Constitutional Law. Religious Freedom. Reading of Bible in Public Schools

1903 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 249
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Religious Freedom

Unlocking the Legal Deadlock over Dreadlocks in Kenyan Schools: Constitutional Law, Rastafarians, and Religious Freedom

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 388-403
Author(s):  
Brian Sang YK
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
High Court ◽  
Crucial Step ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
School Rules ◽  
Religious Reasons

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.

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

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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