| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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, ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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..... ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| 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 ...
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| abusing people in a religious organization is legal? | 1/14/2007 | Ed Buckner |
Q: Please tell me if this is legal? ( I'm sorry this is long, but I must explain everything) I had ...
A: In all honesty, Tina, this is not an area I have expertise in--but it sounds like a miserable ...
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