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Church & State Issues/Is religion untouchable when violating human rights?

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Expert: Ed Buckner - 4/29/2008


Question
When and how are churches libel, and held accountable in their internal operations for abuse of power, false accusations that bring unjust sanctions, or coersive tactics that punish their members for disagreeing with unethical behavior? Or are the able to do all of the above with impunity under the umbrella of the firts amendment? Is there any retribution for those who are persueded into membership without full knowledge of the policies and procedures?

Answer
Churches are indeed free--arguably more than is reasonable--to abuse their power without any kind of government oversight, because of the First Amendment. The US Constitution, as amended, places such a high premium on religious liberty that religious organizations can probably get away with much worse behavior than secular organizations.

Regards,

Ed Buckner

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Ed Buckner

Expertise

Nationally known freethinker will answer questions on church and state, including giving specific quotations and historical or logical support on religious liberty questions. I`m an expert on the U.S. Constitution, First Amendment, and the Treaty with Tripoli (1796-97). I am a Regional Director for the Council for Secular Humanism, active in the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and a leader of the Atlanta Freethought Society and The Georgia Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I earned a Ph.D.in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University in 1983.

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Nationally known secular humanist will answer questions on church and state, including giving specific quotations and historical or logical support on religious liberty questions. I`m an expert on the U.S. Constitution, First Amendment, and the Treaty with Tripoli (1796-97). I am the Executive Director for the Council for Secular Humanism, and a former leader of the Atlanta Freethought Society and The Georgia Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I earned a Ph.D.in Educational Leadership from Georgia State University in 1983.

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