Dodge v. Salvation Army (1989)
Can religious organizations receiving federal, state, and local government funding
discriminate against people whose religion they don't like? A district court in
Mississippi ruled "no," finding in favor of a pagan and against the Salvation Army.
Glassroth v. Moore (2002)
Roy Moore installed a huge granite monument to the Ten Commandments in Alabama,
saying that their presence would help to remind people that God was sovereign over them
and over the laws of the nation. A District Court, however, found that his actions were an
obvious violation of the separation of church and state, ordering him to remove the monument.
Colautti v. Franklin (1979)
Should doctors be required to try to save the life of a possibly viable fetus when
performing an abortion? A Pennsylvania law created such a requirement, but the
Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. Find out why...
FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas (1990)
The Supreme Court lays down rules for cities' ability to create licensing,
inspection, and zoning requirements for sexually oriented businesses. In the
process, they rule as unconstitutional such requirements created by the
city of Dallas.
Ganulin v. United States (1999)
Is it constitutional for the United States government to recognize Christmas
as an official paid holiday? Richard Ganulin, an atheist lawyer, argued that it
isn't and filed suit, but a U.S. District Court ruled against him.
ACLU v. Schundler (1999)
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that a city's crèche and menorah
display was unconstitutional when it did not have any secular symbols with it, but
it became constitutional when enough secular symbols were added to a new,
modified display.
Bridenbaugh v. O'Bannon (1993)
According to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a government is permitted
to give employees a religious holiday off as a paid vacation day, but only if
the government can provide a legitimate secular purpose for choosing that
day instead of any other day.
Clever v. Cherry Hill Township (1993)
How far can a public school go when including religious symbols in school functions?
According to a New Jersey District Court, any religious symbols can be used, but only
so long as they are part of a legitimate, secular education program.
Bauchman v. West High School (1997)
Is it a violation of the separation of church and state to make students sing
Christian songs in a public school choir? According to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals,
it isn't a violation - not even if the teacher involved uses his position to promote his
religion.
Florey v. Sioux Falls School District (1980)
Roger Florey, an atheist, filed suit against a local school district's holiday
programs, claiming that singing of religious carols during Christmas concerts, like
"Silent Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful", were a violation of the separation of
church and state.
Sechler v. State College Area School District (2000)
Jarrod Sechler, a "youth pastor" at a local Christian church, filed suit against
the State College Area High School because their holiday program was
insufficiently Christian for him. According to a U.S. District Court, the presence
of non-Christian symbols did not advance either those religions or express
hostility towards Christianity.
Widmar v. Vincent (1981)
Should religious student groups be given the same access to university
facilities as secular student groups, or would that mean that the university
is exhibiting support and/or encouragement to religious beliefs? According to
the Supreme Court, all groups must be treated equally, including religious
organizations.
Mueller v. Allen (1983)
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 that a Minnesota law allowing parents to make tax
deductions for expenses incurred through things like textbooks and other supplies
at private schools is constitutional, even though most of the benefit goes to
religious and not secular schools.
Zelman v. Simmons (2002)
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 that a Cleveland, Ohio, program which spends large
amounts of public money on subsidizing education at religious schools is
constitutional.
Newdow v. U.S. Congress (2002)
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the addition of the words "under
God" to the Pledge of Allgiance back in 1954 was unconstitutional.
ESA v. Rylander (2001)
A Texas district court ruled that a nontheistic Ethical Culture Society deserved
a religious tax exemption. The Court rejected State arguments that religion must
be defined by a belief in a "Supreme Being."
Williams v. Lara (2000)
The Texas Supreme Court decided that an "all fundamentalist" prison section
was unconstitutional, even though the prisoners volunteered to be there where
other religious beliefs were excluded.
LeVake v. Independent School District (2001)
A federal district court finds that a school may remove a teacher from teaching a biology
class when that teacher, a creationist, cannot adequately teach evolution.
FFRF v. Faith Works (2002)
A federal district court decides that the state government cannot give direct,
unrestricted funding to a "faith based" drug counseling program which also includes
a heavy dose of religious indoctrination.
FFRF v. Rhea County Board of Education (2002)
A federal district court decides that a public school cannot have students from the local
Bryan College come in to teach Bible classes.
O'Bannon v. Indiana Civil Liberties Union (2001)
The Supreme Court has recently refused to hear a case about a large monument in
Indiana which would have included the Ten Commandments. What was the original 7th Circuit
Court decision, and why did they reach that conclusion? What does this mean for future
cases?
Watchtower Society vs. Village of Stratton (2001)
Should people going door-to-door for solicitations, canvassing, etc. be required to
get a permit first? The Jehovah's Witnesses don't think so, and challenged just such
a law in the Village of Stratton, Ohio. The 6th Circuit Court decided against them, but the
case will soon be decided by the Supreme Court.
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