Estab Cl and feelings

[Eugene Volokh]

Marie Failinger writes:

> On who will be harmed:  imagine that you are a naturalized Israeli
> Christian and you walk into one of the Muslim courts, wherein is
> posted a long passage from the Qu'ran commanding the faithful to
> carry out certain obligations, including prayer and pilgrimage
> obligations.  Would you be quite sure you would get equal justice
> with a Muslim in that court? How would a newly immigrant Muslim or
> Confucian or perhaps more relevantly a Hindu feel about walking into
> a courtroom plastered with a list which starts with stuff like,
> "You shall have no other gods before me."

    I probably agree on the facts:  Indeed, someone who comes into a
courthouse and sees a moral/political/religious statement that's
contrary to his worldview might feel that he "would [not] get equal
justice."

    My first question, though, is:  What should we make of it?  So
the person feels oppressed (a bad thing), and as a consequence social
tensions might increase (also a bad thing).  But why should we
believe that these bad things are sufficient to make the action
*unconstitutional*?

                               -- Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law