The Santeria religion of Cuba-the Way of the Saints-mixes West
AfricanYoruba culture with Catholicism. Similar to Haitian voodoo,
Santeria has long practiced animal sacrifice in certain rites. But
when Cuban immigrants brought those rituals to Florida, local
authorities were suddenly confronted with a controversial situation
that pitted the regulation of public health and morality against
religious freedom.
After Ernesto Pichardo established a Santeria church in Hialeah
in the 1980s, the city of Hialeah responded by passing ordinances
banning ritual animal sacrifice. Although on the surface those
ordinances seemed general in intent, they were clearly aimed at
Pichardo's church. When Pichardo subsequently sued the city, a
federal court ruled in the latter's favor, in effect privileging
the regulation of public health and morality over the church's free
exercise of its religion.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard Pichardo's appeal in 1993 and
unanimously decided that the city had overstepped its bounds in
targeting this particular religious group; however, the court was
sharply divided regarding the basis of its decision. Three
concurring opinions registered distinctly different views of the
First Amendment, the limits of government regulation, and the
religious freedom of minorities. In the end, the nine justices
collectively concluded that freedom of religious belief was
absolute while the freedom to practice the tenets of any faith were
subject to non-discriminatory local regulations.
David O'Brien, one of America's foremost scholars of the Court,
now illuminates this controversy and its significance for law,
government, and religion in America. His lively account takes us
behind the scenes at every stage of the litigation to reveal a
riveting case with more twists and turns than a classic whodunit.
Ranging with equal ease from primitive magic to municipal politics
and to the most arcane points of constitutional law, O'Brien weaves
a compelling and instructive tale with a fascinating array of
politicians, lawyers, jurists, civil libertarians, and animal
rights advocates. Offering sharp insights into the key issues and
personalities, he highlights cultural clashes large and small,
while maintaining a balance for both the needs of government and
the religious rights of individuals.
The "Santeria case" reaffirmed that our laws must be generally
applicable and neutral and may not discriminate against particular
religions. Tracing the path to that conclusion, Animal Sacrifice
and Religious Freedom provides a provocative and learned account of
one of the most unusual and contentious religious freedom cases in
American history.
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