Current law on freedom of religion [Updated]

From Wake Forest University Center for Religion and Public Affairs: Download the landmark Religious Expression in American Public Life: A Joint Statement of Current Law [.pdf]

Drafting the document included those associated with faith-based groups as diverse as the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the Islamic Networks Group, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the Queens Federation of Churches, the American Jewish Committee, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. Thus the panel included representatives from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh faith traditions.

The document begins:

The place of religion in American public life is a subject of widespread interest and intense debate.

Part of that debate concerns the law that applies to these issues.

The drafters of this document often disagree about how the law should address issues regarding the intersection of religion and government. For example, some of us are actively urging the Supreme Court of the United States to reverse certain decisions in this area, while others of us are vigorously opposing such efforts.

Nevertheless, we have come together to provide a summary of how the law currently answers some basic questions regarding religious expression and practice in public life. However much we differ about what the law should be, we agree in many cases on what the law is today.

Download the 34-page document here [.pdf].