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The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world.

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ANALYSIS February 9, 2006
Supreme Court's Decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
Unanimous Court Sends Abortion Decision Back to Lower Court Download the Decision Analysis Download the Legal Backgrounder On January 18, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a lower federal court had erred in striking down in its entirety a Ne...
ANALYSIS February 1, 2006
Supreme Court's Decision in Gonzales v. Oregon : High Court Rejects Federal Regulation of Physician-Assisted Suicide
Download the Decision Analysis Download the Legal Backgrounder On January 17, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1970 Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not give the U.S. attorney general the authority to prohibit Oregon doctors from prescri...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT December 5, 2005
The Biology Wars: The Religion, Science and Education Controversy
Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in December 2005 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker Edward J. Larson, Talmadge Chair of Law and Russ...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT December 1, 2005
Judicial Faith? Ideology, Religion and the Rule of Law: A Conversation with Noah Feldman
Just weeks before the Senate confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel A. Alito, President Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, the Forum held a discussion for journalists and other policy leaders on the role of religion in the judicial confirma...
LEGAL REPORT November 29, 2005
Abortion Seen as Most Important Issue for Supreme Court
Most favor legal abortion, but with more limits Download this Fact Sheet (44K .pdf) On November 30, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case of Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, marking the first time in five years...
LEGAL REPORT November 28, 2005
The Supreme Court Returns to the Abortion Debate: Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
Download the Legal Backgrounder On November 30, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, a case that challenges New Hampshire's Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act. Ayott...
ANALYSIS September 30, 2005
Supreme Court Considers Challenge to Oregon's Death with Dignity Act: Gonzales v. Oregon and the Right to Die
Download the Legal Backgrounder Download the Decision Analysis On October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Gonzales v. Oregon, a case arising from the conflict between Oregon's Death with Dignity Act and the U.S. attorney gene...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT September 29, 2005
The Right to Assisted Suicide?: Oregon Goes to the Supreme Court
Oregon has twice, by ballot initiative, adopted a measure allowing for physician-assisted suicide. The measure, known as the "Death With Dignity Act," raises serious moral and ethical questions, and was challenged by the U.S. Department ...
LEGAL REPORT September 22, 2005
From Darwin to Dover: An Overview of Important Cases in the Evolution Debate
Download the Legal Backgrounder (533K .pdf) Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking theory on the origins of life, Americans are still fighting over evolution. If anything, the controversy is growing in both size and int...
ANALYSIS July 27, 2005
Analysis of Ten Commandments Decisions
Download the complete analysis On June 27, 2005, the Supreme Court issued sharply divided decisions in two cases involving constitutional challenges to government-sponsored displays of the Ten Commandments. In McCreary County v. American Civil Lib...
LEGAL REPORT June 13, 2005
The Constitutional Status of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act: Cutter v. Wilkinson
Download the Legal Backgrounder (March 2005, 164K .pdf) Download the Addendum (June 2005, 121K .pdf) Read the Pew Forum Discussion transcript The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT May 23, 2005
With Ben Franklin's Blessings: A Primer on the Faith-Based Initiative
Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Florida, in May 2005 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle conference on religion, politics and public life. Conference speaker John DiIulio, a University of Pennsylvania professor ...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT May 6, 2005
Right to Die? Legal, Ethical and Public Policy Implications
Sponsored by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, The Federalist Society, and The Constitution Project End of life decisions have been much in the news lately, with the Schiavo case and the late Pope's medical treatment dominating recent h...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT April 21, 2005
Secular Europe and Religious America: Implications for Transatlantic Relations
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Council on Foreign Relations co-hosted a luncheon roundtable entitled "Secular Europe and Religious America: Implications for Transatlantic Relations" on April 21, 2005 at the Pew Resea...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT March 17, 2005
To What Extent Can Congress Regulate Religious Freedom
Download the Pew Forum legal backgrounder Speakers: Nathan J. Diament, Director, Institute for Public Affairs, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America; Co-Editor, Tikkun Olam: Social Responsibility in Jewish Law and Thought Ira C. "...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT February 24, 2005
A Monumental Decision: High Court Considers Constitutionality of Ten Commandments Displays on Public Property
Download legal backgrounder on Ten Commandments cases (154K .pdf) On March 2, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases that concern the placement of Ten Commandments displays on public property. The commandments controversy came to ...
LEGAL REPORT February 24, 2005
A Monumental Decision: Supreme Court Considers Constitutionality of Ten Commandments Displays on Public Property
Download the Legal Backgrounder (154K .pdf) On March 2, 2005, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Van Orden v. Perry (No. 03-1500) and McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (No. 03-1693). The two cases involve cha...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT September 28, 2004
Pushing the Envelope? The Political Activities of Religious Organizations in Campaign 2004
Speakers: Richard Land, President, Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Robert Tuttle, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School Ronald Walters, Director, African American Leadership Institute; Pr...
ANALYSIS September 28, 2004
Politics and the Pulpit 2004: A Guide to the Internal Revenue Restrictions on the Political Activity of Religious Organizations
Download the complete report Note: An updated version of this report is now available as Politics and the Pulpit: 2008. During every election cycle, many religious congregations find themselves wondering what role, if any, they can play in the pol...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT April 19, 2004
The Veil Controversy: International Perspectives on Religion in Public Life
Speakers: E.J. Dionne, Co-Chair, the Pew Forum, and Senior Fellow, the Brookings Institution Raja Elhabti, Director of Research, Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights Husain Haqqani, Visiting Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International ...
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