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Evolution and Religion
A Pew Forum research package gives an overview of the debate, examines its social and legal dimensions and reviews the life and ideas of Charles Darwin.
 

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LEGAL REPORT October 19, 2010
In Brief: Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn and Arizona Department of Revenue v. Winn
On Nov. 3, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of related cases involving a constitutional challenge to an Arizona tax policy aimed at providing scholarships for children to attend private – often religious – schools.
LEGAL REPORT June 28, 2010
High Court Rules Against Campus Christian Group
A divided Supreme Court today ruled, 5-4, that a public law school can deny recognition to a student group that excludes gays and lesbians. The Court said the school could enforce a policy requiring official student organizations to accept all students who want to join.
ANALYSIS February 4, 2009
The Social and Legal Dimensions of the Evolution Debate in the U.S.
As with many social and political controversies in the United States, the battle over evolution has been largely fought in courtrooms.
ANALYSIS August 28, 2008
On Ceremonial Occasions, May the Government Invoke a Deity?
Opponents of these religious invocations say such proclamations promote religion and thus violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which prohibits all laws "respecting an establishment of religion."
INTERVIEW July 24, 2008
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.
INTERVIEW May 9, 2007
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?
ANALYSIS May 9, 2007
Religion in the Public Schools
Nearly a half-century after the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling striking down school-sponsored prayer, Americans continue to fight over the place of religion in public schools.
LEGAL REPORT March 29, 2006
Biology Wars
The Religion, Science and Education Controversy Download the Discussion Read the original Transcript The current legal and political battles surrounding the teaching of evolution in American schools are part of an 80-year-old debate stretching bac...
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 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...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT March 19, 2004
Under God? Pledge of Allegiance Constitutionality
Speakers: Doug Laycock, Counsel of Record for 32 Christian and Jewish clergy, urging the Court to affirm the 9th Circuit's ruling Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice; Counsel of Record for United States Senators an...
LEGAL REPORT March 19, 2004
One Nation Under God? Pledge of Allegiance Case
Download full backgrounder The Forum's Pledge of Allegiance Issue Backgrounder, written by legal scholars and published in March 2004, details the history of the Pledge and offers analysis of the legal questions raised in Elk Grove Unified School ...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT February 27, 2004
Locke v. Davey and Beyond
Speakers Anthony Picarello, Vice President and General Counsel, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty; filed amicus brief in Locke case on behalf of Joshua Davey Marc D. Stern, General Counsel, American Jewish Congress; filed amicus brief in Locke...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT March 28, 2003
Separation of Church and States: An Examination of State Constitutional Limits on Government Funding for Religious Institutions
Separation of Church and States: An Examination of State Constitutional Limits on Government Funding for Religious Institutions 2003-03-28 9:00 am-5:00 pm Chapel Hill, NC Due to technical difficulties, we are unable to provide the transcript from the Q&A of these panels. Session 1 : History o
EVENT TRANSCRIPT June 28, 2002
Judgment Day for School Vouchers
Panelists include: Mark Chopko, General Counsel, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Judith French, former Assistant Attorney General, State of Ohio; argued Zelman case on behalf of Ohio before the Supreme Court Ira (Chip) Lupu, Louis Harkey Mayo ...
EVENT TRANSCRIPT November 28, 2001
Judgment Day for School Vouchers: A Discussion of the Constitutionality of the Cleveland School Voucher Plan
Discussants Robert A. Destro, Counsel of Record for The Center for Education Reform, amicus curiae supporting the constitutionality of the Cleveland school voucher plan; Professor, Columbus School of Law of The Catholic University of AmericaCharle...