report | Aug 4, 2010

Federal Court Strikes Down Calif. Same-Sex Marriage Ban

A federal district court judge today struck down California’s ban on gay marriage, ruling that the prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution. The decision, which is expected to be appealed, represents the first time a federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry. In his ruling, District Court […]

report | Jun 28, 2010

High Court Rules Against Campus Christian Group

A divided Supreme Court today ruled, 5-4, that a public law school can deny recognition to a student group that excludes gays and lesbians. The Court said the school could enforce a policy requiring official student organizations to accept all students who want to join. The case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, arose in 2004 […]

report | Jun 28, 2010

High Court Rules Against Campus Christian Group

A divided Supreme Court today ruled, 5-4, that a public law school can deny recognition to a student group that excludes gays and lesbians. The Court said the school could enforce a policy requiring official student organizations to accept all students who want to join. The case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, arose in 2004 […]

report | Apr 29, 2010

Hispanics and Arizona’s New Immigration Law

More Americans believe that Hispanics are the targets of a lot of discrimination in American society than say the same about any other major racial or ethnic group, according to a survey taken prior to the enactment of an immigration enforcement law by the state of Arizona.

report | Apr 28, 2010

High Court Decision in Salazar v. Buono

The U.S. Supreme Court today overturned a lower court ruling that had ordered the removal of a cross from a World War I memorial located in California’s Mojave National Preserve. Prior to the high court’s decision in this case, Salazar v. Buono, a federal district court had ruled that allowing the eight-foot-tall cross to remain […]

report | Dec 3, 2009

Sikh-Americans and Religious Liberty

With their distinctive appearance and religious practices, Sikh-Americans often find themselves at the center of workplace discrimination cases and other controversies involving their religious rights. And while Sikh groups have worked to carve out legal protections for the community’s religious practices, their efforts have not always met with success. In California, for example, Gov. Arnold […]

fact sheet | Sep 24, 2009

In Brief: Salazar v. Buono

On Oct. 7, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Salazar v. Buono, a case involving a constitutional challenge to the presence of an eight-foot-tall Christian cross in the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, Calif. The case arose when Frank Buono, a former assistant superintendent of the preserve, filed a […]

report | Jul 9, 2009

The Constitutional Dimensions of the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

In this research package Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Slideshow: Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage Overview of Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S. Gay Marriage and the Law Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Gay Marriage Gay Marriage Around the World Graphic: State Policies on Same-Sex Marriage Q&A: Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion On […]

report | May 14, 2009

Shifting Boundaries: The Establishment Clause and Government Funding of Religious Schools and Other Faith-Based Organizations

In an ongoing series of occasional reports, “Religion and the Courts: The Pillars of Church-State Law,” the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life explores the complex, fluid relationship between government and religion. Among the issues to be examined are religion in public schools, displays of religious symbols on public property, conflicts concerning the free […]

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