Contagions, Congregations, and Constitutional Law: Comparing Religious Freedom in the 1918 and 2020 Pandemics

Abstract Legal recognition of Rastafari as a religion is a crucial step in enabling its adherents to enjoy the full scope of their religious freedom. This article considers and critiques the legal implications of the High Court of Kenya’s decision in JWM (alias P) v Board of Management O High School. In JWM, the headteacher of a secondary school decided that a Rastafarian girl who wore dreadlocks for religious reasons should be excluded from the school and only be readmitted once she had cut them as her hairstyle breached school rules. The High Court concluded that this was a violation of the student’s right to education and religious freedom. Though welcoming the JWM verdict as legally correct, this article reflects critically on how the Court arrived at its conclusion. It reviews the High Court’s reasoning in JWM and offers a constructive analysis of the likely effect of JWM on Kenyan education institutions and their uniform policies. The article advocates the need for principled, context-sensitive and methodical approaches to adjudicating freedom of religion claims so as to protect the rights of religious believers and secularists alike.

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Religious Freedom and the Churches: Contemporary Challenges in the United States Today1

Studies in Christian Ethics ◽

10.1177/0953946819896077 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 194-204

Author(s):

Richard W. Garnett

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sexual Abuse ◽

Civil Society ◽

Constitutional Law ◽

Religious Freedom ◽

The United States ◽

Religious Institutions ◽

General Decline ◽

The Supreme Court ◽

Constitutional Right

A crucial, but often overlooked, dimension of the human and constitutional right to religious freedom is the autonomy of religious institutions, associations and societies with respect to matters of governance, doctrine, formation and membership. Although the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed this autonomy in the context of American constitutional law, it is vulnerable, and even under threat, for a variety of reasons, including a general decline in the health of civil society and mediating associations and a crisis of confidence and authority caused by clerical sexual abuse and churches’ failure to respond to it.

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Prześladowanie, dyskryminacja czy uprzedzenie? Taksonomia działań i zaniechań wymierzonych przeciwko wyznawcom religii

10.31219/osf.io/hx96d ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Moulin-Stozek

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Constitutional Law ◽

Religious Beliefs ◽

Religious Freedom ◽

Religious Minorities ◽

State Institutions ◽

Adequate Response ◽

State Actors ◽

Democratic Societies

Some of the most important constitutional law principles of democratic societies include the principle of religious freedom and the principle of secularity. However, in many countries these principles are not being followed, which may lead to violations of human rights. Actions and omissions in this context may be carried out by state institutions, individuals and non-state actors and have wider societal consequences. For instance, state imposition of religious beliefs may affect not only the rights of religious minorities, but also other minorities and women. The purpose of this report is to create a taxonomy of these actions and omissions to help develop an adequate response. This report was requested by the Institute of Justice of the Ministry of Justice.

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Conclusion

America's Lone Star Constitution ◽

10.1525/california/9780520297807.003.0015 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Lucas A. Powe

Keyword(s):

Federal Government ◽

Judicial Review ◽

Constitutional Law ◽

Religious Freedom ◽

Civil Liberties ◽

Law And Politics ◽

State Capture ◽

Roe V Wade ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Relationship

This chapter concludes that the book has discussed Texas's influence on all the doctrinal areas of modern constitutional law, showing that constitutional cases litigated by and in the state capture the major themes of the relation of law and politics in the entire country. In addition to representing all doctrinal areas of constitutional law, Texas cases revolve around the major issues of the nation, from race to wealth and poverty to civil liberties and the relationship of the states and the federal government to war. This conclusion summarizes some of those important cases, including City of Boerne v. Flores, an exercise in judicial review striking down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as it applied to states; Texas v. Johnson (flag burning); Reagan v. Farmers' Loan and Trust (railroad rates); Lawrence v. Texas (homosexual sodomy); and Roe v. Wade and Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (abortion).

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