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In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Canopy Forum continues our commitment to produce expert analysis for the broader community of digital consumers: citizens, scholars, lawyers, clergy, journalists, policy makers, and more. We've collected our recent content reflecting on the current public health crisis.
As the holiday of Passover approaches, we think of the last days of the Jews in Egypt. We think of Pharaoh faced with a slave-insurrection and a series of plagues that ravage his land. We think of his scientists/magicians trying to figure out just what these plagues are and how to counter them. We think…
On a global level, religious institutions influence the transformations of law in a variety of ways. Many of the world’s most influential religions, such as Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism, contain their own legal systems that interact with secular state law. In addition to these larger systems that drive religious legal change, individuals inspired by religious principles…
B. K. Dewey / Creative Commons CC BY-NC 2.0 One of the most striking trends in religion clause jurisprudence is the expansion of protection for religious exercise. This includes expanded protection under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and its state counterparts. Often the litigant is a conservative Christian opposed to a progressive development,…
Kanye West performing at Lollapalooza in 2011 / Rodrigo Ferrari / Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0 In a chain of interrelated events, hip-hop artist Kanye West (referred to here as ‘Kanye’ to avoid confusion with scholar Cornel West) once again became a subject of public scrutiny when he met with and endorsed President Donald Trump, announced…
“Slave Ship: Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On” by J.M.W. Turner 1840 / Wikimedia This is the the third installment of a three-part series that explores legal, religious, and racial dimensions of American slavery. Part I explored some of the reasons why white Europeans selected Africans, out of all racial and…
An earlier version of this essay first appeared [here] on [Talk About: Law and Religion], the official blog of Brigham Young University’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies. Covid-19 has hit Italy badly. At the time of this writing, the country is dealing with nearly 70,000 coronavirus cases and has suffered over 6,800 deaths…
“Slave Ship: Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On” by J.M.W. Turner 1840 / Wikimedia This is the the second installment of a three-part series that explores legal, religious, and racial dimensions of American slavery. Part I explored some of the reasons why white Europeans selected Africans, out of all racial and…
“Slave Ship: Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On” by J.M.W. Turner 1840 / Wikimedia This is the first installment of a three-part series that explores legal, religious, and racial dimensions of American slavery. Part I will explain some of the reasons why white Europeans selected Africans, out of all racial and…
Families across America are running for cover from COVID-19. And for good reason: as of today, the United States has over 15,000 confirmed cases. More than 200 Americans are dead. One of us, who leads a task force on COVID-19, has been told that absent responsible prevention, a coming tsunami of patients will overwhelm our healthcare…
On September 6, 2018, a 26-year-old black accountant, Botham Jean, was murdered in his own apartment at the hands of a white, off-duty police officer, Amber Guyger. Mistaking Jean’s apartment for her own and believing Jean to be an intruder, Guyger fatally shot Jean in the peace and safety of his own living room. Where…