Questions tagged [religion]
The religion tag has no usage guidance.
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I want to leave Islam, but they would execute and kill me. What do I do?
I live in an Islamic country, but I don't want to be a Muslim. I have no choice but to claim to be a Muslim: If I leave Islam, they will execute me according to Muslim law.
Where can I go to have a ...
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3
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Can illegal aliens claim sanctuary in a church?
This tweet (as quoted in a Washington Post article), seems to suggest that illegal aliens can claim sanctuary in a church:
#GuadalupeGarcia attorney says @ICEgov has lied to him and he will advise ...
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Is religious confession legally privileged?
I'm referring to Catholic confession to a priest. I'm sure, like attorney-client privilege, that if you disclose a future crime you are planning to commit then they can and will tell the police. I'm ...
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Can U.S. states establish state religions?
The first amendment says:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the ...
17
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Does the Satanic Temples new abortion 'ritual' allow abortions under religious freedom?
The Satanic Temple has recently announced an abortion ritual. It's clearly a parody ritual added only after abortion was made illegal, but then again the USA tends to be very generous with their ...
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Conflict between a religious belief that accounts for the existence of transgender people vs. one that doesn't
Country: US
State: Michigan
Example:
Ann belongs to a denomination that accepts the existence of transgender people as what they claim they are. Ann starts a company that grows to over 25 employees,...
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What constitutes a "religious belief"
Reading this article I have to wonder what "religion" all these SF police employees belong to that denies them access to the vaccine.
Do they have to declare which religion they're a part of ...
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What would happen to the churches (physical buildings), works of art, etc. in case of a new schism?
In the recent past, in the opinion of some theologians, the German catholic church is close to a schism with the Catholic Church.
Regardless of whether you agree or not, I'm interested in knowing what ...
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Is it prohibited to mock the LGBT community in France?
Recent question: Freedom of speech and blasphemy caused me to think about it and ask myself:
is there any limits/prohibits for mocking in France? Is it legal to criticize the LGBT community?
As we see,...
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Do US public school students have a First Amendment right to be able to perform sacred music?
I believe that in the US, public schools are allowed to perform music with religious texts, and that this has been upheld by the Supreme Court on the grounds that the music program is teaching music, ...
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How is Christmas' status as a federal holiday legal?
It seems the United States federal government's establishment of Christmas, a religious holiday, as a federal holiday would be illegal under the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
How is it ...
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Can hospitals run by trusts discriminate based on religion in India
Suppose there's a hospital run by any trust. It gives free medicines to patients belonging to a particular religion and other patients have to pay for their medicines.
However, India is a secular ...
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In the US, at what age can a child refuse to attend a religious service mandated by their parent?
If a child has determined that they don't want to attend religious services with their parent, at what age can they no longer be compelled to do so?
Given:
A parent is stating to their child that ...
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Can an employer require employees be Christian?
One of the "essential duties and requirements" for this job posting on Stack Overflow is:
Maintains a personal, active relationship with Jesus Christ and is a consistent witness for Jesus Christ
...
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Can a religious baker refuse service to an underage couple-to-be, in accordance with his deeply-held religious beliefs?
As previously asked, bakers in certain US states can legally refuse service on the basis of sexual orientation. For the purposes of this question, assume that the state is Colorado.
Child marriage is ...
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Employer-mandated participation in self-help meetings with strong pseudo-science and religious undertones
My employer has started a 7-week series of classes, to which all employees currently on the clock are expected to attend. We are paid for the time the same as if we had been working. The self-help ...
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Can a church legally initiate formal discipline against a member who has officially withdrawn/resigned from the church?
Suppose Jane is a member of a fundamentalist Evangelical church. She violates church doctrine and submits her resignation. At this point, church doctrine calls for her to be shunned by the church ...
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Religious exemptions to warrant?
In the second season episode of The X-Files "Red Museum," Mulder and Scully visit the home of a devout vegetarian, Odin, who refuses then access to his house because they eat meat.
They don't have ...
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2
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Can a Web site owner prohibit men from accessing a site for religious reasons?
Is it legal for a woman who writes a religious blog to not allow men to access the site because of a belief that women should not teach men about religion?
5
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Is it legal to force a atheist student to read a prayer in a Church of England UK academy?
At my school, which is a Church of England academy, instead of assemblies, we do "Collective Worship" (although everyone still calls them assemblies). With whole-school assemblies, each class takes ...
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Is the bible used by judges?
When making a decision, can a judge use the bible or must he go strictly by the statutes?
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Can religious institutions discriminate when selecting their own clergy?
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it is illegal to discriminate against a current employee or candidate based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, ...
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What is necessary for a newly formed religion to enjoy first amendment protections?
Is it possible to simply declare that you have started a new religion with arbitrary rules, and expect to enjoy all applicable first amendment protections for it? For example, if your religion just ...
5
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1
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Is it legal in Denmark to deface religious scriptures?
This piece from the New York times got my attention: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/world/europe/denmark-quran-burning.html
Apparently some Danish guy got convicted of burning the Quran.
Q. ...
4
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1
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When did religious public schools become illegal?
Follow up to https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/24571/why-cant-a-local-government-run-a-religious-public-school
Before the 14th amendment and it's incorporation of the establishment clause ...
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Gathering bans and Churches
With bans on gatherings due to the virus, can the government close churches or are they exempt due to seperation laws?
3
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1
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What is a 'creed' for purposes of New York City's public accommodation anti-discrimination code?
Aside from the federal anti-discrimination law, New York City has its own more restrictive anti-discrimination laws, which seem to include more protected classes and which also seems to have a much ...
3
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Carrying a Sgian Dubh - UK
There is a LOT of conflicting information on this subject online, mostly revolving around whether or not traditional dress is "sufficient reason" to carry what is essentially a knife in public.
My ...
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2
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Is it legal to deny a priest a job because he's atheist
Hypothetically, if you had an Atheist looking to make money by becoming a priest, would the church be legally allowed to deny him the job because of his religion (or lack of), assuming he's still ...
3
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1
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Do some U.S. states' constitutions interpret the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment differently?
Do some U.S. states' constitutions interpret the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment differently? If so, what do they say?
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Is it legal to display Buddhist/Hindu swastikas in Germany?
In Germany, it is illegal to publicly display Nazi symbols, including the swastika. However, the swastika (and its chiral counterpart, the sauwastika) are Buddhist and Hindu religious symbols with ...
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Religious exemption to vaccines that relies on preservation of life
Almost every US state allows a religious exemption to vaccination requirements in schools. Some religions are opposed to vaccination as a basic principle (maybe because healing is reserved for God or ...
3
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Can a person legally convert to any religion including very minor religions in India or disavow all religion?
Say a person in India wants to change his religion in Government certificates like the Aadhar card (UID) to say "Pastafarianism" or "Ancient Greek Religion" (think Zeus) or "Scientology".
Does the ...
3
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1
answer
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Why are religious figures given the status of "legal person" in India?
In India, religious figures have been given the status of legal person, and from the case law, I've read there doesn't seem to be a clear rationale for this. Corporations and organizations are also ...
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How does separation of church and state apply to the military academy choir singing Christmas carols?
During the holidays West Point military academy has a "holiday celebration", where their choir sung many traditionally secular holiday songs, sleigh bells, marshmallow world etc. However they also ...
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Are Satanists legal in the US?
I heard that Satanists in USA are legal and are even represented in the counsil of the churches and have "study books" used in school.
In Russia there is a law that acts which are done to harm ...
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Blasphemy in the Context of Freedom of Speech
So my country is currently exhausting herself with a blasphemy case. It makes me wonder because such case in other countries (Western countries in particular) are not considered a crime because it's a ...
2
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How would the first constitution of India interpret hijab in the classrooms?
Recently, a court in Kerala, India, banned the hijab in classrooms, saying that the hijab is not an integral part of the religion of Islam. Therefore, theoretically, Muslims in any part of India ...
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In UK, can religious institutions discriminate against the sexual orientation of their own clergy?
There is this other question about the same subject but it is applicable to the United States. In this question I want to ask about UK employment laws.
This is in consideration of the United Kingdom ...
2
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2
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Rabbinical courts in Israel throw people in jail?
A rabbinical court in Israel on Thursday sentenced to five years in prison a man who for years has refused to give his wife a divorce.
...
In Orthodox Judaism, a marriage cannot be undone unless the ...
2
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Can a lawyer question you about your religious beliefs during a trial?
Can a lawyer question you about your religious beliefs during a trial? I've heard that the U.S. census asking about your belief is illegal in the United States. It has been against the law since 1976 (...
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2
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Do sanskrit-mottos from religious texts violate secularism in India?
In India many Government Institutions, agencies, Judicial Bodies etc use mottos from religious texts primarily Hindu texts like Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads etc.
Does this violate concept of secularism ...
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3
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Does the Icelandic government recognise ULC-officiated marriages?
Is a marriage officiated by an ordained Universal Life Church minister (and performed in the country) legally recognised in Iceland?
The Wikipedia page on the ULC only lists US states and this site ...
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Can your workplace ask you personal details about your religion and sub-beliefs from religion in the US?
Not much other than the question. Can a workplace for example ask if you are Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Jehovah's Witness via survey... and then sub-questions based on your answers? I want cases ...
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Can an employer require attendance at a holiday party over the employee's religious objections?
Note: This is related to the question asked at Mandatory participation in workplace holiday potluck, but the issues are not exactly the same, as in that question the issue was not religion, but just ...
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1
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What would happen to Hobby Lobby under Medicare For All?
The Hobby Lobby SCOTUS case, if I'm not mistaken, says a company can manipulate the nature of their employees' health insurance, justifying it by the idea that since they're providing it, they should ...
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Public Schools and Religion
So today at school (I go to a public high school in Texas) a substitute teacher told a kid to stop saying Jesus Christ. I was wondering if the teacher has the authority to do this? It was clearly for ...
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In what states of the U.S., and under what conditions can a priest be compelled to testify of information a penitent disclosed to them?
If the states where it is privileged, and may not be admissible in court are fewer, which states are they?
Does it matter if information disclosed during priest-penitent communications had been known ...
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What are the consequences of having multiple wives as a Hindu in India?
According to the civil code for muslims in Wikipedia, it is found that a man can have multiple wives and there are certain laws for how he act in case of divorce.
a Muslim man is allowed to marry up ...
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1
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What does “belief” mean in the context of The Equalities Act 2010?
The Equalities Act of 2010 (applicable in England, Scotland and Wales) says at Section 10 (in part):
Belief means any religious or philosophical belief; and a reference to
belief includes a ...