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Church & State Issues/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| 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 ... | ||
| 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 ... | ||
| Separation of Church and State | 11/6/2006 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Dr. Buckner, I am currently enrolled at Brigham Young University and have been given the task of ... A: Normally I don't reply to questions like this, for fear of doing students' work for them. Since you ... | ||
| Free will | 10/24/2006 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Is Free Will Relative? A: I supposed different people think differently about this. Some believe free will is an illusion and ... | ||
| Wisconsin Vs Yoder | 9/20/2006 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Can you explain how the Free Exercise Clause was utilized in the Wisconsin Vs Yoder (1972) Docket # ... A: Wisconsin had a law that all children had to attend school until age 16. The Amish were a religious ... | ||
| demonic and angelic human birth | 12/9/2005 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: can a demon or an angel mate with a human and concieve a child? A: Mr. Wilbourn, I'm not entirely sure you're serious, but just in case you are: 1. By definition (of ... | ||
| Political Science | 10/4/2005 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: i have a question in political science: ''As competition between companies increase in an industry, ... A: Hannah, normally i don't do homework for inquirers, this question has nothing to do with my area of ... | ||
| Anti Christmas Movement | 12/5/2004 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Buckner: This message is regarding renaming and/or deleting the word Christmas from private and ... A: I'm not really nearly as much an expert on Christmas and on celebrating it as my great friend, Tom ... | ||
| church and state | 11/2/2004 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I live in Wisconsin and am concerned about a non-binding referendum that our city is voting on. ... A: Detert, I'm not an attorney and don't know for sure (Wisconsin law could come into play, and I know ... | ||
| Freedom and religion | 10/6/2004 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Since the First Ammendment gives the freedom to practice any religion, what is the justification for ... A: Only if governments at all levels stay out of the religious stuff altogether can religious liberty ... | ||
| dignity of the dead | 7/30/2004 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: "Hellow my name is igael attias and i am a law student from israel. i am working on a law project ... A: My expertise does not really cover this, but I don't really think there is any very clear basis in ... | ||
| Roman Catholic Church | 11/18/2003 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: My question is about church law but I haven't find such a category so sorry if this is not of your ... A: There is, as I'm sure you already realize, no secular legal requirement involved. I'm not a ... | ||
| Public Library | 6/20/2003 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I have objected in writing to my local public library (the Boyd County Public Library) supported by ... A: Francks, I am completely sympathetic to your objection and concerns, but I'm not sure whether you ... | ||
| Oregon's Death with Dignity Act | 10/12/2002 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Dr. Buckner, I realize this may not be within your scope, if so no problem. I am doing a policy ... A: Sorry to be so long answering and then not even to help much. Joe Beck, a friend and staffer in our ... | ||
| Separation of Church and State | 5/25/2002 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: I'm doing a research paper for a school project on the separation between the church and the state. ... A: McClain, I'm sending you a slightly revised answer, mostly because I was embarassed that I had so ... | ||
| MICHAEL: I HAVE ASKED TWO... | 4/27/2002 | Michael Troy |
| Q: MICHAEL: I HAVE ASKED TWO "RELIGIOUS" MISSIONS HERE TO GIVE ME THE ADDRESSES OF ANY AND ALL THE ... A: It definitely sounds like there are serious Establishment Clause problems there. You might want to ... | ||
| THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE | 4/26/2002 | Michael Troy |
| Q: THERE IS AN ORGANIZATION IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE CALLED "THE ROOM IN THE INN" THAT HOUSES INDIGENT ... A: Keep in mind that I cannot give specific legal advice here on specific cases. Because I am not ... | ||
| the constitution and freedom of religion | 7/7/2001 | Michael Troy |
| Q: Exactly what freedom of religion does the constitution give to us as individuals? A: Freedom of Religion is a rather complicated topic. People can write entire books on the subject. ... | ||
| Politics and the Religious Right | 2/2/2001 | Michael Troy |
| Q: I have been trying to find a quick history/explanation on when and why the Relious Right became a ... A: The term "religious right" is a somewhat vague term. Generally, it refers to religious people who ... | ||
| separation of church and state | 1/31/2001 | Ed Buckner |
| Q: Does the U.S. constitution state that there should be a separation of church and state and could you ... A: Mr. Smith, Yes and no. No, the exact words are not there (the same is true of many other important ... | ||
Church & State Issues
Answers by Expert:
Ed Buckner
Top Expert on this page
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.
Experience
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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