Freedom of Religion – Blue Cereal Education

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...

Holt v. Hobbs (2015): Who Then Can Be Shaved?

Blue Cereal — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 21:08:21 +0000

The Arkansas Department of Corrections doesn’t allow prisoners to grow beards (with some exceptions made for inmates with specific skin conditions). The argument was that inmates could conceivably hide contraband in their beards and that shaving them off would allow them to quickly change their appearance should they escape.

One suspects these were largely rationalizations, but prison isn’t primarily intended to be a great place for personal expression, so maybe officials have the right to tweak a few rules for their own purposes.

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

Carson v. Makin (My Free Exercise Can Beat Up Your Wall of Separation)

Blue Cereal — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 16:21:34 +0000

Well, any pretense Chief Justice John Roberts has been maintaining about being in any way “moderate” or “reasonable” seems to have been blown to hell this week. The Court’s decision in Carson v. Makin (2022) accelerates the jurisprudential slide away from the proverbial “wall of separation” and elevates the “free exercise” of the minority with … Continue reading

The Decision (Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 1990 – Part Two)

Blue Cereal — Sun, 18 Jul 2021 12:20:47 +0000

1. The Equal Access Act of 1984 prohibited any public school which permitted “non-curricular” clubs to meet on school property from picking and choosing which clubs they allowed based on ideologies or beliefs. The trick was figuring out what counted as “non-curricular.”

2. Bridget Mergens was a student at Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1985, she asked her principal for permission to form a Christian club at the school.

3. The school said no, arguing that organizations like Chess Club and Scuba Club were essentially (if not directly) curriculum-related in that they were extensions of the sorts of things the school promoted as a whole, and thus inadequate to trigger the requirements of the act. Bridget didn’t buy it.

Eventually, the case ended up in the Supreme Court. You probably won't be surprised how it turned out.

Bridget Wants A Bible Club (Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 1990 – Part One)

Blue Cereal — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 12:15:36 +0000

Bridget Mergens was a student at Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1985, she asked her principal for permission to form a Christian club at the school. They’d read and discuss the Bible, pray together, and enjoy what those on the inside call “fellowship.” Membership would be open to anyone, however, regardless of their beliefs – because, you know… school.

The school said no. That was a mistake.