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Essay about religious freedom in the united states
America the separation of church and state
America the separation of church and state
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In the case Sherbert vs. Verner (1963), Adeil Sherbert was fired from her job because she refused to work on Saturday. Since Sherbert was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church member, Saturday is considered the Sabbath Day. The South Carolina employment Security Commission denied her benefits because religion was not an excusable justification for refusing to work on Saturdays. Sherbert took this to court and the State Commission denied her application, which was upheld at the State Supreme Court level. When brought to the Supreme Court of the United States, the issue had to determine whether denying unemployment compensation to Sherbert violated her First and Fourteenth amendment rights?
The court held that yes, the State’s eligibility restrictions for unemployment compensation imposed a significant burden on Sherbert’s ability to freely
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She will receive her benefits because of her employment status and while her religious beliefs heavily play into her work availability, she is still looking for employment. Douglas approaches this case with the understanding that minorities still play a huge role in the American economy, lifestyle, and development. By recognizing this, he concludes that the South Carolina law was made to serve those who were unemployed. Since Sherbert was, she should reap the benefits.
Similarly, the case of West Virginia Board of Education vs. Barnette confronts the same issues. In this case, students were forced to recite the pledge and salute the flag. It was determined that saluting the flag was unconstitutional and “compulsory unification of opinion” is unethical to First Amendment values. Since a school cannot compel someone to say the pledge because it violates First Amendment rights, South Carolina cannot compel someone to work on Saturday’s if it violates those same
A rehabilitation clinic dismissed two drug rehabilitation counselors for using peyote in a religious ceremony. The two counselors, including Smith, sought unemployment benefits. Possessing peyote is a criminal offense in the State of Oregon. The rehabilitation clinic denied the counselors unemployment on grounds of misconduct. Smith filed suit again the clinic. The Oregon Supreme Court overruled the rehabilitation clinic’s verdict. The court stated that Smith’s religious use of peyote was protected under the First Amendment's freedom of religion. The Employment Division, Department of Resources appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court on the grounds that possession and use of peyote is a crime. The Supreme Court returned the case back to Oregon State Courts to determine if Oregon law prohibits the use and possession of peyote for religious purposes. Oregon State court ruled that consumption of illegal drugs for religious purposes was still considered illegal; however, they were also aware that this ruling also violated the First Amendment. The main issue is whether the government can prevent the religious use of peyote under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, even if a law prohibits it for everyone else. In addition, can the state deny unemployment benefits to someone who has been fired for using peyote for religious purposes?
...g went to the fact that even though the business did not purposely discriminate, it did in fact due to a policy that is discriminatory in nature. In other words, the true reason for the firing was directly related to substance abuse. Although the employee was technically not let go due to the abuse specifically, the fact that this occurred in fact is enough to render the policy unfair. I feel that this law provides great value to my workplace as, it protects those who have made mistakes at the workplace due to a disability. In this case it was substance abuse, but the same concept could be applied to other conditions that alter behavior.
The Pledge of Allegiance was a staple in American schools when I was in grade school. Every morning we would recite the pledge and proclaim our allegiance to God and Country. It was a way to express patriotism and some of the values on which our nation was built. At what point did citing the Pledge of Allegiance; a proclamation that is suppose to represent freedom, begin to infringe on civil liberties? Has their always been bias language in the Pledge of Allegiance? This paper will discuss the first highly publicised discrepancy over the pledge, Supreme Court case Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow. I will also discuss the levels of the court through which the case evolved before it reached the Supreme Court. I will summarize the decision of the Supreme Court and explain the fundamental impact that the court decision in has had on American society in general and on ethics in American society. Finally, I will discuss my personal view of the pledge and its use in public schools.
Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow case is a litigation that was brought by an atheist father seeking for a determination of the constitutionality of the practice of recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by public school students since it contained the phrase “under God.” The Supreme Court had two major issues to determine i.e. whether Newdow had the legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of the practice and school board’s policy and whether the phrase “under God” was an infringement of the Establishment Clause of the country’s constitution. In its ruling, the Supreme Court argued that Michael Newdow did not have the legal standing to file the litigation since he was a non-custodial parent.
The West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette Case in March 11, 1943 created much controversy throughout the United States. This case questioned whether a flag salute law for school children violated the First, the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In 1941 the West Virginia State Board of Education made it a mandatory action for all students to salute the American flag at the beginning of each school day and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. If students did not cooperate it would lead to harsh punishment (findlaw).
Separation of church and state is an issue in the forefront of people’s minds as some fight for their religious freedoms while others fight for their right to not be subjected to the religious beliefs of anybody else. Because public schools are government agencies they must operate under the same guidelines as any other government entity when it comes to religious expression and support, meaning they cannot endorse any specific religion nor can they encourage or require any religious practice. This issue becomes complicated when students exercise their right to free speech by expressing their religious beliefs in a school setting. An examination of First Amendment legal issues that arise when a student submits an essay and drawing of a religious
Whether the rules created by the New York School Board, as established by the DOE Holiday Display Memo, are in violation of the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses of the first amendment.
Education Week talks about the freedom and practice of religion stated in the United States Constitution and how the government has altered that in their article, “Religion in Schools”. They touch base on how “under God” was taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance and elaborate how students can participate in religious clubs outside of school because of the placement of the federal Equal Access Act of 1984.
In January 2011, The City of Kansas City, MO lost its second multi-million dollar employment discrimination lawsuit in a one-week period. The former city employees, Jordan Griffin and Coleen Low, were awarded $345,000 and $517,000 respectively by the jury. Griffin, a former Senior Analyst and Commissioner of Revenue, says she was given the nickname “White Chocolate” in the false belief she would favor minority hires. She also says she was harassed when she refused to participate in the biased-hiring process and was overlooked for an interview for the Commissioner of Revenue position on a permanent basis because it was already “pre-determined” that the position would be filled by an African American. When the then Senior Analyst Low spoke up on her colleague’s behalf, she says the city laid her off as well. The city’s, assistant attorney, said the city did nothing wrong and that the city was forced to layoff another 73 people that year due to the slump in the economy (Evans). Did Griffin and Low deserve the money they were compensated and does reverse discrimination exist?
The incorporation of the 14th Amendment in regards to Civil Liberties is one of the longest and most important constitutional debates of all time. Though the 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868, the Supreme Court rendered their first interpretation of its scope five years later. The Court supported the Privileges and Immunities Clause by a narrow 5-4 vote. This clause was later thought to be the regular basis of enforcing individual citizen’s rights and civil liberties. The development in understanding and the provision for protection of one such liberty, freedom of religion, has changed throughout the history of the United States. Evidence of this can be seen not only in the role government has played but also through several court cases.
The religious freedom of the country was threatened by the Employment Division v. Smith case because this case took away the qualification that you prove that the law against the religious act be of compelling interest to the state. The RFRA was issued to reinstate the qualifications for laws against religious freedoms. The changes this Act has brought are already significant. During the three years prior to RFRA -- between the time that the Smith decision was handed down (1990) and RFRA was enacted (1993) -- there have been approximately 60 cases which have relied on the Smith decision. All of them were decided against the free exercise or First Amendment claims.
On August 8, the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The court ruled that the Piscataway, N.J. Board of Education violated the Civil Rights Act when it fired Sharon Taxman, an "overrepresented" Jewish female school teacher, to make room for a black woman under the school system's affirmative action plan. The school district was ordered by the court to pay $144,000 in back pay. The judges' decision was based on their own investigation into the legislative history of Title VII ...
"Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus” by Derek Bok, published in Boston Globe in 1991, is an essay about what we should do when we are faced with expressions that are offensive to some people. The author discusses that although the First Amendment may protect our speech, but that does not mean it protects our speech if we use it immorally and inappropriately. The author claims that when people do things such as hanging the Confederate flag, “they would upset many fellow students and ignore the decent regard for the feelings of others” (70). The author discusses how this issue has approached Supreme Court and how the Supreme Court backs up the First Amendment and if it offends any groups, it does not affect the fact that everyone has his or her own freedom of speech. The author discusses how censorship may not be the way to go, because it might bring unwanted attention that would only make more devastating situations. The author believes the best solutions to these kind of situations would be to
A high school in Chattanooga, Tennessee suspended a student for wearing a jacket that depicted a Confederate flag. The school had already banded the flag prior to the student’s suspension, for fear of racial backlash. In a slim one-vote margin, the court upheld the school’s decision, solely for the possibility that racial retaliation could ensue. The student’s parents did appeal the decision, but the court deemed that this was not a violation of the student’s freedom of speech or expression.
They not only have to bear their own consumption but also to pay household expenses. Some people even unable to bear so much pressure and move towards a life of crime. The Court a much-needed mediating response to the deep conflicts of interests and ideals that arise in remedying employment discrimination (Compensating Victims of Preferential Employment Discrimination Remedies,J. Hoult Verkerke, 1989).