WASHINGTON — A Muslim prisoner in Arkansas, a Christian pastor in Arizona and an 11-year-old Jewish boy born in Jerusalem will present the Supreme Court with three chances in the next few months to rule on cases with religious overtones. It wont be anything new to the justices, who divided 5-4 on two controversial religious freedom cases in their last term. The courts conservative majority upheld the practice of opening government meetings with a prayer, even when nearly all the clergy are Christian. And it exempted family-owned businesses with religious objections from having to pay for contraceptives in their insurance plans under Obamacare. Compared with those cases, the new trio are flying under the radar. One focuses on prison inmates. Another deals with outdoor signs. The third affects Americans born in Jerusalem. All three cases will bring the delicate issue of religion back to the court chamber, along with questions about politics, public safety and Middle East peace. It shows how intertwined religion is with political life, says Marc Stern, general counsel for the American Jewish Committee. As much as one talks about separation of church and state, its not so simple to disentangle sometimes. Heres a look at the cases in the order they will reach the court:
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 18:33:06 +0000
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