Churches in Court
American religious institutions have been at the center of many legal controversies in recent years. These and related lawsuits raise complex constitutional questions that have been troubling American courts for more than a century. Are legal disputes involving churches and other religious institutions constitutionally different from those involving their secular counterparts, and if so, how?
Indonesia’s Place Along the Spectrum of Global Religious Restriction
Indonesia, where President Barack Obama will visit this month and where he spent part of his childhood, is among those countries of the globe where such restrictions and hostilities are highest.
Global Restrictions on Religion
Since some of the most restrictive countries are very populous, nearly 70% of the world’s 6.8 billion people live in countries with severe restrictions on religion.
Sikh-Americans and Religious Liberty
With their religious beliefs requiring distinctive elements of dress and appearance — wearing a turban, keeping hair and beards uncut, carrying a kirpan — Sikhs have been a part of many legal disputes. In an interview, church-state scholar Robert W. Tuttle discusses religious liberty and accommodation issues involving Sikh-Americans.
Ten Years of U.S. Efforts to Promote Religious Freedom
A scholar describes the controversy surrounding the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998 and discusses its impact worldwide.
The Plight of Iraq’s Religious Minorities
Since 2003, sectarian violence, ambiguous legal protections for religious freedom, and other factors have contributed to a deteriorating situation for Christians and other small religious sects.
The Free Exercise Clause and the Parameters of Religious Liberty
An expert on law and religion discusses concrete examples of protected religious expression – must the sheik remove his turban when boarding a plane?
A Delicate Balance: The Free Exercise Clause and the Supreme Court
More than a century of court decisions in this area have forged a ragged path from one extreme to the other, with permutations in between.
Religion and International Diplomacy: A Ten-Year Progress Report
Experts discuss the successes and shortcomings of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Are U.S. national interests advanced by the act, and should they be?
Legislating International Religious Freedom
In a Pew Forum roundtable event, four experts discuss the wisdom and success of U.S. legislation that makes the promotion of religious freedom an explicit goal of America’s foreign policy and ways to make that policy more effective.
