A crucial, but often overlooked, dimension of the human and constitutional right to religious freedom is the autonomy of religious institutions, associations and societies with respect to matters of governance, doctrine, formation and membership. Although the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed this autonomy in the context of American constitutional law, it is vulnerable, and even under threat, for a variety of reasons, including a general decline in the health of civil society and mediating associations and a crisis of confidence and authority caused by clerical sexual abuse and churches’ failure to respond to it.

中文翻译：

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宗教自由与教会：当今美国的当代挑战1

宗教自由的人权和宪法权利的一个关键但经常被忽视的方面是宗教机构、协会和社会在治理、教义、形成和成员身份方面的自主权。尽管美国最高法院在美国宪法的背景下肯定了这种自治，但由于各种原因，包括公民社会和调解协会的健康状况普遍下降以及神职人员的性虐待和教会未能对此做出回应造成的信任和权威危机。