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Exploring the Foundations of US State-Level Anti-Sharia Initiatives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Joshua L. Mitchell  and
Brendan Toner
Joshua L. Mitchell*
Affiliation:
University of Arkansas
Brendan Toner*
Affiliation:
Arkansas Tech University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Joshua L. Mitchell, Department of Political Science, University of Arkansas, Main 435, Fayetteville, AR 72701. E-mail: [email protected]; or to Brendan Toner, Department of Political Science, Arkansas Tech University, Witherspoon Hall 255, 407 West Q Street, Russellville, AR 72801. E-mail: [email protected].
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Joshua L. Mitchell, Department of Political Science, University of Arkansas, Main 435, Fayetteville, AR 72701. E-mail: [email protected]; or to Brendan Toner, Department of Political Science, Arkansas Tech University, Witherspoon Hall 255, 407 West Q Street, Russellville, AR 72801. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

In recent years, measures have been taken to ban the use of international legal principles in state courts. While these international laws vary in terms of the specific restrictions they place on state legal practices, many of these laws have been aimed implicitly or explicitly at banning Sharia law practices. While dozens of states have attempted to pass anti-Sharia policies, thus far, only eight have been successful. In this article, we apply a policy diffusion framework to help explain the agenda placement and adoption of these measures. We find that both internal state determinants and external regional diffusion factors influence the interstate agenda placement and adoption of anti-Sharia practices. However, the regional effect is negative, meaning that these policies follow an atypical diffusion pattern. This study adds to the growing body of literature that examines the diffusion of controversial morality policies.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , December 2016 , pp. 720 - 743
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

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