GOVT 421
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RESEARCH PAPER: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to apply all that you have learned in this
course to a significant current issue. As a result, you should be able to draw some conclusions
about the current state of our constitutional and religious history in the U.S. in the 21st century.
You will get to look at a specific issue in contemporary culture from the vantage point of our
constitutional history. You will also have the opportunity to assess where the United States is
today in terms of our legal and religious history.
One of the most controversial areas of Supreme Court recent adjudication lies in its decisions
related to religion and politics. You will get to explore two important recent cases regarding
religion and politics in the specific area of marriage and marriage ceremonies. These two recent
significant cases are Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) and Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil
Rights Commission (2018). Both cases involve highly contentious issues that get at fundamental
debates in contemporary America.
Analyze the Obergefell and Masterpiece cases in light of what you have learned regarding
America’s religious and constitutional heritage in this course.
You will have 2 major sections to your paper:
Part I - Facts of the Cases
For each case, include the following areas:
The Facts of the Case
The Legal Question
The Court’s Decision
The Court’s Rationale that supports its decision
The Rationale of the dissenting Opinions
Part II - Your Informed Analysis of the Cases Based upon Course Material
Analyze what these decisions say about where the United States is today in terms of its
Constitutional and religious liberties history.
Your discussion must include, but is not limited to, the following lenses of analysis:
These decisions in light of America’s constitutional history
These decisions in light of the Christian foundations of America
These decisions in light of specific Constitutional principles
These decisions in light of specific methods of Constitutional adjudication
GOVT 421
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INSTRUCTIONS
The specific assignment instructions are the following:
Length of assignment: 5-7 pages excluding title page and reference section.
Format of assignment: latest edition of APA.
Number of citations: a minimum of five sources (in addition to course texts)
Acceptable sources: scholarly articles, published books, course textbooks, and the Bible,
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
GOVT 421
RESEARCH PAPER: RELIGIOUS LIBERTY PREPARATION ASSIGNMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This assignment is designed to help you approach your second research paper. Beginning to
work on your research paper early will help you avoid rushing things near the end of the course.
Your focus may change as you move deeper into the research, but this assignment will at least
get you thinking and moving in the right direction.
Before you begin work on this preparation paper, you need to read the research paper: religious
liberty assignment instructions in the week 8 module.
Please include the following in your paper:
1) A thesis statement
2) A 1-paragraph discussion of where you see your paper going
3) An outline of your paper. At this point, 2–3 main points and the 2–3 subpoints under
each main point will suffice. For example:
I. A.
B.
II. A.
B.
III.
A.
B.
4) At least 5 quality sources that you expect to use
5) Any questions or challenges that you would like guidance on
INSTRUCTIONS
The specific instructions for your paper are the following:
Length of assignment: 1 page
Format of assignment: latest edition of APA
Number of citations: 5
Acceptable sources: scholarly articles, published books, course textbooks, and the Bible.
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Outline
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
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I. Thesis statement:
A. Religion and politics play a huge role in dictating decisions people make.
B. Essentially, a lot of controversy exists between religion and politics.
II. Discussion of where you see your paper going
A. The research paper will address the conflict between religion and politics.
B. Some of these issues have brought a lot of controversy in the modern world. The
paper will apply what has been learnt throughout the course.
C. Essentially, it’s vital to note that the paper will draw from our constitutional and
religious history.
D. Specific issue that are controversial in our culture will be looked at.
E. Additionally, the paper will also show where the U.S. is in terms of its religious
history.
F. Essentially, the Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) and the Masterpiece Cake Shop v.
Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018). It will be addressed.
III. Facts of the Cases
A. In the OBERGEFELL V. HODGES case, James Obergefell and John Arthur
James filed a lawsuit with the main aim being the recognition of same-sex
marriages.
B. Essentially, same-sex marriages were not being recognized in death certificates.
Legalizing same-sex marriages contributes to equal rights among sex and gender
minorities (Drabble et al., 2021).
C. Obergefell and John had been legally married. The author died as the case was in
progress; he suffered from a terminal illness.
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D. In the Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018), a
Christian businessman refused to make a custom-made cake for a gay couple.
IV. Informed Analysis
A. The refusal to recognize same-sex marriages goes against the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
B. It is vital to note that the state should recognize an individual's marriage. Sam's
sex marriages are recognized by law in the U.S. (Dinno & Whitney, 2013).
C. However, according to the biblical perspective, same-sex marriage is not
recognized; this is seen as a grave sin.
D. Genesis 2:24 notes that marriage is a man and a woman union.
E. In the case of gay couples being denied their custom-made cake, the constitution
notes that owners of public accommodations have the right to refuse certain
services.
F. Major reason for this is due to the fact that religious freedom is recognized and
also free speech is guaranteed.
G. Much research has been conducted on freedom of speech (Zhang et al., 2015).
H. Every person's opinion needs to be respected. There has been much debate on
various issues, such as abortion, gay marriage, and free speech in U.S. politics
over the recent past (Garcia-Rada & Norton, 2020).
I. Right now, there is a contention on gay marriages.
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References
Dinno, A., & Whitney, C. (2013). Same sex marriage and the perceived assault on opposite sex
marriage. PLoS ONE, 8(6), e65730. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065730
Drabble, L. A., Wootton, A. R., Veldhuis, C. B., Riggle, E. D., Rostosky, S. S., Lannutti, P. J.,
Balsam, K. F., & Hughes, T. L. (2021). Perceived psychosocial impacts of legalized
same-sex marriage: A scoping review of sexual minority adults’ experiences. PLOS
ONE, 16(5), e0249125. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249125
Garcia-Rada, X., & Norton, M. I. (2020). Putting within-country political differences in (Global)
perspective. PLOS ONE, 15(4), e0231794. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231794
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
Zhang, J., Reid, S. A., & Xu, J. (2015). Predicting attitudes toward press- and speech freedom
across the U.S.A.: A test of climato-economic, parasite stress, and life history
theories. PLOS ONE, 10(6), e0125241. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125241
