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Church & State Issues/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| use of tax payers money | 3/7/2010 | Michael Troy |
| Q: can a church rent or lease thier property with tax payers money A: Generally speaking, Courts have found that Churches and government may do business with each other ... | ||
| separation of church and state | 10/29/2009 | Dean Gade |
| Q: I'm sorry the questions pertain to "separation of church and state." Please let me send another ... A: There is a great deal of difference in people's views on the Constitution and Bill of Rights ... | ||
| separation of church and state | 10/29/2009 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Given the state of affairs with religion in the colonies prior to drafting the First Amendment, and ... A: At the time very little would have changed. Many argued the clause was irrelevant because the ... | ||
| mormons | 9/17/2009 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Is it true that in the late 1970's the Mormon church was being sued for discrimination (no blacks ... A: The very early LDS Church did allow black priests, but in 1848, the Mormons decreed that blacks, who ... | ||
| potential case favoring separationism? | 6/17/2009 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I would like to know if "God Help the Outcasts," from the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" ... A: I am an Atheist, I generally dislike sappy Disney music, I suspect that if I knew more about "God ... | ||
| School Law | 6/10/2009 | Michael Troy |
| Q: I am working on a paper regarding school law pertaining to church and state issues. Can you give me ... A: This site gives a good summary of key cases: http://candst.tripod.com/tableidx.htm You may also ... | ||
| florida school attendance law | 4/29/2009 | Michael Troy |
| Q: as Mennonites in the state of Florida our question is: can the state of Fl. compel us to send our ... A: Please keep in mind that I am not allowed to provide specific legal advice in this forum. However, ... | ||
| case | 2/7/2009 | Michael Troy |
| Q: this is a sample case on political science.. boyet became a member of a certain religion. he was ... A: I cannot do a whole legal document with citations here, but generally speaking, courts respect a ... | ||
| Rights and Liberties | 12/9/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I have enjoyed reading your answers to some previous questions and your thoughtful repsonses. My ... A: Eric, We're straying away from church/state issues and onto more philosophical turf here. That's ... | ||
| Rights and Liberties | 11/23/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I have enjoyed reading your answers to some previous questions and your thoughtful repsonses. My ... A: As an Atheist, I don't think there is a creator--or at least not a Creator--from whom anything could ... | ||
| Founding Fathers | 8/29/2008 | Dean Gade |
| Q: Did our founding Fathers really believe in democracy as an effort form of government or wether they ... A: Our founding fathers believed that a democracy would be the best alternative to all other forms of ... | ||
| Prayer in school | 7/25/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: How would you respond to the argument that taking prayer out of the schools leads to incidents like ... A: I'd respond that it makes no sense at all to believe that taking government-sposnored prayer out of ... | ||
| Prayer in school | 7/25/2008 | Dean Gade |
| Q: How would you respond to the argument that taking prayer out of the schools leads to incidents like ... A: The goal of taking prayer out of public schools is to get God out of the lives of people..... ... | ||
| How is doctrinal defamation Ok?? | 6/6/2008 | Dean Gade |
| Q: I am just curious as I am studying law and ethics and found that a certain religion promote and ... A: The purpose of excommunication is not defamation. The purpose of excommunication is to "win back" a ... | ||
| church and state | 5/26/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Ed, I am writing a paper for an American government class. We are writing about the first and second ... A: Separation of church and state controversies swirl around almost constantly, largely because ... | ||
| Could this be a Supreme Court Case? | 5/3/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: If a church has established what offenses warrent expulsion but has not made a provision for one who ... A: I'm no attorney, but it seems quite unlikely to me that the courts or the legal system at all would ... | ||
| Is a church legally bound to allow exit with dignity? | 4/30/2008 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Now just one more, please bear with me. Is there any law that compels all churches upon request, ... A: If a church made some statement that clearly indicated a person committed a particular sin, which ... | ||
| Organized Religious Harm Protected by the Constitution???? | 4/29/2008 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Do you have any suggestions about When and how are churches libel, and held accountable in their ... A: Churches are free to be unfair to members, run things in an unfair way, etc. Church members are, of ... | ||
| Is religion untouchable when violating human rights? | 4/29/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: When and how are churches libel, and held accountable in their internal operations for abuse of ... A: Churches are indeed free--arguably more than is reasonable--to abuse their power without any kind of ... | ||
| Not Forwarned of Penalty before membership | 4/28/2008 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Is it legal to forbid church members to speak to former church members under penalty of expulsion? A: The First Amendment ensures that government does not involve itself in the internal administration ... | ||
| Founding Fathers' Statements on Seperation of Church and State | 4/22/2008 | Dean Gade |
| Q: Mr. Gade, I am currently enrolled in Pattonville High school and am charged with writing a research ... A: Thomas Jefferson is about the only one who used terms which could be interpreted as "separation of ... | ||
| The Founding Fathers' Stance on Separation of Church and States | 4/21/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Dr. Buckner, I am currently enrolled at Pattonville High School in St. Louis, Missouri and am ... A: (Send it, please, to ed@buckners.us --I look forward to it.) It would quite literally take a book ... | ||
| Comparative Religion Courses in GA Public Schools | 4/11/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: What are the likely legal ramifications of the new Old Testament and New Testament Bible Courses ... A: The likely legal ramifications depend heavily on the almost-impossible-to-do-right execution of the ... | ||
| Comparative Religion Courses in GA Public Schools | 4/11/2008 | Michael Troy |
| Q: What are the likely legal ramifications of the new Old Testament and New Testament Bible Courses ... A: I cannot provide specific legal advice, but generally speaking, a public school can offer classes ... | ||
| What is wrong with this? | 2/10/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: My question is what is the harm in having the Ten Commandments posted in government buildings, or ... A: The threat--a real one--is to everyone's religious liberty, not just to the liberty of atheists or ... | ||
| Slander from church members | 1/31/2008 | Michael Troy |
| Q: I live in Michigan and my family has been slandered by members of a church in front of the ... A: A person who makes slanderous remarks could be sued. It would be much harder to make a case against ... | ||
| Turn the Radio off! | 1/29/2008 | Dean Gade |
| Q: I was listening to my radio which of course was tuned to a local Christian station. An employee came ... A: The First Amendment guarantees your right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The only ... | ||
| Interstate Telephone Harassment from Church of Scientology | 1/28/2008 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: we have received over 100 calls from the Church of Scientology over the past 3 months. Mostly from ... A: First, let me extend my sympathy. Any individual or organzation that persists in calling someone (or ... | ||
| Is this unconstitutional? | 12/26/2007 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I do not know whether or not this is within your range of expertise but I thought I would give it a ... A: The courts have given mixed messages on this topic and I'm unsure what the latest is, so I guess my ... | ||
| What about human rights and constitutional infringements? | 12/17/2007 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: and this question builds on that. If in fact "physical assualt" and "murder" are thankfully not ... A: " I certainly do think that human rights, individual rights, should be superior to an ... | ||
| What about human rights infringements? | 12/17/2007 | Michael Troy |
| Q: and this question builds on that. If in fact "physical assualt" and "murder" are thankfully not ... A: I cannot really provide specific legal advice on an actual case in this forum. I can say that a ... | ||
| Eclessiastical priviledge or means to an end? | 12/13/2007 | Michael Troy |
| Q: THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY TO GET ANYWHERE WITH WATCHTOWER OF THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WHERE ... A: First let me admit that I know rather little about the Jehovah's Witnesses. However, the government ... | ||
| Eclessiastical priviledge or means to an end? | 12/13/2007 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY TO GET ANYWHERE WITH WATCHTOWER OF THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WHERE ... A: I'm very sorry to say that I doubt if you have any recourse other than to leave the organization and ... | ||
| Eclessiastical priviledge or means to an end? | 12/13/2007 | Dean Gade |
| Q: THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY TO GET ANYWHERE WITH WATCHTOWER OF THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WHERE ... A: According to God's Word, those who are a part of God's kingdom in Christ are to be the final ... | ||
| Are Christmas Treets | 12/5/2007 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Are chritmas treets and other religious object are on violation of the constitution of separation of ... A: First, of course, private ownership or display of such things raise no Constitutional issue. It is ... | ||
| work and religion | 11/30/2007 | Michael Troy |
| Q: i want to know is there anything i can do about a certain situation i am facing at work? i am a 22 ... A: I am not permitted to provide specific legal advice in this forum. However, generally speaking ... | ||
| Religion Required in Office | 10/16/2007 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I've looked around the internet but do not find this situation addressed: I work in a private ... A: In my personal opinion, freedom of religion is meaningless unless it includes--for those of us who ... | ||
| church profits | 9/3/2007 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Are megachurches exempt from paying taxes? Do pastors not have to take a vow of poverty? And how ... A: Mr. Clark, I am in wholehearted agreement with what I take to be the implications of your question ... | ||
| seperation of church and state and the 14th amendment | 8/9/2007 | Michael Troy |
| Q: I am currently doing a research paper about church and state and keep finding information about how ... A: It sounds like you have stumbled across a fairly complex legal situation. It is particularly ... | ||
| Religion at work | 3/7/2007 | Michael Troy |
| Q: I work at a theatre for young audiences. After a recent performance of Noah's Ark, I was handling ... A: Sorry to hear about your situation. There are certainly no legal prohibitions to stating anything ... | ||
Church & State Issues
Answers by Expert:
Michael Troy
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer any question relating to freedom of religion or the Establishment Clause. My specialties involve religious discrimination by government in allocation of benefits, usually in the educational area. I cannot give specific legal advice on specific cases you may have.
Experience
I have participated in the litigation of a number of religious freedom/Establishment Clause cases, including Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia and Columbia Union College v. Clarke.
Organizations
Former Attorney with Center for Individual Rights
Publications
Washington Post
Washington Times
Education/Credentials
JD from Univ. of Michigan Law School
Awards and Honors
Truman Scholar
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