The quid pro quo theory

[Steven Jamar]

Sorry, but I don't see any of this as demonstrable or even as really 
very relevant to the interpretation of or to a consideration of the 
value of the religion clauses.

1.	Free exercise is a valuable thing regardless of a law insuring it 
which affects various groups differently.  The different impacts could 
well have a lot more to do with the content of the religion than the 
content of the guarantee of freedom to do it.  Some beliefs and 
practices are simply going to be less likely to be affected by state 
actions, and therefore less likely to need protection from those state 
actions.  To say one group "benefits" more than another seems to me to 
be worse than irrelevant -- it seems to be  missing the essential point 
and seems to be likely to stir up trouble.  Equality-thinking gone 
nuts.  Or govt-focused thinking gone way too far.  Or even construing 
an insuring provision as a grant.

2.	Non-establishment similarly affects various groups in various ways.  
But the only way to say one group benefits more is to posit that there 
is a normal group against which one can or should measure.

3.	How can one compare religious freedom in one state against another, 
except in some very crude ways, or except by a priori defining one's 
values into the equation?  Does Italy not have religious freedom?  Are  
non-Christian religions harmed by Swiss law (at least pre-reform law)?

Simply non-starters for me.

Gathering info and discussing things in context is one thing.  Positing 
general theories strikes me as beyond sensible.  But I still have those 
old practice roots which have not fully withered away despite two 
decades in academia.

Steve

-- 
Prof. Steven D. Jamar                                     vox:  
202-806-8017
Howard University School of Law                           fax:  
202-806-8428
2900 Van Ness Street NW	                        
mailto:sjamar at law.howard.edu
Washington, DC  20008           
http://www.law.howard.edu/faculty/pages/jamar

"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. 
There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked 
solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."

- Martin Luther King Jr., "Strength to Love", 1963    


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