Course Description
This course examines the First Amendment's Establishment and Free
Exercise Clauses. The two Religion Clauses have been and continue to be
a focus
of extensive controversy in the legal and political arenas. The course
will examine
Supreme Court opinions interpreting the Religion Clauses. Topics
arising under
the Establishment Clause include prayer in public school
classrooms, religious symbols on public property, and government
funding of parochial
school
education. Topics arising under the Free Exercise Clause include the
rights
of conscientious
objectors to be exempt from military service, the rights of members of
a religion
to engage in
animal sacrifice as part of a religious ritual, and the rights of
employees to
refuse to work on
religious holy days. Particular attention will be paid to the
relationship between
the
Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. The reading materials for the
course
have been prepared by the instructor. The specialized nature of the
course allows students to gain expertise in this one area of
constitutional law rather than surveying a variety of
areas.
Beyond the specifics of the subject area, the course material will give
students
an opportunity to examine carefully the use and misuse of precedents.
We do not expect to offer this course in the 2012-13 academic year.