News
Top NC court will not take Sunday hunting case
The North Carolina Supreme Court will not take a case involving a challenge to North Carolina’s restrictions on Sunday hunting.
Opinion
NC church disaffiliation battles test entanglement doctrine
Because these types of denominational disputes are likely to continue, courts will be faced with the difficult task of navigating between exercising their rightful jurisdiction and avoiding interference with matters of church doctrine.
Opinion
Local NC governments may have more freedom of religious speech than they think
Forty years ago, the late Lutheran-turned-Catholic priest Fr. Richard John Neuhaus published “The Naked Public Square,” a pivotal work in which he described the rise of secularism in the United States. For much of the time after this book’s publication, a “naked public square” was legally enforced by courts applying the “Lemon Test,” based on...
Opinion
Establishment Clause ‘Lemon Test’ lingers despite SCOTUS decision (Part I)
The first sentence of the US Constitution’s First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion[.]” This is known as the “Establishment Clause,” and to say it has long generated controversy is an understatement. The Establishment Clause has been interpreted so that states, and all other governmental entities (not merely...
Opinion
Don’t forget the gift of religious freedom this Christmas
Living in the United States, we don’t often dwell on how unique it is in history to be able to worship God as we see fit and celebrate the holidays we hold dear. For most of human history, kings and other rulers generally wanted those they ruled to join in the approved rituals and holidays....
Opinion
The dystopian nightmare of parents choosing their child’s school
This week, Republicans held a news conference, with both state House and Senate sponsors of a bill, named “Choose Your School, Choose Your Future,” that would make Opportunity Scholarships, often called vouchers, available to all N.C. families. The value of the scholarships would be dependent on income, with lower-income families getting 100% of the per-pupil...
Opinion
SCOTUS showing subtleties of jurisprudence
We tend to think of U.S. Supreme Court justices as ideological, their views and actions mapping neatly onto the conventional liberal-to-conservative continuum of American politics. Their decisions are thought to conform to the party of the president who nominated them. The current conservative bloc is Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil...
Opinion
Credit to the Supreme Court
The nation's high court just handed down a decision that gives school-choice foes some hope. But few have noticed that targeted tax breaks for business may be affected.
Opinion
On Governmental Time-Wasting
NC officials have been working furiously to demonstrate that they aren’t working hard enough on the public’s real business.
Opinion
Resistance is few tiles
Carolina Journal's Jon Sanders writes about a senior class gift to a Cary High School that, merciful heavens, even included some heart-felt religious sentiments.
