Almost Persuaded: Statutory Protections for Students’ Religious Rights
Almost Persuaded: Statutory Protections for Students’ Religious Rights
Joshua Dunn, 38 J.L. & Educ. 627 (2009)
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While Kenneth Marcus persuasively demonstrated that religious rights receive less official legal protection than other categories of rights, his proposed legislation creates two fundamental problems. First, it would generate significant costs, both by increasing the fear of formal investigation and litigation that beset teachers and school officials and by creating incentives to exaggerate claims of religious discrimination. Second, it would threaten religious liberties, both by prompting government entanglement with religious doctrines and practices and by undermining protections for religious speech. Thus, whether religious believers would welcome this legislation, which is intended to protect them, is unclear.