13. Gonzales v. O Centro Case PDF

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13. Gonzales v. O Centro Case...

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Due Monday by 11:59pm Points 10

(1 point) 1. Name and citation of the case (remember to italicize the name, but not the citation) (1 point)

2. In your own words, what is the case about?

(1 point)

3. What issue/question is the court is being asked to decide/answer?

(1 point)

4. What part of the constitution is being discussed? (be specific)

(2 points)

5. How did the Court rule? (What’s the answer to the question?)

(1 point)

6. Why did the Court rule the way it did?

(3 points) 7. How does the ruling in this case affect cultural diversity/cultural pluralism in the United States?

1. Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, 546 US 418 (2006) 2. A religious organization (UDV) would use hoasca, a controlled substance, during a religious

3. 4. 5. 6.

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ceremony. This drug was prohibited by the Controlled Substance Act, but UDV defended their cause with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that allowed them to practice with what they required despite government interest. The court is asked if the Religious Restoration Act used to defend the UDV organization's usage of an illegal, controlled substance disregard the government's permission to stop them from continuing. This case discussed the First Amendment's establishment clause; freedom of religion. The court ruled that the UDV would be allowed to continue their use of hoasca within their religious ceremonies and that the state could not prevent them from doing so. The court ruled the way they did because the government outlawing hoasca failed to prove what the regulations put on it for religious purposes were doing to benefit people. The court rejected the government's claims of the Controlled Substance's Act's inability to make exceptions for anything, as well as their claims that allowing the drug would violate international treaties. The ruling of this case affected cultural diversity in a positive way because the UDV religious organization could continue their ceremonies the way they intended to, with no interruptions from the government. I think that as long as these groups keep the drugs within the religious ceremonies, then there should be no reason they should be denied of it. Though people will argue that others will leak the substance to recreational users, there has been no statement regarding the harm of hoasca supporting the government's ban on it, so there is no side effect in allowing a group of people to continue doing what they believe in....