Religious Freedom & The Law
Debates over the meaning, purpose, and protection of religious freedom are some of the most contentious legal issues today. Seemingly every year, the Supreme Court issues a handful of watershed opinions on religion and public life. The Court has racially transformed religion law doctrine in just a few years– and many more cases are working their way through our judiciary, involving issues such as the right of for-profit companies to discriminate against LGBTQ employees, state-funded schools to teach only Christian children, religious hospitals to refuse emergency reproductive healthcare, and many more. Other critical religion law issues, however–such as Islamophobia, the religious rights of incarcerated people, and claims brought by progressive people of faith–garner far less public attention.
This course will provide students with a solid understanding of the basic legal history and current status of key religious liberty doctrines, including the First Amendment of the Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Students will then learn about a range of cutting-edge legal cases and issues, and evaluate competing claims on how best to protect religious freedom in a pluralistic democracy.
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Dates & Times:
April 12, 19, 26, and May 3
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Online Session
Meet the Instructor:
Liz is the Director of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project (LRRP) at Union Theological Seminary. In her decade leading LRRP, she has become a prominent voice on religious freedom and the intersection of faith, law, and politics. Liz’s work has been published in numerous academic and popular press publications. Her recent projects include a report on religious liberty challenges to immigration law and the “Black Religious Liberty Curriculum,” a 12-part video series featuring 24 interdisciplinary scholars in conversation on race, religion, and the law. She holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Chicago.