First Amendment

Is Oklahoma's Religious Charter School Good News for Secularists?

by Jacques Berlinerblau

Oklahoma recently approved the first publicly-funded religious charter school in the United States. Is it possible that this ambitious move will backfire when schools representing all denominations and faiths demand equal treatment? 

Texas GOP's Ten Commandments School Bill Fails

The Texas House did not have the votes to pass a bill approved by the state senate that would have required the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. 

Texas Schools to get Chaplains and the Ten Commandments under Legislation

After a Supreme Court ruling favored explicitly Christian prayer led by school officials at school functions, Texas conservatives feel empowered to put more religion into public schools. 

Firing of Bakersfield College Prof. Conflates Protected and Unprotected Speech

Matthew Garrett, a self-proclaimed conservative and tenured professor, was fired for cause by his institution after many cases of controversial speech and some alleged violations of university policy. The university's "kitchen sink" claim against him undermines academic freedom and faculty free speech rights. 

My Paper Sued Florida for the Same First Amendment Violations DeSantis is Making. We Won.

by Edward Wasserman

A flamboyant Florida sheriff took action against a small newspaper in 1988 by moving its mandatory legal notices to another paper. Given that the current governor has in his own book declared his intention to punish the Disney company for its "woke," precedent suggests he's in trouble. 

Texas Senate Approves Bill Requiring Ten Commandments Display in Schools

"Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a statement that both bills are wins for religious freedom in Texas."

Why NYT v. Sullivan Matters More than Ever

Conservative politicians want to use libel laws to intimidate critics. One Supreme Court case stands in their way. 

At its 150th Anniversary, the Comstock Law is Relevant Again

by Jonathan Friedman and Amy Werbel

Anthony Comstock drew on elite connections to give himself near unilateral power to confiscate "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, or immoral" materials —terms he was free to define on his own—and prosecute people for possessing them. Right-wing politicians seem to be inspired by the example. 

The Latest SCOTUS Case to Privilege Religion Over Civil Society

by Linda Greenhouse

Historically, the Supreme Court has viewed workplace accommodations for religious workers in terms of protecting minority faiths and relieving undue burdens on employers and coworkers. A pending case brought by a Christian postal worker promises to upend that balance. 

For "Religious Freedom Day," Take Back the Term's Revolutionary Meaning

The religious right has hijacked the story of Virginia's Statute for Religious Freedom, obscuring the law's intention to prevent the domination of the religious preferences of the powerful.

The Writer of "The Onion" SCOTUS Brief Takes Parody Seriously

The satirical newspaper's brief employed the rhetorical mode to lay out the free speech implications of a case involving a man who faced retaliatory arrest for making a parody facebook account for his local police department. 

Alito Laments "Disrespect" for Faith – But His Dobbs Ruling Will Push More Americans Away

by Juan Cole

"Ironically, even as Alito has managed to impose 20th century Roman Catholic dogma on all Americans, striking down any right to privacy or for women to control their own bodies, he is puzzled as to why anyone would be hostile to his agenda."

The Demise of the Church-State Wall

by Steven V. Mazie

A political scientist and court correspondent says that SCOTUS has adopted a radical version of the "free exercise" clause of the First Amendment that makes a mockery of the historic separation of religious and political authority. 

Conservatives Attacking Pornography Carry on History of Politicized Moral Panics

by Kelsy Burke

Calls by J.D. Vance and other conservative politicians for bans on pornography echo the tactics and the failures of America's first anti-obscenity crusader, Anthony Comstock. 

SCOTUS's Religious Decisions are Part of War on Public Education

by Charles McCrary and Leslie Ribovich

"The court’s conservatives do not oppose secularism so much as they oppose public things. And so, that is what we ought to defend."

A Bizarre War on Protest By Republican Judges

"If protest leaders can be hauled into court — and potentially forced to pay out of their own pockets — for the actions of a single protest attendee, then no sensible person will organize a protest."

Secularism: The Essential, Fatally Weak Guardrail of Democracy

by Jacques Berlinerblau

The framers of the US Constitiution failed to build in the protections against religious belief overpowering the rights of others or the security of the state that Locke and other political theorists thought were urgently necessary. This oversight might imperil democracy.

Should Your Taxes Fund Religious Schools? Why SCOTUS Might Say Yes

Christopher Jon Sprigman of NYU Law discusses the oral arguments in Carson v. Makin, and how the conservatives on the Court seem to be maximizing "free exercise" over "establishment." 

There's Little Doubt: The Second Amendment Threatens the First

by Diana Palmer and Timothy Zick

"In short, the visible presence of firearms increases the risk of violence and death when exercising one’s First Amendment rights."

The Sleeper SCOTUS Case that Threatens Church-State Separation

by Kimberly Wehle

"If the plaintiffs win, states and municipalities could be required to use taxpayer dollars to supplement strands of private religious education that many Americans would find deeply offensive, including schools that exclude non-Christian or LGBTQ students, families, and teachers."