This seminar taught by Stephanie Phillips and Jim Milles sounds very intriguing. From the Fall 2009 Course Descriptions [PDF] of University of Buffalo Law School:
The First Amendment begins with a prohibition: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." At minimum, Congress was forbidden to found an official, national church. Beyond that, there has been no unanimity, at any moment during more than two centuries, about what the Establishment Clause means or should mean. This seminar examines certain present-day proposals to loosen constraints on government action by narrowing the definition of "religion," some attempting to create a dichotomy between sectarian and non-sectarian religion, others positing a distinction between "religion" and "spirituality," still others throwing cognitive science into the mix. In addition to readings in legal doctrine, political theory, cognitive science and religious studies, the seminar includes a weekly practicum that explores a diverse range of practices referred to as "meditation," probing which, if any, pose Establishment Clause problems.
As a constitutional matter, when a meditative practice has been proven by cognitive science to sharpen intelligence, increase intuitive ability, and coordinate activity between the hemispheres of the brain, all of which are desirable and "secular" objectives, does it make a legal difference if some practitioners ascribe religious or spiritual meaning to these phenomena? Students will learn several meditation techniques and will integrate assessment of their experiences into comprehensive examination of the increasingly blurred lines between the material and the spiritual. Participation in the meditation practicum is a course requirement. Of course, a student will be excused from participation in any particular practice as to which a religious or conscientious objection is raised.
As a constitutional matter, when a meditative practice has been proven by cognitive science to sharpen intelligence, increase intuitive ability, and coordinate activity between the hemispheres of the brain, all of which are desirable and "secular" objectives, does it make a legal difference if some practitioners ascribe religious or spiritual meaning to these phenomena? Students will learn several meditation techniques and will integrate assessment of their experiences into comprehensive examination of the increasingly blurred lines between the material and the spiritual. Participation in the meditation practicum is a course requirement. Of course, a student will be excused from participation in any particular practice as to which a religious or conscientious objection is raised.
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