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Search results for: “religion death penalty”

  • transcript

    Faith Healing and the Law

    Two of government’s obligations – enforcing child welfare laws and protecting the constitutional right to freedom of religious expression and practice – can clash when a parent chooses to rely on prayer and other spiritual healing practices instead of standard medical care to treat a child’s illness. When such a decision results in harm to […]

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    Will the Culture War Matter on Election Day?

    For much of the presidential campaign, it has appeared that moral values issues would play only a small role in the November election. Indeed, at various points both Barack Obama and John McCain shied away from talking about abortion, same-sex marriage and other “culture war” issues. But the selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican […]

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    The Plight of Iraq’s Religious Minorities

    The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a report on May 2 that listed 11 “countries of particular concern” – countries whose governments have allowed or participated in violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. Although the commission did not list Iraq as one of the 11 countries, it said […]

  • fact sheet

    The Supreme Court Considers New Case on Capital Punishment

    On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of a Louisiana statute that allows for the death penalty in cases involving child rape. More specifically, the court will determine whether the law violates the U.S Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments.” The case, […]

  • fact sheet

    Hein, One Year Later: The Future of Church-State Litigation

    Washington, D.C. In the Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation decision in June 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court made it more difficult for courts to enforce the Establishment Clause’s restrictions on government funding of religion. In Hein, the high court ruled that unless a legislative body has specifically directed funding to a religious organization or […]

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    An Impassioned Debate: An Overview of the Death Penalty in America

    (Updated June 26, 2008) In this article: The role of the courts Lethal injection and the Baze case Child rape and the Kennedy case The history of the death penalty The death penalty worldwide Few public policy issues have inflamed passions as consistently and as strongly as the debate over capital punishment. Religious communities have […]

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    Capital Punishment’s Constant Constituency: An American Majority

    (For more recent public opinion data on the death penalty, see a 2011 analysis.) by Robert Ruby, Senior Editor, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life In the last 35 years, beginning with its temporary moratorium on the death penalty, the Supreme Court has changed its view of capital punishment and done so more than […]

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    The Culture War and the Coming Election

    April 11, 2007 by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life The 2008 presidential election is still more than a year-and-a-half away, but some issues, such as the war in Iraq and health care, have already begun to define the contest. Others will emerge in the months ahead to catch […]

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    The Death Penalty Today: Defend It, Mend It or End It?

    National Press Club Washington, D.C. Since the Supreme Court lifted its moratorium on the death penalty 30 years ago, 38 states and the federal government have reinstated capital punishment. In recent years, there has been a nationwide debate over the proper application, morality and constitutionality of the death penalty. Some argue that there are systemic […]

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