...The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties No matter what an individual believes, one thing is for certain, religion has a huge impact within our own society and throughout the world. Recent advances of this freedom have caused serious implications in the middle east. Religion in the United States is diverse and as a result of this diversity, we see that followers of certain religions will use the diversity of religion within to influence or even manipulate those who do not share the same views. Often times, this expression and influence has a negative effect on society. Throughout this essay, I will go in depth and discuss examples of the impact that religion has had throughout our own society and the world along with the greater impacts the freedom has had on our society. More specifically, I will select four religions that have created a fragmented society we have come to know. What is now being termed a terrorist attack, the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya is an example of how the exercise of freedom of religion here in the United States has had severe implications elsewhere. An anti-Muslim film was produced by a right wing group here in the United States that sparked outrage within the middle east. Once anti-American Muslims found out about “The Innocence of Muslims,” attacks on United States consulates were planned. The attack that received the greatest amount of coverage was in Benghazi, Libya and resulted in the death of four Americans. Not...
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...This book is based on the topic of Religion and Constitution. Constitution of the U.S. was intended to be set up as a completely secular political system or a Christian common wealth. While setting up the constitution, there were some controversies that had caused some religious believers to challenge the constitution’s authorities, there were also made efforts to abolish the slavery and to amend the constitution to recognize the authority of Jesus Christ. The Constitutional Convention had just met for a few weeks when there arose crisis between delegates of four smaller states who demanded equal representation in the Senate. They were firm and wanted the rights at any cost. On the other hand, the delegates of the larger states were not willing to accept the idea of providing the small states’ representation in the Senate and thus they threatened to walk out of the convention. Just as things were about to get out of control, Benjamin Franklin the oldest delegate rose up to speak. Franklin gave the suggestion of adjourning the convention for three days to cool down the temper of the members. He also suggested to include a Chaplin, who would help the delegates to give words of wisdom and enlighten...
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...established under the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan constitution The constitution of Sri Lanka is the supreme law of Sri Lanka. Article 12(2) of the constitution states that “No citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any such grounds.” (Lanka, 1978). Also article 12(3) of the constitution further states that “No person shall, on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex or any one of such grounds, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition...
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...Bracken Ostler Business Law Paper #1 Mark Holland Freedom of Religion Freedom of religion is an essential part of the Constitution of the United States and is included in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Freedom of religion involves two important components. The first is the prohibition on the “establishment of religion” by government- the separation of Church and State; and the second, ensures that the government allows for the practice of religion (Marroquin). Many important cases throughout history have also helped to further refine the limits of freedom of religion as laid out in the Constitution. This paper will discuss why freedom of religion was chosen as part of the Constitution. It will also provide the current law pertaining to this important part of the First Amendment. In the original Constitution, religion makes only one direct and obvious appearance that seems to point to a desire of religious freedom. That appearance is in Article 6, at the end of the third clause and states: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” (Mount) This is a statement that is simple and straightforward and applies to all offices in the entire United States, both state and federal. The framers of the Constitution thought that they had constructed a complete and comprehensive document. Many people disagreed. One of the big disagreements from the opposition to the framers was the lack...
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...There are a lot of critics about how the new constitution of Turkey should be. A lot of people, academicians, and civil societies etc. lay big stress on the shape of the new constitution. Like them, I want also to mention some different points about what it need to be changed in our constitution for having a better welfare. The first point I want to mention is about the conflict of religion freedom. Indeed, the matter of secularism (laicism) in the Turkish constitution prevents the freedom of religion rather than providing the freedom of religion. Therefore with the concept of laicism in our constitution, people are not able to live their religion, Islam, comfortable. However when we consider the constitution of Norway, additionally to the freedom of religion, they say also that evangelist-lutheran is the official religion of the state and the king should protect it. This case provides both the religion freedom and the protection of the beliefs. Another thing, when I checked constitutions of other countries, I met a point where the matter emphasized on the development of science and technology. For instance, according to the constitution of Vietnam, the development of science and technology is a primary national policy and they see it as key point in the country's socio-economic development. Despite there are works on this area in Turkey last years, I think it should also be emphasized in the constitution because of its importance. Last point I want to mention is about the...
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...freedom of speech, freedom of expression, or my favorite, freedom of religion. Throughout this assignment I will explain which freedom in the first amendment relates to me the most, discuss why the Bill of rights are important, and discuss the process for amending the Constitution. The freedom in the first amendment of the constitution relates to me the most would be Freedom of Religion. Freedom of Religion states that as an American I can practice ANY religion I want or I do not have to practice any religion at all. The reason freedom of religion relates to me most is because I am a strong believer in the idiom “to each his own”. I do not care if my friend is Jewish, Hindu, Christian, the list goes on. I think expressing one’s self is extremely important and religion is one of those ways. To me, what a person’s religion is does not determine if they are a good person or not. There are people that consider themselves “Jewish” or “Christian” but yet they are extremely mean and do not care about others. Freedom of religion allows for every single citizen of the United States to have a sense of freedom. We do not feel obligated to have a certain type of religion, which is better! The reason I say this is because if we are not forced to follow a certain type of religion this means that the religion we are following is because we CHOSE to follow it. We are apart of our own religion because we truly want that religion to be apart of us. For example, I am Christian, no one told me to...
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...Jette The first amendment to the Constitution has made an impact on every United States citizen in one way or another. While all of the constitution has affected my life in one way or the other the most important part would have to be “free exercise of religion”. This allows us all to worship and praise our God as we choose. We are not demanded to entrust in what a government picked religion tells us we should believe. “Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God.” (Goldford). By allowing for freedom of religion it gives people of the United States the opportunity to decide for themselves what their hearts tell them to believe. While the majority religions are Christian based, there are many different religions and beliefs that are being followed in our country. Our freedoms allow us to make these decisions for ourselves and our family. While it appears that our constitution was written with a Christian world view, the first amendment states that our state or federal government cannot show a preference to one religion or another. We cannot be influenced by government to choose a specific religion. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments of the Constitution. It was developed to protect individual freedoms. It gives individuals the right to free speech, religion, and assembly. While also protecting against...
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...is why we have Independence Day on July 4th. The Constitution was written to give the government a little more strong hold on laws and regulations. The letter to the Danbury Baptist was written to inform the people that there would be a separation between “church and state” keeping the government out of religion. These three articles seem as though they have nothing in common…. The Declaration of Independence was written first, on July 4, 1776. The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. In both of these documents citizens were obligated to support the government as long at it was not restraining them from their freedom, and correct or remove it when it was. The Declaration was written to notify the monarchy that the United States was no longer a British colony. The Declaration of Independence listed reasons why the United States decided to cut ties to the British and was now its own country with its own government. The Constitution outlines the most important government laws and citizen rights. Some of the laws of the Constitution seem to be based off of the listed reasons in the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution was approved through a vote from the states, and the United States Federal Government was created. This is the same Government that exist today. If it wasn’t for the Declaration of Independence cutting ties with the British we might not have the same laws that the Constitution established for us today. The Declaration of Independence...
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...The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs are incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance (i.e., ideological intolerance). Religious intolerance, rather, is when a group (e.g., a society, religious group, non-religious group) specifically refuses to tolerate practices, persons or beliefs on religious grounds. ------------------------------------------------- Historical perspectives According to the 19th century British historian Arnold Toynbee, for a religious establishment to persecute another religion for being "wrong" ironically puts the persecuting religion in the wrong, undermining its own legitimacy.[1] ------------------------------------------------- Contemporary attitude and practice The constitutions of some countries contain provisions expressly forbidding the state from engaging in certain acts of religious intolerance or preference within its own borders, examples of such include The First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Article 4 of the Basic Law of Germany, Article 44.2.1 of the Constitution of The Republic of Ireland, Article 40 of the Estonian Constitution,[2] Article 24 of the Constitution of Turkey, Article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, and Article 3 Section 5 of the Constitution of the Philippines.[3] Other states, whilst not containing constitutional provisions directly related to religion, nonetheless contain provisions forbidding...
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...UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA Introduction India is indeed a unique country with its diversity in religion, caste, creed, race and languages. In no other country, its natives are so different and varied. In some countries like U.S., people belonging to different countries have settled down there. They could not be called as natives of U.S. In India its natives are so dissimilar yet they are one. Naturally the constitution of such a unique country as India is also unique. The size of the constitution It is the largest of all constitutions in the world. Initially the constitution had 395 articles and 8 schedules. At present it contains 395 Articles and 12 Schedules, and more than 80 amendments. The following are the reasons for its bulk nature. a) borrowed from several other constitutions of the world. b) The vastness of the country and its population size and diversity, compelled the framers of the constitution to make provisions for the protection and promotion of the interests of different regions and groups in the country like scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward regions. c) elaborate on centre-state relations in all aspects of their administrative and other activities. Thus, the Constitution of India became a lengthy one Partly Rigid and Partly Flexible Pandit Nehru expressed, "While we want the Constitution to be as solid and permanent as we can make it, there is no permanence in Constitution. There should be certain flexibility. If...
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...issues remarked in our Constitution. The uniform civil code would mean the codification of laws pertaining to all citizens, be they Hindus, Muslims or Christians. But now in India personal laws are the main cause of communal conflict among people. It is also intimately connected to the issue of gender justice. The present paper describes personal laws in India, the issues of uniform civil code and gender justice from a human rights point of view. KEYWORDS: India, Personal Laws, Uniform Civil Code, Gender Justice Introduction India is a secular state, world’s largest democracy and second most populous country (1,205,073,612 in 2012) emerged as a major power in the 1990s'. It is militarily strong, has major cultural influence and a fast-growing and powerful economy. With its many languages, cultures and religions, India is highly diverse. This is also reflected in its federal political system, whereby power is shared between the central government and 28 states. Religions not only have been serving as the foundation of the culture of India, but have had enormous effect on Indian politics and society. In India, religion is a way of life. It is an integral part of the entire Indian tradition. A vast majority of Indians, (over 93%) associate themselves with a religion. According to the 2001 census 80.5% of the population of India practice Hinduism, Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%) and Jainism (0.4%) are the other major religions followed by the people...
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...THE CONSTITUTION OF MALAYSIA The Constitution is a document that contains the highest laws of the country. No other law can contravene the constitution. The Federal Constitution (Malaysia) we have today is based on the Constitution of the Federal of Malaya presented by the Reid Commission in 1957. The 1957 document was amended to suit the requirements of the enlarge federation and put into effects as the Constitution when Malaysia was proclaimed on 16 September 1963. SOURCE OF LAW IN MALAYSIA WRITEN: - Federal Constitution - Act ( laws enacted) - Enactment/ Ordinance - Written Islamic Law - Minor Legislations UNWRITTEN: - Customary Law - Court decisions - Common Law - Unwritten Islamic Law FEDERAL CONSTITUTION & STATE CONSTITUTIONS Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. The country has a central federal government and 13 states governments. The Federal Constitution provides for a separation of powers between the federal government and the respective state governments. This power separation is aimed at ensuring the smooth operation of the federal system and the avoidance of disputes that may arise between the central government and a state government. The extent of the Federal Government’s power is mentioned in the Federal List. Federal List - Foreign Affairs - Defense - Internal Security - Legal and civil agendas and crime and...
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...enter into the lives of the American people. Cognizant Americans are unaware to crestfallen facts of government. In this matter, religion is a big target of the government. When the first settlers arrived in North America and settled into the thirteen colonies they were very afraid of the idea of government. Great Britain's corrupt ruler and government frightened colonists from being under control of an untrustworthy government. They did not want their faith to be controlled as it had once before. Even though protecting religious freedoms is important, the federal government of the United States should not be forced to protect religious liberty through laws and programs because the Constitution protects us from government involvement in religion; also if the government were to gain this power, they would be able to authorize the religious system of many Americans, and this aspect leads to the...
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...A Great Nation with Many Questions The American citizens of this great nation, as a whole, are ready to concede that the United States of America was not founded with Christian principles or with any basis of religion. In ten years, no one will question whether we were founded as a Christian nation or not. Is this something that American citizens are willing to concede? Our founding fathers never directly made reference to Christianity or religion, but it certainly was referenced. Think of how the United States of America would be if its foundation was not one with Christian principles, not a united country, a country without good moral values. Historically, whether many believe it or not, the United States of America is a Christian nation. American was founded by the Pilgrims and Puritans in the early 1600’s. They came to America to be able to practice religious freedom and for other reasons. England decided that they wanted to break away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500’s, thus the creation of the Church of England, otherwise known as the Anglican Church. The pilgrims not wanting to belong to the Church of England decided that they wanted to establish a colony in the state of Virginia. They wanted to practice religious freedom and have the Gospel as part of their lives. According to you tube video, “Pilgrims and their journey” by Amwess1 the pilgrims left for America in 1620 on the Mayflower. After more than sixty days they made land at Plymouth, Massachusetts...
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...Article VI of the constitution stated that “no religious test shall ever be required as qualification” (Mount, 2001), for federal office holders, the Constitution didn’t really say much about religion. The ones who wanted to give faith a greater part, and those who were afraid that it would do so, were very concerned. Some worried that the Constitution did not exclude the kind of state supported religion that had thrived in some colonies. This resulted in Congress adopting the first amendment to the Constitution. When it was ratified in 1791, it prohibited Congress to make any law "respecting an establishment of religion” (Paulson, 2001). Religion has become a very important topic in the US, today. The ideas that shaped our government were...
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