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First Amendment to the US Constitution and the development of its interpretation
Jetmar, Jakub ; Seltenreich, Radim (advisor) ; Šouša, Jiří (referee)
As the title suggests, this thesis is about the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and about development of its interpretation from its inception to present day. Over the years, the interpretation of the First Amendment has drastically changed, causing a shift from restrictive views on free expression towards almost absolute freedom. Today, freedom of expression and religious freedom, both of which are included in the First Amendment, play a significant role in preserving democracy while strengthening its core pillars not only in the United States, but in other modern nations as well. The inclusion of the First Amendment into the world's oldest written constitution has influenced the concept of free expression and religious freedom in the laws of many foreign countries. According to some scholars, the current level of constitutional protection guaranteed for free expression in United States is too high and does not correlate with what the framers of the constitution had intended on upon drafting the First Amendment. However, it comes as no surprise that higher standards of protection from governmental intervention regarding guaranteed freedom in the First Amendment consequently results in the betterment of society. Throughout the text, I will aim to answer every major question...
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A lay state - constitutional safeguards and legislative implementation
Szalonnás, Ondřej ; Suchánek, Radovan (advisor) ; Pavlíček, Václav (referee)
This dissertation deals with the relationship between state and religions as social phenomena and examines it from several perspectives in order to review the meaning of the term "lay state." In the first chapter, it analyses the common history of states and religions, describes the important role of religion in the ancient states and then focuses on the rise of Christianity and its spread in the Roman Empire, its role after the fall of Rome and in the formation of the new social and state structure of Europe. It discusses the fight for supremacy between Popes and Emperors and the fall of the temporal power of the church. It suggests that neither religion, nor states can prevail over each other because of their different nature. The church failed in its attempt to usurp temporal power over states, and so did the totalitarian states of the twentieth century in their aspiration to annihilate religion and to substitute it with their atheistic ideologies. In the next chapter the dissertation examines international documents concerned with the human rights, especially with the freedom of religion. It describes the shift in its perception: initially viewed as a domain the states should not interfere in, is now accepted as a domain that gives rise to several positive obligations that are incumbent on states to...
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Freedom of Religion or Belief in the Context of European and International Law
Bartoň, Daniel ; Scheu, Harald Christian (advisor) ; Bílková, Veronika (referee) ; Machalová, Tatiana (referee)
Freedom of Religion or Belief in the Context of European and International Law This PhD dissertation focuses on selected aspects of freedom of religion or belief in Europe. It aims to introduce the legal framework in which religious freedom has to operate, and to place this essential freedom into a broader cultural, religious and human rights context. The contextualisation emphasised throughout this dissertation is based on an assumption that it is not possible to establish a pure legal notion of religious freedom that would not bear any imprint of the societal, legal, cultural and religious context of its authors; in reality, each person's understanding of religious freedom is rooted in his culture, religion and experience. This should not lead, however, to a complete rejection of the possibility of a common understanding and universal protection of religious freedom. On the contrary, it should motivate each interpreter and law-maker in the area of religious freedom to study the understandings of all persons and entities involved in a particular case or situation. Having thoroughly studied all presented claims rooted in religious freedom and having taken into consideration all other rights, principles and interests involved, it should be possible for the decision-makers to resolve the case in a...
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Freedom of worship - its constitutional and statutory regulation and reflection in the caselaw of the Constitutional Cour
Popelková, Martina ; Hofmannová, Helena (advisor) ; Gronský, Ján (referee)
This thesis aims to analyze legislation of the Czech legal order concerning religious freedom. The work is divided in 4 parts. The first part of the thesis deals with the definition of religious freedom in the first place. Afterwards the thesis describes the Constitutional law relating to the religious freedom (especially the Article No. 15 and No. 16 of the Charter of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Czech Republic), international conventions relating to the theme (e.g. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights etc.) and further statutory provisions and legislative rules guaranteeing religious freedom in the Czech Republic. Major part of the thesis relating to the statutory provisions and legislative rules deals with the act No. 3/2002 Coll., on Freedom of religion and the status of churches and religious societies, as amended. The act No. 3/2002 Coll. constitutes basis of regularization of the freedom of religion in the Czech Republic. Various provisions of the act No. 3/2002 Coll. were subject to review of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic due to their unconstitutionality. The second part of the thesis discusses various decisions of the...
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Sects, new religious movements and identity i Russia in the nineties of 20th century in the context of overall societal changes
Holmerová, Terezie ; Svoboda, Karel (advisor) ; Zilynskyj, Bohdan (referee)
Diploma thesis "Sects, new religious movements and identity in Russia in the nineties of 20th century in the context of overall societal changes" deals with the problem of minority religions in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Terminological part explains the difference between the termin "sect" and "new religious movement", introductory historical overview outlines the role of sects in the history of Russia. The hub of the study lays in three large chapters. The first deals with the dynamics of the religious situation in relation to sects in the first half of the 90s, classifies them and names the main representants. The second part deals with concrete manifestations of changes in the middle of the decade, for example the process Yakunin versus Dvorkin or the change of legislation in 1997. The third part seeks answer to the question what was the underlying cause of changes in social and legal position of sects and finds the anspher in the sphere of national identity.
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Freedom of worship - its constitutional and statutory regulation and reflection in the caselaw of the Constitutional Cour
Popelková, Martina ; Hofmannová, Helena (advisor) ; Suchánek, Radovan (referee)
This thesis aims to analyze legislation of the Czech legal order concerning religious freedom. The work is divided in two parts. The first part of the thesis deals with the definition of religious freedom in the first place. Afterwards the thesis describes the Constitutional law relating to the religious freedom (especially the Article No. 15 and No. 16 of the Charter of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Czech Republic), international conventions relating to the theme (e.g. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights etc.) and further statutory provisions and legislative rules guaranteeing religious freedom in the Czech Republic. Major part of the thesis relating to the statutory provisions and legislative rules deals with the act No. 3/2002 Coll., on Freedom of religion and the status of churches and religious societies, as amended. The act No. 3/2002 Coll. constitutes basis of regularization of the freedom of religion in the Czech Republic. Various provisions of the act No. 3/2002 Coll. were subject to review of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic due to their unconstitutionality. The second part of the thesis discusses various decisions of the...
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Iniciative of islamic countries in the field of protection of freedom of religion
Nowaková, Alena ; Volenec, Otakar (advisor) ; Kochan, Jan (referee)
This thesis conducts a survey on initiatives of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in United Nations in combating so called "defamation of religion". Firstly the thesis provides with a historical context of this issue, afterwards it gives information about OIC itself. Subsequently it deals with the UN resolutions concerning "defamation of religion" and related documents. Final part of the thesis gives an analysis of problematic issues of the initiative and possible impacts of adopting an internationally binding legislation.
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