The Vanderbilt Case Analysis

Religion is of great importance to many Americans, and many take pride in their beliefs and faith; however, sadly, religion can also arouse setbacks and conflicts. Many cases in today’s society have fallen under this problem, and their resolution is not always simple, as many factors are involved, such as public opinions and legal, constitutional rights. One of these cases has been the Vanderbilt case, where the Christian Legal Society (CLS) was prohibited from incorporating certain phrases, such as, “the group’s leaders should believe in the bible and in Jesus Christ as their lord and savior” (Paulsen), in their club’s Constitution. It also interdicted the club’s leaders from “lead[ing] Bible studies, prayer and worship” ("Vanderbilt University:

All these abhorrent reactions that the University officials have shown towards CLS, whether its discrimination or abomination, say a great negative deal about the University and its ethical guidelines. Besides, it limits the space where members of the CLS get to practice their religion. In the article written by Troels Norager he specifies two advantages, where he called it “the double movement of faith,” that Christians experience during their spiritual relationship with God. First, there is the “inner movement of ‘infinite resignation’,” where people “give up all [their] hopes and investments in the ‘worldly’ life.” Second is the “faith by way of the absurd,” where people express God’s gift of faith that is given to them. In order to attain these “spiritual blessings,” Christians have to be constantly worshipping their God at all times; and so, by eliminating the prayers, worship, and bible studies that the CLS are supposed to have everyday on campus, these University officials are hindering ‘the way and time of their gatherings and worship, and interfering with their spiritual, private lives, in which they have no right in doing so, as this act is considered

This right has been given to the people by the founding fathers; for that reason, no one has the right to overcome this right or violate it, as he/she will not only infringe the great philosophies and minds of the founding fathers, such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton, but also he/she will violate a Constitutional right. Our founding fathers were not the only people that defended religious freedom, but also many great people have done so. One of these people was the fortieth President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, where he mentioned in one of his speeches that “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.” Democracy, the governmental type that the United States is based upon, is characterized by certain freedoms such as the freedom of press, speech, assembly, and of course the freedom of religion. The extravagantly diverse religions that the United States is relishing is a major contribution to its prosperity and economic stability; additionally, the United States has been a welcoming home to many religions, in which it (the United States) had the advantage of exploiting all of its people’s motivations and resources which caused the United States to become one of the leading nations in today’s society. All these ideas and ideologies define the United States and make it an