CONN 324 Midterm Review: Church, State, and Religious Liberty

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the historical, legal, and philosophical foundations of church-state relations and religious liberty for CONN 324.

Establishment Clause

The First Amendment provision declaring that the U.S. government cannot establish an official national religion or favor one religion over another.

Free Exercise Clause

The First Amendment provision stating that Congress cannot make any law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment providing that no state shall deprive any person of liberty without due process of law, establishing birthright citizenship and equal protection.

Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)

Supreme Court case that incorporated the First Amendment's religion clauses via the Fourteenth Amendment, making religious freedom enforceable against state governments.

Academic Study of History (Arnold)

An argument between historians and between the past and present, constructed from primary evidence into a persuasive narrative that interprets the facts.

Leopold von Ranke

19th-century German historian who professionalized history as a science using historical seminars to analyze primary sources to show 'what actually happened' (wie es eigentlich gewesen).

Historiography

The critical study of historical writing, interpretations, and primary sources, akin to a scholarly literature review.

Methodology

The systematic method, framework, or analytical procedure used to investigate historical evidence.

Primary Evidence

Direct, first-hand accounts or artifacts created during the period under study, distinct from a historical narrative synthesized from them.

Edict of Milan (313)

Agreement under Emperor Constantine that legalized Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, granting individuals freedom to follow whichever religion they chose.

Council of Nicaea (325 CE)

Imperial Christian council that formulated the Nicene Creed, establishing an orthodox Christian theology backed by Roman imperial power.

Pope Gelasius I's 'Two Powers' (494)

The distinction separating sacred power (priestly authority over Church doctrine and salvation) from secular power (imperial authority over government and public order), maintaining the primacy of spiritual authority.

Gregorian Reform

11th-century reforms under Pope Gregory VII that enforced clerical celibacy, sought to free the Church from secular control, and asserted papal supremacy.

Dictatus Papae (1075)

A compilation of 27 statements issued by Pope Gregory VII outlining supreme, centralized papal authority over church governance and secular rulers.

Constitutions of Clarendon (1164)

A set of 16 legal provisions issued by England's King Henry II asserting royal authority and judicial control over ecclesiastical courts and clerical crimes.

Thomas Becket

Archbishop of Canterbury who rejected King Henry II's Constitutions of Clarendon and was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 by four of the king's men.

Donation of Constantine

A forged imperial document from circa 750–800 claiming Constantine transferred Western imperial authority to the Pope, proven fraudulent by Lorenzo Valla in the 15th century.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

Peace accords ending the European Wars of Religion, establishing the principle that sovereign rulers decide the official religion of their territory.

Teleological

An analytical approach that interprets past historical events solely in terms of their perceived final outcome or modern destination.

Whiggish History

A branch of teleological history that presents the past as an unbroken, linear progression toward modern ideals of political and moral progress.

Heretic

A person whose religious beliefs depart from orthodox church dogma, resulting in condemnation or excommunication.

Heterodox

Holding doctrines, ideas, or beliefs that deviate from accepted, established orthodoxy.

Deism

An 18th-century rationalist belief system affirming a Creator and natural morality while rejecting divine revelation and miracles.

Act of Toleration (1689)

English law granting limited freedom of public worship to non-Anglican Trinitarian Protestants who swore loyalty to the Crown, excluding Catholics, anti-Trinitarians, and atheists.

Charitable Hatred (Walsham)

The early modern conviction that religious persecution was an act of Christian charity to save souls from damnation while fiercely combating the sin of heresy.

Commonwealth (Locke)

A society of people instituted solely to secure, preserve, and advance civil goods such as life, liberty, and property, possessing no authority over soul salvation.

Church (Locke)

A voluntary society of individuals uniting by choice to publicly worship God in the manner they deem acceptable for the salvation of their souls.

Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments (1785)

James Madison's petition asserting that religion is an unalienable natural right, where duty to the Creator precedes and is exempt from civil society's jurisdiction.

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)

Legislation drafted by Thomas Jefferson disestablishing state-funded ministry and safeguarding freedom of religious opinion and argument.

Wall of Separation

Thomas Jefferson's metaphor from his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists denoting the jurisdictional boundary separating Church and State.

Originalism

A constitutional interpretation theory holding that the text of the Constitution must be applied according to its meaning or intent at the time it was drafted.

Strict Scrutiny

The most stringent standard of judicial review, requiring the government to prove a challenged law advances a compelling state interest and is narrowly tailored using the least restrictive means.

Rational Basis

The default level of constitutional review, requiring only that the government demonstrate a legitimate interest rationally related to the challenged law.

Reynolds v. United States (1879)

Supreme Court ruling upholding anti-polygamy laws, holding that the Free Exercise Clause protects religious beliefs but does not shield overt actions subversive of good order.

Sherbert v. Verner (1963)

Supreme Court case that established strict scrutiny for Free Exercise claims, requiring the state to demonstrate a compelling interest to deny religious exemptions.

Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

Supreme Court case ruling that neutral, generally applicable laws do not violate the Free Exercise Clause, scaling back strict scrutiny for religious practices.