Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)

Blue Cereal — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 00:22:44 +0000

Santeria is one of those religions that the folks most likely to demand more “freedom of religion” in the United States don’t actually mean to include. What sets Santeria apart – at least in modern times – is the role of animal sacrifice. Historically, the ritual slaughter of various critters as offerings to the gods is pretty standard stuff. The Jews of the Old Testament are the most familiar example, but it was also common among the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Norse, Egyptians, and numerous other cultures. Christians echo the tradition by symbolically drinking of the blood and eating the flesh of the Son of God, thus maintaining the ritual with less clean-up afterwards. Islam rejects the “blood for favors or forgiveness” element and retains a single annual sacrifice of thankfulness each year during Eid al-Adha.

But in Santeria, sacrifices are far more old school...

Stomping Decisis / A Matter of Degrees (Introduction)

Blue Cereal — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 17:21:00 +0000

NOTE: I’m toying with the idea of a follow-up volume to both “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases and “Have To” History: A Wall of Separation. The working title is Stomping Decisis (I’ll probably change it if I can think of something better) and the central subject would be major Supreme Court decisions of … Continue reading

Free Exercise Clause – Blue Cereal Education

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)

Stomping Decisis / A Matter of Degrees (Introduction)