Constitutionality of acts of ceremonial deism in the U.S. case law

The paper deals with the notion of ceremonial deism, as it is understood in U.S. case law and jurisprudence. This term describes on kind of the government’s acts of symbolic references to God or religion, for example words „under God” in Pledge of Allegiance or the national motto – „In God We Trust”. American courts hold that particular forms of ceremonial deism are in accordance with the Establishment Clause due to their lack of a religious meaning (secularization thesis), nonsectarian nature, secular aims, historicity, ubiquity and non-controversiality. In the Author’s view, the above mentioned understanding of ceremonial deism is not fully proper. He calls on the rejection of secularization thesis and premise of non-sectarian nature. According to him, the public authorities’ acts of religious references are compliant with the Constitution when they perform significant secular aims, they do not have a devotional character and they constitute a testimony to the history and tradition of a particular country and its citizens. The criteria of ubiquity and non-controversiality may, due to its highly evaluative and subjective character, serve only a supportive role within the verification of the legality of a prima facie religious expression acts of the state. Theory of ceremonial deism, being understood properly, may constitute a valuable tool to evaluate the constitutionality of the public authority’s actions, also outside the United States.

Evolution of republican laity in France as of adoption of the law of  December 9, 1905 about separation of Churches from the state –  selected legal issues

The article presents an issue of evolution of radical version of the French state laity proclaimed in the law of 9 December 1905 about separation of Churches from the state. The author recognizes that expression of a consent by the state to establishment of catholic diocesan congregations, apart from worship congregations, numerous forms of indirect subsidizing of religious communities with the use of public funds or implementation of constitutional standards with respect to the principle of laity emphasizing a guarantee function of the principle as regards the freedom of conscience and religion, constitute significant examples of mitigation of the French version of the separation. On the other hand, the author, indicated to recently observed cases of exacerbation of laity in some fields, which is well illustrated by implementation of a prohibition to wear religious symbols or garment, which are used by pupils of state schools for the purposes of ostentatious manifestation of their religious affiliations, prohibition to cover faces in public space or implementation of the charter of secularity in schools. Consequently, the author assumes that the contemporary models of relationships between the state and church in France is ambiguous, which makes one adopt a sceptical approach to any attempt to define it in a general manner.

Selected problems connected with the implementation of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state in the Republic of Poland

The final model of the separation of the church and state depends not so much on constitutional regulations but rather on provisions of the lower order and the practice of using. For this reason the article deals with the most controversial practical problems – subjectively chosen by the author – connected with the implementation of the so called friendly model of separation of church and state in the Republic in Poland. The following problems are successively presented: teaching of religion in public schools and the specific issues related to it, normative obligation to respect Christian values, criminal law protection of religious feelings and religious communities financing from the state budget. In the author’s opinion, including marks from religious instruction to the average school marks, the prosecution of offending religious feelings by public accusation, favouring treatment of donations to church charity and care and the existence of the Church Fund are inconsistent with the constitutional model of relations between church and state in Poland. However, legal regulations for more essential importance, such as the teaching of religion in public schools, are not contradictory to principles of the political system. Furthermore, they give the Polish legal system axiology, which is compatible with the majority of Polish society’s will.