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Religion & Politics 2012

Religion & Politics 2012 includes news, analysis and data on the role of religion in politics, social issues, candidates and political parties relevant to the 2011-12 primary and general election cycle.

 
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.
Oregon's 'Death with Dignity' Law: 10 Years Later
Ten years have passed since Oregon became the first state in the nation to authorize doctors to assist terminally ill patients in voluntarily ending their lives.
A Progressive Argument Against the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide
The debate over physician-assisted suicide is often portrayed as a battle between social or religious conservatives who oppose the practice and liberals or progressives who support it. But not everyone fits neatly into this paradigm.
Looking for a Way Out: Rethinking the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Few Palestinian families have deeper roots in Jerusalem than Sari Nusseibeh's. In the 7th century, immediately after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, the caliph Omar the Great entrusted one of Nusseibeh's ancestors with the key to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
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.
Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization
Seeking to establish dialogue and understanding between Islamic and Western cultures, internationally renowned scholar Akbar Ahmed led a team of dedicated young Americans on a daring and unprecedented tour of the Muslim world.
God's Will: Iran's Polity and the Challenges of the Future
Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in May 2007 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life.
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?
International Religious Freedom: Religion and International Diplomacy
Has the State Department interpreted the international religious freedom policy too narrowly over the past decade by focusing on individual cases of religious persecution?
Strange Bedfellows: Why Are Some Religious Groups Defending 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'?
by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life March 27, 2007 A recent Supreme Court case involving the free speech rights of students is producing some very unusual alliances. Christian conservative groups, such a...
Religion in a Globalizing World
Some of the nation's leading journalists and distinguished scholars gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2006 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Peter Berger, professor emeritus of religio...
Israel and the Future of Zionism
Israel and the Future of Zionism 2006-12-04 Key West, Florida Some of the nation's leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in December 2006 for the Pew Forum's biannual Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life. Peter Berkowitz, a Hoover Institution fellow, and Ari Shavit, a
Legislating International Religious Freedom
With the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, the United States became one of the few countries in the world to make promotion of religious freedom an explicit foreign policy goal. The act, signed into law by President Clint...
Religious Voters and the Midterm Elections
Despite predictions from some pundits that sex scandals involving former Rep. Mark Foley and former National Association of Evangelicals President Ted Haggard would make evangelicals disillusioned with the GOP, exit polls showed evangelicals suppo...
Judicial Showdown: The Supreme Court Returns to the Abortion Debate
On Nov. 8, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases that challenge the constitutionality of the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. The Act aims to prohibit a doctor from performing what the legislation calls a "partial bir...
Is There a Culture War? A Dialogue on Values and American Public Life
James Davison Hunter and Alan Wolfe Pew Forum Dialogues on Religion & Public Life E.J. Dionne Jr. and Michael Cromartie, Series Editors Executive Summary (.pdf) Order the book In the wake of a bitter 2004 presidential campaign and in the face ...
The Supreme Court Revisits the Partial Birth Abortion Issue
Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood Download the full backgrounder (12-page pdf) Abortion resource page Introduction On Nov. 8, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in two cases that challenge the constitutionality o...
The Vatican and Islam: Pope Benedict XVI Prepares to Visit Turkey
Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit Turkey on Nov. 28-30, a trip that has already attracted exceptionally close attention because of the pope's remarks about Islam during a September speech in Regensburg, Germany. More than 50 Islamic nations ...
God's Country? Evangelicals and U.S. Foreign Policy
In his recent article in Foreign Affairs, Walter Russell Mead argues that as U.S. evangelicals exert increasing political influence, they are becoming a powerful force in foreign affairs. In recent years, evangelicals have voted overwhelmingly Rep...
Dr. No? The Debate on Conscience in Health Care
Does requiring pharmacists to dispense medication they find morally objectionable violate their rights to the free exercise of religion? Or, are religious objections secondary to a woman's right to receive an approved prescription in a timely mann...
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