Painting of the Philadelphia Convention by Howard Chandler Christy, PD Note: This and other essays in this series were originally delivered as part of the Leadership and Multifaith Program symposium on Law, Religious Identity, and Public Discourse held at Georgia Tech on September 26, 2019. There is a current crisis of confidence in our democracy and…
Alhambra/ Jebulon on Wikimedia/ CCO The First Amendment is designed, in part to prevent – or at least severely limit the degree to which religion can be directly expressed through law and policy and the extent to which law can be used to define and control religious belief and practice. Nevertheless, some religious groups often seek…
Cover image: Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, UK. Original image by Philipp Haegi licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Editors’ note: The terms ‘transgender’ and ‘transsexual’ have connotations that have changed over time and in different contexts. The author of this article uses terminology that is consistent with the sources and documents cited herein. The Church of England (‘the Church’)…
Can an individual truly be a citizen of a nation and simultaneously a global citizen? For the 1.8 million Muslims of the world, and especially the estimated 4 million in the United States, the question is deeper than simple political allegiance; it goes to the core of belonging and self-perception. Citizenship, whether as a political…
Cover image: Portrait of John Locke by Godfrey Kneller, 1697. Wikimedia Commons. A new Locke manuscript comes to light in the United States. Philosophers have consequences – and few have been more consequential than John Locke (1632-1704). His Essay concerning Human Understanding (1689) was the first modern statement of empiricism, ranking alongside Newton’s Principia in significance…
Cover Image: Little Rock Nine Memorial. Little Rock, AR. Wikimedia Commons. We have witnessed a curious pattern emerging in many recent confirmation hearings for federal judicial nominees. Beginning first with the Senate confirmation hearings of nominee Wendy Vitter, recently appointed to a federal judgeship in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of…
Photo by George Becker on Pixabay While often viewed as opposing forces, law and spirituality are deeply connected. In this and other essays in this series, we explore some of the connections between legal and spiritual dimensions of human experience. Here, we note that spirituality can push legal systems to change; indeed, history suggests that…
This is Part 3 of a three-part series in which Elizabeth Shakman Hurd evaluates three common myths about U.S. foreign religion politics and policy. Read Part 1 and Part 2 here. Myth #3: Exceptionalism, American-style: Freedom at home, establishment abroad. The First Amendment of the US Constitution reads in part: “Congress shall make no law…
This is Part 2 of a three-part series in which Elizabeth Shakman Hurd evaluates three common myths about U.S. foreign religion politics and policy. Read Part 1 here. Myth #2: Religion used to be ignored in international affairs but it has returned. Things are looking up. Flourishing government religion bureaucracies reflect this coming to terms…
Photo by Steve Johnson on Pixabay Americans are often told that the U.S. government and its allies are working to stamp out the forces of intolerance around the world by promoting religious freedom and combatting violent extremism. I’ve always been baffled by these assertions. What do they mean? What does this look like in practice?…