The United States Supreme Court and Religious Freedom
St. James Place ~ Spring, 2013

I.  The Supreme Court of the United States
    The Court in the Constitution
    The Organization and Work of the Court
    The Judicial Process

II. How the Supreme Court Interprets the Constitution
    A Quick View of Constitutional History
    Broad and Narrow Construction
    “Originalists” and “Adapters”

III. A Constitutional History of Religion in the United States
     The First Amendment’s Background
     Mr. Jefferson’s “Wall of Separation”
     The Application of the First Amendment to the States
     The “Great Cases”    

IV. The Establishment Clause in the Supreme Court
      Government Subsidies for Religious Entities
      Prayers in Public Schools and Public Places

V. The Free Exercise Clause in the Supreme Court
      The Mornom Cases
      The Jehovah Witness Cases

VI. The Future of Religion in the United States Supreme Court
      The Apparent Triumph of Secularism
      The Persistence of Religion in Public Life

ONLINE RESOURCES 5

Historical Background
Established Churches in Colonial Times  - from the American Bar Association
Religon in the Original 13 Colonies - from procon.com
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (1802)
Incorporation of the First Amendment into the Fourteenth Amendment - from uscourts.gov
 
The Supreme Court
United States Courts – from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts
The Supreme Court of the United States – Workings – from supremecourt.gov
**The Supreme Court of the United States - from Wikipedia
**Lawrence H. Tribe (ed.), It Is a Constitution We Are Expoundinag: Collected Writings on Interpreting Our
Founding Document (2009)
Supreme Court Voting Alignments - 2010 Term - from the Harvard Law Review
The Oyez Project - United States Supreme Court Media
Supreme Court Blog - SCOTUS
The  Judicial Branch - from whitehouse.gov
The Supreme Court of the United States - U.S. Code - from oncle.com
Religions Affiliations of Supreme Court Justices - from answers.com
Religions Affiliations of All Supreme Court Justices - from adherents.com
Religions Affiliations of All Supreme Court Justices - from infoplease.com

Important Cases

**Judicial Interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment - from uscourts.gov
The Mormon Cases - from oncle.com
The Jehovah's Witnesses Cases - from oncle.com
Survey of Jehovah's Witnesses Cases - Frankfurter, J., Concurring in Niemotko v. Maryland (1952)
Cochran v. Louisiana (1930)
Cantwell v. Connecticut (1939) - Incorporating the free exercise clause into the Fourteenth Amendment
Everson v. Board of Education (1947) - Incorporating the establishment clause into the Fourteenth Amendment
Engel v. Vitale  (1962)
Lemon v. Kurzman (1971)
Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)
Board of Education v. Allen (1968) - New York textbook case
Edwards v. Aguillard (1986) - Louisiana Creationism Case
Lee v. Weisman (1992)
Marsh v. Chambers (1983) - Chaplains in state legislatures 
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (2000)
Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2001) - Cleveland Voucher Case
Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn  (2011)

Freedom of Religion Cases - from findlaw.com  
Court Cases - from Lexis/Nexis
Findlaw -  Supreme Court Religious Freedom Cases
Religion Cases in the Supreme Court - Oyez Project - Enter "Religion" in the search field.
Cornell Legal Information Institute - Supreme Court Cases - Enter "Religion" or "Religious Freedom" to obtain links to cases.

Selected Issues
Should the Words "Under God" Be in the United States Pledge of Allegiance - from procon.org
Financial Aid to Church-Related Institutions - from justicia.com
Prayer in Public Schools - from Exploring Constitutional Law by Doug Linder
Religious Freedom - University of Virginia
Conscientious Objection and the Supreme Court - from justicia.com
Religious Discrimination in the Workplace - from Findlaw.com

**Indicates an item not on the initial handout.