origin;
READ MOREBy Paul E. Peterson Illustration by Chris Gall Economist Milton Friedman claims school vouchers, by stirring market competition, will create more efficient schools. Whether or not he's right, there's every reason to think vouchers will produce more equity in public education. This is not the conventional wisdom, of course. Mainly the issue is debated as
READ MOREBy John W. Whitehead Illustration by James Mellett When Lt. Col. Martha McSally takes to the skies, she is the embodiment of a modern-day hero: courageous, selfless, and loyal to God and country. She is a patriot who has willingly put her life on the line to protect American interests abroad-a perfect example of how
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