Abolish Religious Exemptions from the Law?

Part One:


Part Two:


In the United States and other countries, religious institutions have traditionally enjoyed a privileged position, i.e., they have been granted exemptions from compliance with certain laws (including, without limitation, laws against discrimination in employment and laws requiring the payment of taxes). Is it appropriate or even useful for religion to have this privileged status?

Links:

1. Regarding Christian Legal Society v. Martinez--

--the decision of the federal district court in favor of the law school

http://www.alliancealert.org/2006/200...

--the decision of the 9th Circuit affirming the trial court's ruling

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/...

--SCOTUS WIKI's entry on the case (lots of information and material)

http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?t...

2. Archbishop Donald Wuerl's talk entitled "Religious Freedom and Marriage"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwN7RL...

3. Washington D.C.'s marriage equality and nondiscrimination law and related material

http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us...

http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us...

4. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/tit...

5. McClure v. The Salvation Army (the first federal appeals court decision to recognize a "ministerial exception" to Title VII)

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_cas...

1. Wisconsin Supreme Court's use of the "ministerial exception" to dismiss an age discrimination case against a Catholic school system

http://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/Di...

2. New York Court of Appeals decision in Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany v. Serio

http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I06...

3. California Supreme Court's decision in Catholic Charities of Sacramento v. Superior Court (Unfortunately, I can't find a generally accessible URL for this decision. The citation is 85 P.3d 67 (2004).)

4. Jonathan Turley's Op-Ed piece entitled "When it comes to religious groups, who's really facing discrimination?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...

5. Employment Division v. Smith

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html...

6. Bob Jones University v. United States

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html...

7. New York Times article on the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association case

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/nyr...

8. Part 1 of this video series

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5TBxC...