Essays Archives - Canopy Forum

“State and Non-State Violations of Religious Freedom and Implications for National Unity in Nigeria” by Dodeye Uduak Williams

Aug 5, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysAugust 2022, Religious Freedom, Williams, Dodeye Uduak

Nigeria is home to about 250 ethnic groups and culturally diverse communities with different religious affiliations, who speak over 500 different languages. The three dominant ethnic groups are the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. Nigerians practice Christianity, Islam or an indigenous religion. The country is divided almost equally between the Muslims who live predominantly in the…

“Social Media, Free Speech, and Religious Freedom in Australia” by Colette Langos and Paul Babie

Aug 3, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysAugust 2022, Babie, Paul T., Langos, Colette, Religious Freedom

Social media forms part of the fabric of 21st century global life. A form of speech, social media allows communication with a potentially vast audience. Unsurprisingly, many people use it to disseminate religious views or ideas. While such proselytising (as part of a broad freedom of religion or belief (FoRB)) typically causes little concern, some…

“The Supreme Court Says Conscience is Everything. Or Nothing. It Depends.” by Len Niehoff

Jul 27, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysJuly 2022, Niehof, Len, Politics, Religious Freedom

The Supreme Court has long recognized the individual human conscience as sacred territory. One of the most famous expressions of this principle comes from Justice Robert Jackson in the 1943 case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. He wrote: “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that…

“The Post-Pandemic Western Populist Right: A Purported Clash Between the Public Good and Individual Rights” by Chiara Migliori

Jul 21, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysJuly 2022, Migliori, Chiara, Religious Freedom

Vice President Mike Pence meets with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of Italy in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Monday June 17, 2019 (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen) As the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be loosening its grip on most regions of the world, at least in its deadliest form,…

“Black Magic, Black Humor, Serious Hate: Ludic Chaos on the Alt-Right” By Marla Segol

Jul 13, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysJuly 2022, Media & Culture, Segol, Marla

One sunny spring day in 2018, I walked into work to find a flier asking its readers “are you tired of feeling bad for being white?” The flier advertised a white supremacist organization called “The Right Stuff” with links to its website. I was surprised and quite concerned to find it there, wondering what it…

“How Sex Discrimination Law Helps Us Resolve LGBTQ Religious Exemption Claims” by Kyle C. Velte

Jul 12, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysJuly 2022, Sex & Gender, Velte, Kyle C.

This essay is based on the author’s 2021 Minnesota Law Review article “The Nineteenth Amendment as a Generative Tool for Defeating LGBT Religious Exemptions.” Since the U.S. Supreme Court held that marriage equality is the law of the land in 2015, American society has been embroiled in a cultural and legal conflict over the appropriate…

“A Theology of Human Rights in an Orthodox Perspective” by Paul Ladouceur

Jul 11, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysHuman Rights, July 2022, Ladouceur, Paul

Orthodox Christianity does not have a good reputation on human rights, and indeed Orthodox theologians are deeply divided on human rights, with both strong supporters (such as Stanley Harakas and Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos) and strong opponents (Christos Yannaras and Vigen Guroian). Countries of Orthodox tradition such as Russia and Romania have supported violations of human…

“Hiding in Plain Sight: Christian Nationalism’s Threat to Faith Freedom for All” by Jennifer Hawks

Jul 7, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysHawks, Jennifer, July 2022, Religious Freedom

The U.S. Constitution was enacted “in Order to form a more perfect Union,” and serves as the founding generation’s clarion call to all succeeding generations: The union isn’t perfect, and we must do our part to make it more so. When it comes to protecting religious freedom for all, that means building on the promise…

“Kavanaugh May Be Open to Restoring Strict Scrutiny Review in Free Exercise Cases” by Raphael A. Friedman

Jun 28, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysFriedman, Raphael A., June 2022, Pluralism, Politics

On March 24, for the third time in two years, the Supreme Court sided with a religious inmate on death row who wished to have his spiritual advisor in the room at the time he would be put to death. In the prior cases, the Court held that Texas and Alabama, respectively, could not keep…

“303 Creative v. Elenis: Masterpiece Cakeshop 2.0?” by Mark Satta

Jun 27, 2022Canopy ForumEssaysHuman Rights, June 2022, Religious Freedom, Satta, Mark

In fall 2017, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado. The key question was whether a Christian baker’s First Amendment free speech or religious free exercise rights permitted him to refuse to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in violation of Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act. The Court’s decision in June…