Possible Supreme Court Nominees-- orthodoxy

[Nelson Lund]

Here's another candidate for an illustration of one of the core problems 
with discourse regarding religion in the United States in the academy: 
"Anyone who's been denied communion can't be all bad. . ."

Nelson Lund
George Mason

Hamilton02 at aol.com wrote:

> Greg's post and the exchanges leading from Rob's original 
> posting illustrate one of the core problems with discourse regarding 
> religion in the United States in the academy, and, frankly, in the 
> Church.  There is an unfortunate tendency to claim orthodoxy -- 
> which hides actual discrepancies in the doctrine -- in both canon law 
> and constitutional law.  If anyone should be bucking claims to 
> orthodoxy it should be academics.
>  
> With respect to canon law-- it is open to various interpretations, and 
> there can be legitimate debate over issues like the denial of 
> communion.  Moreover, the Church is not simply a private religious 
> institution, but also a sovereign that exercises political power using 
> millions of dollars worldwide.  It is legitimate and appropriate for 
> there to be a public debate from outside the Church about 
> whether refusal of communion to public officials is 
> appropriate.  Robert's comment took one position that is held by many 
> Catholics, as has been pointed out.  In fact, criticism of the Church 
> can be good for the Church as it is for every institution. 
>  
> With respect to constitutional law, elites equally attempt to impose 
> orthodoxy in arenas where there is legitimate debate.  There is no 
> better example of that than the academic response to Employment Div. 
> v. Smith. I have just been through all of the commentary following 
> Smith and academic opinions were expressed as orthodox truth, which 
> covered up and falsified the fact that there were competing threads in 
> the doctrine.  Those expressions of orthodoxy were picked up by those 
> who do not specialize in the arena and repeated.  Not the brightest 
> moment in the history of the legal academy.
>  
> The Church hierarchy can claim hegemony over a particular 
> interpretation, but that does not mean that religion scholars cannot 
> or should not discuss both the interpretation and the claim to hegemony.
>  
> Marci
>  
>  
> Marci A. Hamilton
> Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law
> Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
> Yeshiva University
>  
>  
>
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