Course Description
This course will introduce students to the complex relationship between religion and government through an in-depth analysis of the nation’s founding documents and the subsequent series of First Amendment church-state decisions rendered by the United States Supreme Court.
Through the use of primary documents and the interpretation of Supreme Court First Amendment religion decisions, we will explore the genesis, history, and current legal presuppositions guiding disputes over religious freedom. Through a historical approach, we will examine the impact of the No Establishment Clause and the challenge the Free Exercise Clause on American religious culture. This will provide the backdrop for discussions of current legal issues of religious freedom, including the debates over contemporary issues such as abortion, gay rights, and euthanasia.
Goals
By the end of the semester, students enrolled in this course:
⇒ Should have a working knowledge of the major U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving religion and the First Amendment;
⇒ Should have a basic ability to read, interpret, and discuss those materials;
⇒ Should have an understanding of the history behind the development of the various doctrines governing the relationship between religion and federal law in the United States; and
⇒ Should have a basic understanding of the changing nature of public religion in America.
Texts & Readings
The following text is available at the bookstore. You are free to purchase it elsewhere, but you are solely responsible for purchasing the correct title (and edition) if you do so.
Hammond, Phillip E., David W. Machacek, and Eric Michael Mazur. Religion on Trial: How Supreme Court Trends Threaten the Freedom of Conscience in America. (HAMMOND)
[This volume can be accessed FREE online (one-hour installments) at ARCHIVE.ORG. (You must have an account, which is also free: Instructions [PDF])]
In addition, you are expected to read primary historical documents and decisions of the United States Supreme Court. (Links are provided on the “Schedule of Readings & Assignments” Web page for this class.) Additional material also may be distributed in class or linked to the class Web site.
[Materials marked “PRIMARY” will be discussed on the date listed; those marked “SECONDARY” may be discussed on the date listed. You are responsible for reading all materials on the date listed.]
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLETING ALL OF THE READINGS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR FAILURE TO OBTAIN READING ASSIGNMENTS THAT ARE DISTRIBUTED IN CLASS.
Evaluation
In-Class Participation (10% + 10% + 10% + 10% = 40%)
⇒ Attendance (10%): You are expected to attend all scheduled classes. Your grade will be calculated by dividing the number of classes attended by the total number of
classes. There are no exceptions; there are no excuses.
⇒ Discussion participation (10%): You are expected to participate fully in regular
discussions, and engage the materials in class. Regular and thoughtful participation in
class, as well as enthusiastic participation in the assignments, will be rewarded in this
category. Mindless blather will not.
⇒ Decision presentation (10%): At least once during the term you will be called upon to initiate discussion of the court decision due for that day’s class. You will be expected to summarize the reading and answer a few initial questions related to its significance, meaning, or application of the ideas presented in that reading.
⇒ Decision cards (10%): To assist you with these expectations, you are expected to prepare an index card for each of the court decisions in the “CASE LAW” section of the class “Schedule of Readings & Assignments.” On this card, you may HAND WRITE any information about the decision that you consider relevant. You must submit each card on the day the decision is to be discussed in class. (All cards must be clearly identified with your name and the title of the assigned decision.) Each card is worth 1/2 point; given the number of decisions to be read, you will not need to submit cards for each decision to earn the full number of points in this category. However, submission of cards for all decisions may be evaluated positively in terms of class participation (see above).
Cards will be returned at the time the examination, and may be used during the course of the exam. Cards submitted after the date on which the decision has been discussed will NOT be accepted, and cards submitted without a name / decision title will be discarded.
Cases Test (20%)
One examination is scheduled, at the end of the “CASE LAW” section of the “Schedule of Readings & Assignments.”
Semester-Long Writing Project (0% + 10% + 10% + 20% = 40%)
The final paper is based on a current case or hypothetical scenario and is the result of a series of writing “Phases.” Each of the phases is due on the date indicated on the “Schedule of Readings and Assignments.”
⇒ PHASE I: The Hypothetical (0%): You will be given information about a case (actual or hypothetical) working its way up through the federal court system. You will be asked to respond in-class to a set of facts even though we have not yet studied the significant historical contexts or the case law. You should be prepared to articulate an opinion.
⇒ PHASE II: Historical / Documentary Argument (10%): You will create a response to the legal research case based on historical/documentary evidence covered in class to that point (including the U.S. Constitution, the Virginia Statute, and the historical analysis we will have conducted).
⇒ PHASE III: Case-use Outline (10%): Based on the editorial responses (Phase 1) and the historical/documentary arguments (Phase 2), you will create legal arguments on which to justify your final decision concerning the facts of the legal research case. Building a legal argument means taking previous Supreme Court decisions (including both cases we will have discussed and ones we may not have) and, using those conclusions, arguing for a particular result for the legal research case.
[At this point you may realize that you no longer agree with your initial position—DO NOT feel that you must maintain that position any further. Establish your new position and use your initial response as a foil.]
⇒ PHASE IV: The Final Paper (20%): At the end of the semester you will submit a final and complete case analysis based on the previous three phases, which will be a well constructed and well argued analysis of the hypothetical in terms of the course materials, readings and discussions.
