Professor Edward Erler observes that the First Amendment was designed to give equal status to "both reason and revelation." Here is how he puts it: "[T]his idea would be reflected in the First Amendment to the Constitution, where free exercise of religion is protected equally with freedom of speech."
This exact idea never occurred to be before reading Erler, but it comes from the Declaration which relied on both the "Laws of Nature and Nature's God."
Grist for the mill.
Lydia Wearing Her Censored Mask
Jennifer Booth usually picks her younger children up after school. Her youngest, Roman, is in kindergarten, and Lydia is in the third grade. One day last October, the two came running and piled into the car, breathless as usual with the events of the day.
“Mama,” Lydia said, “I’ve got bad news.” Her computer lab teacher, she said, had warned her against continuing to wear her favorite mask. The one that has “Jesus Loves Me” printed on it.
“She just said it,” Lydia remembers, “a little angry, but not much. She told me not to wear it again.
Although the school allowed children to wear all sorts of masks with all sorts of messages, it decided that religious messages were not permitted. Lydia's parents took a stand for the First Amendment and contacted Alliance Defending Freedom.
And to make a long story short, Lydia is now allowed to wear her "Jesus Loves Me" mask to school. If you wish to practice social justice law, working with ADF is a great way to do it.
We will soon be studying free speech in public schools.
For our Seventh week please read these assignments:
1. (Wednesday) Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc v. Hialeah, full text
majority opinion only: 508 U.S. 520, from 520 to 547) (Get it from Hein on Line)
2. (Thursday) Masterpiece Cakeshop (link); My Article on Masterpiece ; Cuomo
You should also watch video number 11 for Wednesday’s Zoom Session and video number 12 for Thursday’s zoom session:
Video 11
Video 12
Finally, we will meet on Zoom (join from Canvas recurring zoom page for this course) on Wednesday (video 11) and Thursday (video 12) from 1:15 to 2:15 PM to discuss the issues raised in our materials.
"Chesterton says that a society is in decay when common sense has become
uncommon, when straightforward ideas start to appear strange and
unfamiliar, and the crooked conventions of the day and the fads and
fashions
of the moment seem more acceptable, even more urgent."--A Wise Commentator
For our Sixth week please read these assignments:
II. Free Exercise Clause
1. Reynolds case (Link); Casebook p. 1787-1794
2. Casebook p. 1794-1804
You should also watch video number 9 and 10 for Wednesday’s Zoom Session:
Video 9
Video 10
Finally, we will meet on Zoom (join from Canvas recurring zoom page for this course) on Wednesday (assignment 1 and video 9) and Thursday (assignment 2 and video 10) from 1:15 to 2:15 PM to discuss the issues raised in our materials.
