This book examines the countervailing arguments in the religious exemption debate and explains why this issue continues to be so heated and controversial in modern-day America. Can religion be used to legalize discrimination? When does religion exclude a person or corporation from having to follow a federal or state law, and does our government automatically favor one faith over another when allowing such exemptions? How "religious" must an activity be to qualify as exempt? These are just a few of the difficult questions addressed in When Religious and Secular Interests Collide: Faith, Law, and the Religious Exemption Debate, one of the most modern resources for looking at religion and the law, both historically and in the present. This book enables readers to fully comprehend this important multifaceted issue that continues to be contested in our courts, legislatures, hearts, and minds. Readers will gain vital historical background about this battleground topic of academic and public interest, see how the contentious issue has changed in the past, and learn about recent developments, including the controversies surrounding religious exemption laws passed in Arkansas and Indiana in 2015. They will also glean knowledge to evaluate claims made about the First Amendment and equal rights and reach their own educated opinions on the subject. Additionally, the work includes primary source documents such as excerpts of important Supreme Court decisions accompanied by insightful analysis of how the religious exemption issue surfaced in modern American culture.

This book examines the countervailing arguments in the religious exemption debate and explains why this issue continues to be so heated and controversial in modern-day America. Can religion be used to legalize discrimination? When does religion exclude a person or corporation from having to follow a federal or state law, and does our government automatically favor one faith over another when allowing such exemptions? How "religious" must an activity be to qualify as exempt? These are just a few of the difficult questions addressed in When Religious and Secular Interests Collide: Faith, Law, and the Religious Exemption Debate, one of the most modern resources for looking at religion and the law, both historically and in the present. This book enables readers to fully comprehend this important multifaceted issue that continues to be contested in our courts, legislatures, hearts, and minds. Readers will gain vital historical background about this battleground topic of academic and public interest, see how the contentious issue has changed in the past, and learn about recent developments, including the controversies surrounding religious exemption laws passed in Arkansas and Indiana in 2015. They will also glean knowledge to evaluate claims made about the First Amendment and equal rights and reach their own educated opinions on the subject. Additionally, the work includes primary source documents such as excerpts of important Supreme Court decisions accompanied by insightful analysis of how the religious exemption issue surfaced in modern American culture.

In Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties, and Justice, bestselling authors Lee Epstein, Kevin T. McGuire, and Thomas G. Walker show students how political factors influence judicial decisions and shape the development of constitutional law. The Twelfth Edition, updated with additional material such as recent court rulings, more than 500 supplemental cases, and greater coverage of freedom of expression, will facilitate a deeper understanding of how the U.S. Constitution protects civil rights and liberties. Included with this title: LMS Cartridge: Import this title′s instructor resources into your school′s learning management system (LMS) and save time. Don′t use an LMS? You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site. Select the Resources tab on this page to learn more.

This book covers civil rights and civil liberties politics in the United States from the ratification of the Bill of Rights to current-day controversies, such as the travel ban and proposals to end birthright citizenship. Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: A Reference Handbook provides a thorough overview of civil rights in U.S. history, detailing all the relevant amendments to the Constitution and reviewing key Supreme Court decisions and landmark cases on the topic. Aimed at general readers as well as high school, college, and university students, it focuses on the role of federal courts in civil rights and civil liberties politics. It also profiles the primary actors in civil rights and civil liberties, both organizations and people. The volume comprises seven chapters. Chapter 1 presents the history and background of the topic, and Chapter 2 discusses problems, controversies, and solutions. Chapter 3 consists of essays by contributors that round out the coauthors' expertise. Chapter 4 profiles important organizations and people, while Chapter 5 offers relevant data and documents. Chapter 6 is composed of an annotated list of important resources. Finally, Chapter 7 offers a useful chronology citing and describing the major events related to the topic from the nation's founding until 2019.

This book provides the answers to controversial questions about religious liberties in the United States and connected issues through balanced, thorough, and nonjudgmental coverage of the issues in a reference format. The subject of religious freedom is important to all American citizens, regardless of religious affiliation or ethnicity. Are the rights of religious individuals being eroded, or is religion being unfairly used to deny basic secular rights to individuals? How will religious institutions adapt to changes in legislation that have an impact on how they operate? Does the Supreme Court have the right to enforce these changes? Finally, how can the precarious separation of church and state be maintained while simultaneously respecting both institutions? This single-volume work provides an introduction that addresses the historical background of religious freedom in America, accurately explains the latest legal developments in religious freedom in the United States, and presents an unbiased account of the probable impact of the new Freedom of Religion laws in the continuing culture war. Readers will gain insight into key controversies such as prayer in public schools, creationism versus evolution, abortion, religious objections to medical care, religious displays in public places, same-sex marriage and LGBT rights, and state and federal religious freedom acts. The book also includes perspective essays by outside contributors, a selection of useful primary documents, a listing of print and nonprint resources, a chronology, and a glossary of terms.

Where does morality come from? Apologists—people who offer a formal defense of their religion—point to God as the answer. By inspiring scriptures that people can read, study, and teach, God supposedly gave humanity a guidebook for how to live. Award-winning scholar of religion and politics Mark Alan Smith shows the errors in this chain of assumptions. Apologists find themselves forced to accept a book that condemns same-sex love and authorizes slavery, genocide, capital punishment for minor offenses, and many other practices widely recognized today as immoral. Apologists try to protect their worldview by ignoring the offending passages, constructing strained reinterpretations, rationalizing the indefensible, or appealing to God’s mysterious ways. Is there a non-religious method for discovering the elements of an objective morality? Yes, Smith argues—the worldview of humanism. Humanists apply reason, logic, and, evidence to all subjects. Smith’s humanist approach to morality relies on discussion and debate among diverse participants as the best means to attain a moral code stripped of the biases of each individual, group, and society. The result is a hopeful portrait of how to build on the moral progress humans have achieved since the writing of religious scriptures

A valuable survey of a cutting-edge issue, this book outlines the history of same-sex marriage, explaining how politics and religion have intersected to decide and control who can legally marry. Marriage equality became law in the United States in 2015 with the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. Marriage is, strictly speaking, a secular ceremony, requiring only civil sanction. However, many couples also seek the blessing of a religious body upon their union, and not all religious bodies support marriage equality. Some oppose it outright and some support it outright, while others are divided. This work examines the issue of same-sex marriage in the U.S. and internationally. It surveys the attitudes of major religions towards same-sex marriage and also looks at leading and sometimes polarizing personalities, like politician Pete Buttigieg and Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who exemplify both the religious and political sides of the issue. The book's A–Z organization makes it easy for readers to locate important court cases, individuals, religious bodies, and social movements at the center of the same-sex marriage debate.