A controversy or '''dispute''' is a matter of Opinion over which parties actively disagree, Argue , or Debate . Controversies can range in size from Private disputes between two Individuals to large-scale disagreements between Societies .
Perennial areas of controversy include Religion , Philosophy and Politics . Controversy in matters of Theology has traditionally been particularly heated, giving rise to the phrase '' Odium Theologicum ''. Controversial issues are held as potentially divisive in a given society, because they can lead to tension and ill will. Some controversies are considered Taboo to many people, unless a society can find a common ground to share and discuss its people's Feelings on a certain controversial issue.
In Jurisprudence , a controversy differs from a Case . While the latter includes all suits, Criminal as well as Civil , a controversy is a purely civil proceeding. For example, the Constitution Of The United States states that "the judicial Power shall extend to ... Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party" ( Article 3, Section 2 ). The meaning to be attached to the word ''Controversy'' in the constitution is that given above.
The Case Or Controversy Clause of Article III of the United State's Constitution (Art. III, Section 2, Clause 1) has been deemed to impose a requirement that United States federal courts are not permitted to hear cases that do not pose an actual controversy—that is, an actual dispute between adverse parties which is capable of being resolved by the court. That is, Article III court's can not issue Advisory Opinions .
Amount In Controversy is a term in United States civil procedure to denote a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the case.
IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY
Many of the early Christian writers, among them Irenaeus , Athanasius , and Jerome , were famed as "controversialists"; they wrote works against perceived Heresy or heretical individuals, works whose titles begin "Adversus..." such as Irenaeus' '' Adversus Haereses .'' The Christian writers inherited from the classical Rhetor s the conviction that controversial confrontations, even over trivial matters, were a demonstration of intellectual superiority. See Christian Theological Controversy .
