Read the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the 1990 peyote case, Employment Division, Oregon Department of Human Resources v. Smith 494 U.S. 872.

Read about the legal status of peyote, including the 1993 federal statute that allowed members of the Native American Church to ingest peyote as part of religious ceremonies and state laws granting exemptions for Native Americans’ ceremonial use of peyote. The information is posted by the Peyote Foundation.

Read the First Amendment Center’s article on the free exercise clause, which includes a discussion of how Employment Division v. Smith, the 1990 peyote case, changed the legal precedent for religious groups whose practices conflict with state law.

Read the First Amendment Center’s resource page on Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal. It includes amicus briefs filed for both sides of the case.

The UDV religion in the United States has a website with resources for covering the case, including a FAQ and background links.

The Prayer Foundation has a history of New Monasticism and its roots.

The Lindisfarne Community is a neomonastic network that offers various links and an FAQ on the movement.

The Simple Way is a New Monasticism movement based in Philadelphia.

Feb. 11, 2005, is celebrated as Darwin Day, an international observance of Charles Darwin’s work on evolution. Check out International Darwin Day Foundation’s site that maintains a list of celebrations of the naturalist’s birthday around the world, including the United States.