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FAQs >
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The First Amendment says nothing about 'separation of church and state' or a ‘wall of separation between church and state.’ Where did this idea come from? Is it really part of the law?
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What is the 'Lemon test' for religious mottos and displays in public settings?
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Aren't the Ten Commandments posted in the U.S. Supreme Court chamber?
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Are religious displays on public property — such as Ten Commandments in historical-documents exhibits — legal?
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Are religious holiday displays on public property constitutional?
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A public employee wishes to convert a fellow employee to his religion. Does he have a First Amendment right to proselytize?
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My faith forbids me to work on Sundays, but my workplace is open and I’m expected to be there. What are my rights?
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May a religious group that receives funds to administer a homeless shelter discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion or adherence to religious doctrines?
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May the government constitutionally place conditions on religious tax exemptions?
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Are religious organizations allowed to lobby for or against legislation?
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Can federally funded senior centers include religious activities as part of their programs or services?
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How, if at all, can federally funded senior centers provide religious activities to those who want to participate?
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Can federally funded senior centers use religious beliefs to discriminate in deciding to whom to provide services?
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Does the Supreme Court's holding in Marsh mean that any plan for providing a legislature with a chaplain paid with public funds will be constitutional?
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May my state pass a voucher program in which some vouchers are used at religious schools?
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May a non-custodial parent be told not to expose a child to a religion other than the religion practiced by the custodial parent?
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Do religious institutions have a free-exercise right to tax exemptions?
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If a prisoner who practiced the Sikh religion asked to wear a kirpan (small dagger), saying he needed to wear the kirpan to express his religious faith, must prison officials grant the request?
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If the Supreme Court struck down Congress' attempt to protect religious liberties in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, why wouldn't it just do the same thing with RLUIPA?
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Should society care about inmates' religious rights?
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Have there been any rulings yet on RLUIPA’s constitutionality?
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Do cities have the right to restrict the number of churches?
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Has the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of religious exemptions to state-compelled vaccination?
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Which states require immunizations for public schoolchildren, and which offer religious exemptions?
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How are exemption requests evaluated?
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Are religious exemptions the only way to opt out of mandatory vaccination?
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Can the government ever interfere with someone's religious practices?
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May states be required to grant exemptions for business owners whose Sabbath requires them to close their business on another day?
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May states choose only certain types of businesses to be closed on Sundays?
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Are state holidays constitutional when they are directly tied to some religious observance?
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The Supreme Court has declined to address this issue, though the lower courts
strongly favor the constitutionality of such holidays. The 9th Circuit in 1991
upheld legislation making Good Friday a state holiday in Cammack v.
Waihee, reasoning that the absence of a major traditional holiday in the
spring created a state interest in decreeing one, and that it made sense for the
legislature to select a day that would already be used by the majority of
citizens as a holiday. This decision set the stage for the 4th and 6th Circuits
to issue similar rulings. The 7th Circuit disagreed in Metzl v. Leininger
(1994), holding that because Good Friday is an exclusively Christian holiday
that has in no way been secularized, as have Christmas and Easter, its elevation
to the status of a state holiday was unconstitutional because it sent a message
of endorsement to the public, even if the practical result was neither to
advance nor inhibit religion. The holding in Metzl did allow for a
finding of constitutionality, however, if the legislature would merely make the
effort to advance a secular reasoning for the case.
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Has the Supreme Court defined 'religion'?
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