Are recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings consistent with the Founding Fathers intentions for the First Amendments Establishment Clause, and what role does the common phrase separation of church and state play in political discourse related to constitutional interpretation? Include in your discussion whether and/or to what extent separation of church and state is consistent with biblical principles. Historical, legal and academic sources are appropriate sources for this assignment. Popular sources or advocacy publications may be used sparingly to convey opposing sides in the contemporary debate, but do not count toward your required number of sources.
For this assignment, you are required to write the initial draft of a research paper related to your chosen research question. This paper is a cumulative exercise in which you must employ all of the research, objective reasoning, logic, organization, composition, formatting, and rhetorical skills covered in this course. The initial draft will include a title page, introduction, body paragraphs, and a reference list. A concluding paragraph is not necessary for this draft; however, your discussion must progressively build toward a logical conclusion directly responding to the research question. Paper content must include adequate background on the research topic, as well as an objective treatment of opposing viewpoints and application of biblical principles. The body of the draft must be 79 pages, excluding any tables and/or figures you may choose to include. At least 10 sources, including table and figure content sources, are required. Formatting must follow current Turabian Author-Date style.
