pewforum.org Topics Issues
The Contraception Mandate and Religious Liberty
On 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.
Tensions Between Rights of Conscience and Civil Rights
Until recently, the debate over “conscience protections” for health care workers centered largely on abortion and birth control. But in the past few years, new cases have emerged that have expanded the debate and raised questions about the tensions between individuals’ rights of conscience and the need to protect certain groups against discrimination, notably gays and lesbians.
Sikh-Americans and Religious Liberty
With their distinctive appearance and religious practices, Sikh-Americans often find themselves at the center of workplace discrimination cases and other controversies involving their religious rights. To better understand religious liberty and accommodation issues involving Sikh-Americans, the Pew Forum turns to church-state scholar Robert W. Tuttle.
Faith Healing and the Law
To explore the legal issues that courts must consider in cases involving parents' use of faith healing, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life turns to church-state scholar Robert W. Tuttle.
Stimulus Package Stimulates Church-State Debate
Economic stimulus legislation has brought on a church-state debate regarding school funding. The Pew Forum turns to church-state scholar Robert Tuttle.
Hiring Law for Groups Following a Higher Law: Faith-Based Hiring and the Obama Administration
The Bush administration contended that religious groups always have the right to hire on the basis of religion. But President Obama has suggested that he disagrees with this policy. To explore how the Obama administration might alter Bush’s policy, the Pew Forum turns to church-state scholar Ira “Chip” Lupu.
Brutalism Is in the Eye of the Beholder: A Congregation Sues D.C. for Making Its Church Building a Historic Landmark
The Third Church of Christ, Scientist, in Washington, D.C., is at the center of a lawsuit over how the government regulates religious use of land.
Pro-Choice Does Not Mean Pro-Abortion: An Argument for Abortion Rights Featuring the Rev. Carlton Veazey
To explore the case for abortion rights, the Pew Forum turns to the Rev. Carlton W. Veazey, who for more than a decade has been president of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Fundamental Dignity at Every Stage of Life: An Argument Against Abortion Rights Featuring the Rev. J. Daniel Mindling
To explore the case against abortion rights, the Pew Forum turns to the Rev. J. Daniel Mindling, a professor of moral philosophy and academic dean at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmetsburg, Md.
John DiIulio Previews How Faith-Based Initiatives Would Change if Barack Obama Is Elected President
To discuss how Obama might implement his faith-based and community initiatives, the Pew Forum posed a series of questions to John J. DiIulio Jr., who has worked closely with this issue.
Stephen Goldsmith Previews How Faith-Based Initiatives Would Change if John McCain Is Elected President
To discuss how McCain might implement his faith-based and community initiatives, the Pew Forum posed a series of questions to Stephen Goldsmith, who has worked closely with this issue.
Pastors To Protest IRS Rules on Political Advocacy
On Sept. 28, pastors from 20 states will give politically based sermons from the pulpit as part of a protest organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal-advocacy group. The protest will challenge an Internal Revenue Code restriction that limits the political activities of charitable organizations
The Blaine Game: Controversy Over the Blaine Amendments and Public Funding of Religion
More than two-thirds of states have constitutional provisions restricting state aid to religious organizations; these state constitutional provisions are collectively known as the Blaine Amendments.
Accommodating Faith in the Military
Over the past few years, there have been several controversies over religion's role in the military. Most recently, students and staff at the U.S. Naval Academy and West Point have complained...
Courts Will Decide Church Property Disputes
 The Falls Church, where George Washington worshipped, is one of 11 Virginia congregations to sever ties with the Episcopal Church, which has sued for property rights.
An Argument For Same-Sex Marriage: An Interview with Jonathan Rauch
The debate over same-sex marriage in the United States is a contentious one, and advocates on both sides continue to work hard to make their voices heard. To explore the case for gay marriage, the Pew Forum has turned to Jonathan Rauch.
An Argument Against Same-Sex Marriage: An Interview with Rick Santorum
To explore the case against gay marriage, the Pew Forum has turned to Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and now a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
The Free Exercise Clause and the Parameters of Religious Liberty
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that the federal government will respect the "free exercise" of religion. But the precise meaning of "free exercise" and exactly what constitutes an infringement of this right are not clear-cut.
From the Ten Commandments to Christmas Trees: Public Religious Displays and the Courts
In 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.
School Graduations, Religion and the Courts
Spring is the season for school graduations, and graduation ceremonies play a featured role in the national debate over the place of religion in public education. Is a clergyman's benediction at a public school event a violation of the separation of church and state?
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