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Supreme Court: Church-State Cases, 2001-2002 Term

Description: This issue brief discusses a number of Supreme Court cases that heavily concern church and state from the 2001-2002 Term. It provides detailed summaries on two decided cases, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc v. Stratton, Ohio and Zelman v. Selmon-Harris.
Date: July 12, 2002
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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House and Senate Chaplains

Description: This report discusses the two chaplains, one in the House, the other in the Senate, who are the official clergy of Congress. At the beginning of each Congress, the House chaplain is elected for a 2-year term. The Senate chaplain does not have to be reelected at the beginning of a new Congress. There have been 61 Senate chaplains and 59 House chaplains.
Date: October 9, 2001
Creator: Amer, Mildred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Prayer and Religion in the Public Schools: What Is, and Is Not, Permitted

Description: This report summarizes each of the Supreme Courts decisions in regard to instances of prayer and religion in public schools. The report gives a detailed overview of what has been held to be constitutionally permissible and constitutionally forbidden, and describes two issues as yet unsettled.
Date: August 18, 2000
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Law of Church and State: Public Aid to Sectarian Schools

Description: One of the most difficult issues of constitutional law concerns the extent to which the establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment imposes constraints on the provision of public aid to private sectarian schools. This report gives a brief overview of the evolution of the Courtā€™s interpretation of the establishment clause in this area and itemizes the categories of aid that have been addressed by the Court and held to be constitutionally permissible or impermissible, both at the elemā€¦ more
Date: August 1, 2000
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan: Connections to Islamic Movements In Central and South Asia and Southern Russia

Description: After several years of relative peace in Central Asia and southern Russia, Islamic extremist movements have become more active in Russia and in Central and South Asia, threatening stability in the region. Although numerous factors might account for the upsurge in activity, several of these movements appear to have connections to the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These linkages raise questions about whether the United States, as part of a broader effort to promote peace aā€¦ more
Date: December 7, 1999
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Religious Freedom Restoration Act: Its Rise, Fall, and Current Status

Description: This report briefly summarizes Employment Division, Oregon Department of Human Resources v. Smith, the legislative history of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the Supreme Court's decision in City of Boerne, Texas v. Flores, and RFRA's current legal status, and notes the introduction of the Religious Liberty Protection Act (RLPA).
Date: June 25, 1998
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Religious Persecution Abroad: Congressional Concerns and Actions

Description: The 105 Congress has sought to raise the priority of combating religious persecution worldwide among U.S. foreign policy objectives. The difficulty has been in agreeing on legislation that would effectively deal with religious persecution without adversely affecting other important U.S. interests. On May 14, 1998, the House passed H.R. 2431 (the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of 1998) establishing in the State Department a Director of the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring who iā€¦ more
Date: June 25, 1998
Creator: Bite, Vita
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration-Related Provisions of Selected Bills on Religious Persecution

Description: This report analyzes immigration-related provisions of H.R. 2431, the ā€œFreedom from Religious Persecution Act,ā€ as passed by the House on May 14, 1998, and S. 1868, the ā€œInternational Religious Freedom Act,ā€ as introduced in the Senate.
Date: June 4, 1998
Creator: Eig, Larry M. & Vialet, Joyce
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Russiaā€™s Religion Law: Assessments and Implications

Description: This short report provides an overview and assessment of the Russian religion law. On September 26, 1997, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the religion bill into law, and implementing regulations were promulgated in early 1998. The Administration and Congress have raised concerns that the law may restrict religion and have urged Russia to uphold its international commitments to religious freedom.
Date: May 29, 1998
Creator: Nichol, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Russia's Religion Law: Assessments and Implications

Description: This short report provides an overview and assessment of Russian religion law. On September 26, 1997, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the religion bill into law, and implementing regulations were promulgated in early 1998. The Administration and Congress have raised concerns that the law may restrict religion and have urged Russia to uphold its international commitments to religious freedom. The FY1998 Foreign Aid Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-118) prohibits the Freedom Support Act aid toā€¦ more
Date: May 29, 1998
Creator: Nichol, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China's Treatment of Religious Practices

Description: From abstract: This report provides a brief background on religions in the People's Republic of China and discusses official Chinese government attitudes toward religious observance.
Date: May 8, 1998
Creator: Dumbaugh, Kerry & Johnson, Deborah E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Legislative Prayer and School Prayer: The Constitutional Difference

Description: The Supreme Court's decisions holding government-sponsored prayer in the public schools to violate the First Amendment's establishment clause but prayer in legislative assemblies to be constitutional are sometimes lifted up as contradictory. This report summarizes the relevant decisions and identifies the distinctions the Court has drawn between the two situations.
Date: October 26, 1994
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The School Prayer Controversy: Pro-Con Arguments

Description: Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing information about pro-con arguments in regards to the school prayer controversy. Topics include, background an policy analysis, hearings, reports and congressional documents, etc..
Date: August 26, 1985
Creator: Whittier, Charles H
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The School Prayer Controversy: Pro-Con Arguments

Description: Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing information about pro-con arguments in regards to the school prayer controversy. Topics include, background an policy analysis, hearings, reports and congressional documents, etc..
Date: August 26, 1985
Creator: Whittier, Charles H
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court: Church-State Cases, October 1983 Term

Description: This report provides an assessment of Supreme Court cases from the 1983-85 Term that involve issues involving the free exercise of religion. It provides a detailed review of the case Lynch v. Donnelly, and brief descriptions of twelve other cases that have not been reviewed.
Date: December 14, 1983
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Legal Analysis of President Reagan's Proposed Constitutional Amendment on School Prayer

Description: Congressional Research Service (CRS) report for Congress entailing a legal analysis of President Reagan's proposed constitutional amendment on school prayers. Topics include, interpretation of the first amendment, prayer activities in schools, supreme court decisions etc..
Date: June 2, 1982
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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School Prayer

Description: Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing information about school prayer. Topics include, proposed amendments, news articles, coverage of the issue of school prayer from 1962 to 1982, etc..
Date: June 1, 1982
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Prayer and Religion in the Public Schools: What Is, and Is Not, Permitted

Description: Few areas of constitutional law have proven to be as controversial and as subject to misinterpretation as that concerning the constitutionality of government-sponsored religious activities in public schools. In the last three decades the Supreme Court in five decisions and the State arid lower Federal courts in dozens of related decisions have attempted to articulate the 1 / meaning of the religion clauses of the First ~mendment- for a variety of such activities, including State-sponsored prayeā€¦ more
Date: September 4, 1980
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Constitutionality of the Withdrawal of All Federal Court Jurisdiction Over Questions Involving State-Sponsored Prayer in Public Schools and Public Buildings

Description: This report discusses several court decisions regarding the constitutionality of the withdrawal of all Federal Court Jurisdiction over questions involving state-sponsored prayer in Public Schools and Public Buildings.
Date: April 27, 1979
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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