A Decent Respect for Religious Liberty and Religious Equality: Justice O'Connor's Interpretation of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment
January 2001
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Article Text
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A Decent Respect for Religious Liberty and Religious Equality: Justice O'Connor's Interpretation of the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment
Alan Brownstein•
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION 838
I THSUBSTANCE OF JUSTICE O'CONNOR'S INTERPRETATION OF THE
RELIGION CLAUSES 838
Free Exercise Doctrine 838
A Commitment to Religious Liberty 838
- Balancing Religious Liberty Against State interests 840
Establishment Clause Doctrine 843
Endorsement and Religious Equality 843
The Meaning of Endorsement 845
The Scope of the Endorsement Standard 845
Neutral Observers and Social Constructs 847
Endorsements and the State Display of Religious
Symbols 851
Endorsements and Legislative Accommodations of
Religion 859
Endorsements and State Funding of Religious
Organizations 862
Beyond Endorsement-Using Free Speech and Equality Principles to inform the Meaning of the Establishment
Clause 865
THE FORM OF JUSTICE O'CONNOR'S INTERPRETATION OF THE RELIGION CLAUSES 868
Correlating Terms and Meanings 868
Standards and Balancing Tests 869
IVP.LACING JUSTICE 0' CONNOR'S RELIGION CLAUSE JURISPRUDENCE IN
PERSPECTIVE 871
- Professor of Law, University of California, Davis; B.A., 1969, Antioch College; J.D. 1977, Harvard University. I would like to thank Vikram Amar and Fred Gedicks for reading drafts of this article and providing helpful criticism. I also wish to acknowledge the help I received from my research assistant, Benjamin Fite.
837
INTRODUCTION
Justice O'Connor's