Vashti McCollum
Vashti Cromwell McCollum (November 6, 1912 – August 20, 2006) was the plaintiff in the landmark 1948 Supreme Court case McCollum v. Board of Education, which struck down religious education in public schools. The defendant in the case was the public school district of Champaign, Illinois; instructors chosen by three religious faiths had taught religion classes within the district's schools. McCollum wrote a book on the case, ''One Woman's Fight'' (1953), became a world traveler and served two terms as president of the American Humanist Association from 1962 to 1965. She was also a signer of the Humanist Manifesto II in October 1973 and the Humanist Manifesto III in 2003. In 1948, McCollum made this statement to ''The New York Times'': "As long as the public school is used to recruit the child into any religious denomination or to segregate children as per varying religious doctrines or whose power of truancy is employed to make them attend theology classes, I'm against i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the founding campus and flagship institution of the University of Illinois System. With over 59,000 students, the University of Illinois is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States. The university contains 16 schools and colleges and offers more than 150 undergraduate and over 100 graduate programs of study. The university holds 651 buildings on and its annual operating budget in 2016 was over $2 billion. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign also operates a research park home to innovation centers for over 90 start-up companies and multinational corporations. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gary, Indiana
Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan about southeast of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago. The city is the western gateway to the Indiana Dunes National Park, and is within the Chicago metropolitan area. Gary was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. U.S. Steel had established the city in 1906 as a company town to serve its steel mills. Like other Rust Belt cities, Gary's once thriving steel industry has been significantly affected by the disappearance of local manufacturing jobs since the 1970s. As a result of this economi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Illinois Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the judiciary of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the Illinois, state: three justices from the First District (Cook County, Illinois, Cook County) and one from each of the other four districts. Absent mid-term vacancy, each justice is elected for a term of ten years, which may be renewed and the chief justice is elected by the court from its members for a three-year term. Jurisdiction The court has limited original jurisdiction and has final appellate jurisdiction in Law of Illinois, Illinois state law matters. If its decision also involves a federal question, it may be further appealed to the United States Supreme Court. It has jurisdiction in cases where the constitutionality of laws has been called into question, and discretionary jurisdiction from t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Affirmation In Law
In law, an affirmation is a solemn declaration allowed to those who conscientiously object to taking an oath. An affirmation has exactly the same legal effect as an oath but is usually taken to avoid the religious implications of an oath; it is thus legally binding but not considered a religious oath. Some religious adherents hold beliefs that allow them to make legally binding promises but forbid them to swear an oath before a deity. Additionally, an individual may decline to take a religious oath due to their personal beliefs or those of their audience. In some jurisdictions, an affirmation may be given only if a reason is provided. United Kingdom A right to give an affirmation has existed in English law since the Quakers Act 1695 (An Act that the Solemne Affirmation & Declaration of the People called Quakers shall be accepted instead of an Oath in the usual Forme; 7 & 8 Will. 3 c. 34) was passed. The text of the affirmation was the following: "I A.B. do declare in the Presen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. The texts include instructions, stories, poetry, prophecies, and other genres. The collection of materials accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon. Believers generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies. The religious texts were compiled by different religious communities into various official collections. The earliest contained the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah in Hebrew and the Pentateuch (meaning 'five books') in Greek. The second-oldest part was a collection of narrative histories and prophecies (the Nevi'im). The third co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Century
''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews books, movies, and music. The magazine's editorial stance has been described as "liberal." It describes its own mission as follows: For decades, the ''Christian Century'' has informed and shaped progressive, mainline Christianity. Committed to thinking critically and living faithfully, the magazine explores what it means to believe and live out the Christian faith in our time. As a voice of generous orthodoxy, the ''Century'' is both loyal to the church and open to the world. The ''Century''s current editor and publisher is Peter W. Marty, while Steve Thorngate is its managing editor. Regular columns include: * From the Editor/Publisher, by Peter W. Marty * From the Editors * Screen Time, by Kathryn Reklis * Voices, by Debie Thomas, Sam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amicus Curiae
An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amicus'' brief will be considered is typically under the court's discretion. The phrase is legal Latin and the origin of the term has been dated to 1605–1615. The scope of ''amici curiae'' is generally found in the cases where broad public interests are involved and concerns regarding civil rights are in question. In American law, an ''amicus curiae'' typically refers to what in some other jurisdictions is known as an intervenor: a person or organization who requests to provide legal submissions so as to offer a relevant alternative or additional perspective regarding the matters in dispute. In the American courts, the amicus may be referred to as an ''amicus'' brief. In other jurisdictions, such as Canadian law, Canada, an ''am ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baptist Joint Committee For Religious Liberty
The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) is a US faith-based organization which focuses on upholding the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty. With a staff of attorneys, public intellectuals, ministers and mobilizers, the Washington D.C.–based non-profit has a long history of advocating in the U.S. Supreme Court and working with Congress on issues relating to religious freedom and church-state separation. The BJC analyzes new legal cases and legislation within the larger framework of how best to protect the First Amendment right to religious freedom for all. In recent years, the BJC has gone to the Supreme Court and filed ''amicus curiae'' (friend-of-the-court) briefs defending a potential employee's right to wear her hijab to work, opposing the travel ban, and opposing certain government-sponsored displays of religion, such as the giant free-standing cross in a government-owned intersection in Bladensburg, Maryland. On the legislation front, the BJC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Chicago Daily Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN television received their call letters. It is the most-read daily newspaper in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region, and the sixth-largest newspaper by print circulation in the United States. In the 1850s, under Joseph Medill, the ''Chicago Tribune'' became closely associated with the Illinois politician Abraham Lincoln, and the then new Republican Party's progressive wing. In the 20th century, under Medill's grandson 'Colonel' Robert R. McCormick, its reputation was that of a crusading newspaper with an outlook that promoted American conservatism and opposed the New Deal. Its reporting and commentary reached markets outside Chicago through family and corporate relationships at the New York ''Daily News'' and the '' Wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fourteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses Citizenship of the United States, citizenship rights and equal protection under the law at all levels of government. The Fourteenth Amendment was a response to issues affecting Freedman#United States, freed slaves following the American Civil War, and its passage was bitterly contested. States of the defeated Confederate States of America, Confederacy were required to ratify it to regain representation in United States Congress, Congress. The amendment, particularly its first section, is one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution, forming the basis for landmark Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court decisions, such as ''Brown v. Board of Education'' (1954; prohibiting Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation in State school#United St ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Equal Protection Clause Of The Fourteenth Amendment
The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." It mandates that individuals in similar situations be treated equally by the law. A primary motivation for this clause was to validate the equality provisions contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which guaranteed that all citizens would have the right to equal protection by law. As a whole, the Fourteenth Amendment marked a large shift in American constitutionalism, by applying substantially more constitutional restrictions against the states than had applied before the Civil War. The meaning of the Equal Protection Clause has been the subject of much debate, and inspired the well-known phrase "Equal Justice Under Law". This clause was the basis for ''Brown v. Board of Education'' (1954), the Supreme Court dec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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First Amendment To The United States Constitution
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Clause, free exercise of religion; or abridging the Freedom of speech in the United States, freedom of speech, the Freedom of the press in the United States, freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the Right to petition in the United States, right to petition the government for redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the United States Bill of Rights, Bill of Rights. In the original draft of the Bill of Rights, what is now the First Amendment occupied third place. The first two articles were not ratified by the states, so the article on disestablishment and free speech ended up being first. The Bill of Rights was proposed to assuage Anti-Federalism, Anti-Federalist oppo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |