http://www.pewforum.org/The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution charges the government with guaranteeing religious freedom while prohibiting it from advancing the interests of any one faith. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on a host of church-state issues, from school prayer to the placement of religious displays on public property. But observers across the political spectrum often find these court decisions perplexing, with different standards, principles and tests being applied at various times.en-usCopyright: (C) Copyright 2009 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. All rights reserved.info@pewforum.org (PewForum Info)info@pewforum.org (PewForum Info)60http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttp://www.pewforum.org/uploadedImages/_content/defaultPublicationThumb(1).gifhttp://www.pewforum.org/Fri, 24 May 2013 17:18:22 GMTFri, 24 May 2013 17:18:22 GMTWed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMTSome for-profit businesses are joining religiously affiliated nonprofits in challenging the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, claiming it violates their religious liberty rights. A Pew Research Center analysis reviews the situation before a significant case is heard by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/Federal-Appeals-Case-Brings-Contraception-Coverage-Mandate-Back-Into-Spotlight.aspxMon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMTOn Monday, the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill intended to prevent the use of foreign law in state courts. The bill contains language from model legislation designed to limit the use of sharia, or Islamic law. A new interactive map details similar bills introduced or enacted in 32 states between 2010 and 2012.http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/State-Legislation-Restricting-Use-of-Foreign-or-Religious-Law.aspxMon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT Across the U.S., religious courts operate on a routine, everyday basis. How do some of the country's major Christian traditions and other religions - including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism - decide internal matters and apply their religious laws?http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/Applying-Gods-Law-Religious-Courts-and-Mediation-in-the-US.aspxFri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMTOn Feb. 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new rules for how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate applies to religious nonprofits, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals. Church-state law scholars Ira C. Lupu and Robert Tuttle explain the new rules and the legal arguments that religious groups might make.http://www.pewforum.org/Government/The-Contraception-Mandate-and-Religious-Liberty.aspxWed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMTDuring the past 35 years, federal courts, particularly the U.S. Supreme Court, have superseded states as the driving force in crafting abortion policy.http://www.pewforum.org/Abortion/A-History-of-Key-Abortion-Rulings-of-the-US-Supreme-Court.aspxWed, 03 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT In a July 2012 Pew Research Center survey, two-thirds of American adults say churches and other houses of worship should not come out in favor of one candidate over another during political elections. http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/Americans-Continue-To-Be-Wary-of-Church-Involvement-in-Partisan-Politics.aspxTue, 02 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMTDuring every election cycle, many churches and other religious groups find themselves wondering what role, if any, they can play in the political process. "Preaching Politics From the Pulpit" explains the IRS limits on political activity by nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations. An accompanying graphic shows that Americans continue to be wary of church involvement in partisan politics.http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/preaching-politics-from-the-pulpit-2012.aspxWed, 27 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMTIn recent decades, a growing number of citizens and civil liberties groups have sued towns, cities and states over religious symbols in the public square, arguing that these displays should be removed because they violate the First Amendment's prohibition on government establishment of religion. http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/From-the-Ten-Commandments-to-Christmas-Trees-Public-Religious-Displays-and-the-Courts.aspxTue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMTEvery year as the holiday season gets underway, debates break out across the country over the appropriateness of religious displays in public spaces, such as crèches and menorahs placed in town halls. But the so-called "Christmas wars&...http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/The-Christmas-Wars-Religion-in-the-American-Public-Square.aspxTue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMTDecember 12, 2006 For more information about the Christmas wars, see the recent transcript The Christmas Wars: Religion in the American Public Square. Download PDF version (146 KB) Heated disputes over seasonal religious displays in public spaces ...http://www.pewforum.org/Church-State-Law/The-Christmas-Wars-Holiday-Displays-and-the-Federal-Courts.aspx