Sightings Articles
The Legal Challenges of Religious Polygamy — John Witte, Jr.
A century and a half ago, Mormons made national headlines by claiming a First Amendment right to practice polygamy, despite criminal laws against it. In four cases from 1879 to 1890, the United States Supreme Court firmly rejected their claim, and th...
May 15, 2008
The Frontiers of Marital Pluralism — John Witte, Jr.
Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams set off an international firestorm this month by suggesting that some accommodation of Muslim family law was "unavoidable" in England. His critics argued that England will be beset by "licensed polygamy," "barbaric ...
February 28, 2008
Beyond Scopes -- John Witte, Jr.
Eighty years ago, the nation stood transfixed by the spectacle of two giants, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, fighting valiantly over the place of creation and evolution in public schools. Bryan, three-time presidential candidate, defende...
January 12, 2006
The New Freedom of Public Religion — John Witte, Jr.
Thomas Jefferson's metaphor of "a wall of separation between church and state" has become for many the source and summary of American religious freedom. Indeed, many within and beyond these borders think Jefferson's words are enshrined in the First A...