Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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The Cantwell Decision and the Jehovah’s Witnesses Cases The most important of these pre-Warren rulings was handed down in Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940). In this decision, the court held that the Free Exercise Clause applied to the states on the grounds that religious freedom is part of the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause, which protects […]
Ever since the Supreme Court first addressed a free exercise claim in the late 19th century, there has been no clear resolution to the question of how to interpret the Free Exercise Clause. The winding trail of decisions from Reynolds to Yoder to Smith to the legislative responses to Smith demonstrates that American courts and […]
Updated May 27, 2014 The original version of this report included public opinion data on the connection between religion and morality in China that has since been found to have been in error. Specifically, the particular survey item that asked whether one needed to believe in a higher power or God to be a moral […]
Reaffirming the Smith Decision Despite the political outcry over the Smith opinion, the court reaffirmed the decision’s basic principle three years later. The case, Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993), involved a series of ordinances passed by the Florida city in response to the ritual practice of animal sacrifice by […]
The unlikely surge of former Arkansas Governor helped generate the biggest week of coverage for the presidential campaign so far in 2007. But as Huckabee is learning, some media attention is more welcome than others. Plus, the Mitchell report turns steroid abuse in baseball into a front-page story—some might say at long last.
Expansion of Free Exercise Rights During the 1950s and 1960s, the Supreme Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Warren, issued a series of groundbreaking rulings that overturned long-standing precedents and policies in civil rights and other areas, including the free exercise of religion. The court’s opinion in Braunfeld v. Brown (1961) was an indication […]
Expansion and Contraction of Free Exercise Rights Early in the tenure of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who was appointed to lead the Supreme Court in 1969, the court issued a decision that dramatically reinforced the principles laid down in Sherbert. The case, Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), involved a challenge by members of the Old Order […]
Summary of Findings Even as the 2008 presidential campaign draws increasing news coverage, the public shows limited awareness of the personal backgrounds of some of the top GOP candidates. While 86% of the public is able to name Rudy Giuliani as the former mayor of New York City, only about half as many — 42% […]