Canopy Forum produces expert analysis to the broader community of digital consumers: citizens, scholars, lawyers, clergy, journalists, policy makers, and more. By providing accurate information, expert analysis, and contextualized explanation of issues impacting America and the world, Canopy Forum essays address the growing concern for an understanding of law and religion, bringing these issues to the forefront of American public discourse in an informed, nuanced, and productive way. Read some of our latest articles on the intersection of law and religion below, or browse our content by topic. Browse our full collection of essays here.
Latest Articles
- “Why This Supreme Court Should Overrule Employment Division v. Smith” by Raphael A. Friedman
For several decades, parties asserting religious liberty claims under the Free Exercise Clause saw little success at the Supreme Court.… - “Ramirez v. Collier: Will the Supreme Court Expand the Right to the Presence of a Spiritual Advisor for Prisoners During Execution?” by Peter Wosnik
In September 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a rare, eleventh-hour stay in an execution case for prisoner John Ramirez.… - “Christianity and the International Criminal Court” by Johan Van der Vyver
In 2021, Johan D. van der Vyver, I.T. Cohen Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the Emory University… - “#Abortion: The Religious Right Meets TikTok” by Rachel Wagner
Given the centrality and heatedness of the abortion debate in the U.S. political sphere, it might seem as though abortion… - “Why the History of English Law Has Been Neglected” by Russell Sandberg
Legal historians have regularly regretted what they perceive to be the side-lining of their subject. Writing almost a decade ago,… - “The First Word: To Be Human is to be Free” by Desmond M. Tutu
We at Canopy Forum join the world in lamenting the recent death and celebrating the remarkable life of Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu.… - “Why Secular Society Desperately Needs the Recognition of Religious Holidays” by Bruce Ledewitz
It is the common and traditional view that disputes over the recognition of religious holidays — disputes over creches and… - “Halloween in Jewish Law: Religious and Cultural Transformation” by Michael J. Broyde
A number of years ago, I wrote an article addressing celebrating Thanksgiving according to Jewish law, which was published in… - “The Mainstreaming of Alt-Right Media” by Sarah Riccardi-Swartz
Million MAGA March at US Capitol East, November 14, 2020. Source: Elvert Barnes Photography / CC BY-SA 2.0 “we live… - “Locke, Toleration and Political Participation – A New Manuscript” by Craig Walmsley
A manuscript by the philosopher John Locke recently discovered in North Carolina raises fundamental questions of political participation. John Locke’s… - “Revealing the Dagger: Holocaust Education for Medical and Law Students” by Jessica Rosh
December 9th marks the 75th anniversary of the start of the Doctors’ Trial at Nuremberg, which sought justice against twenty-three… - “An Evaluation of Religious Exemptions from COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements” by Samuel L. Bray and Nathan S. Chapman
This article also appears at Mere Orthodoxy. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many deaths and much suffering. It has also… - “Enter the Metaverse: The Religious & Legal Study of The Matrix in Modern Society” by Mark Blankenship
As you can see, we’ve had our eye on you for some time now Mr. Anderson. It seems that you… - “Ceci n’est pas une pipe: The Crucifix in Italian Schools in the Light of Recent Jurisprudence” by Francesco Alicino
With a 65-page decision, the Joint Section of the Supreme Court (Sezioni Unite della Corte di Cassazione), the highest Italian… - “Abortion, Dobbs, and Foreign Law at the U.S. Supreme Court” by M. Christian Green
On December 1, 2021, the United States Supreme Court will hear the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,… - “Free as F*ck: Kyle Rittenhouse, Whiteness, and a Divinely-Ordained Order to Kill” by Robert P. Jones
Today the news broke that Kyle Rittenhouse had been “acquitted on all charges in the shooting deaths of two men… - “Biden and Francis, or to Caesar What is Caesar’s” by Rafael Domingo
Pope Francis and President Joe Biden at the Vatican, October 29, 2021. Source: Wikimedia The meeting between President Joe Biden… - “Lemon v. Kurtzman: Reflections on a Constitutional Catastrophe” by William E. Thro and Charles J. Russo
One of the most contentious issues in constitutional law is whether governmental action amounts to “an establishment of religion” in… - “The Qur’an, Islamic Veiling, and Laïcité: French Law and Islamophobia” by James McBride
In the summer of 2021, the French National Assembly and Senate passed the so-called “anti-separatism” bill, signed into law by… - Beekeeping on the Sussex Downs: Philip Reynolds Reflects on Retirement, Happiness, and Echo Chambers
In the Fall of 2021, Dr. Philip L. Reynolds – a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of… - “Law Without Gospel: Social Identity Pietism and the First Amendment Balance, Part Two” by Laura Ford
This is Part II of Laura Ford’s essay on Social Identity Pietism and the First Amendment Balance. The First Amendment… - “Religious Minorities and Religious Freedom At Home — and in Afghanistan” by M. Christian Green
Over the last three decades of work in the fields of law, religion, and human rights, I have been privileged… - “Law Without Gospel: Social Identity Pietism and the First Amendment Balance, Part One” by Laura Ford
This is the final remnant of the Christianity of their ancestors, the last enduring bit of their inheritance: a social… - “To Iraq and Back: Takeaways of an Historic Papal Visit” by Rafael Domingo
Pope Francis speaking at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad, March 5th, 2021 [Wikimedia Commons] Any way you look at it,… - “Vermeule’s Society and Its Enemies” by Aaron J. Walayat
When Harvard law professor Adrian Vermeule published his article “Beyond Originalism” in The Atlantic last year, his critics saw it… - “Seeking a Sovereign for the End of Democracy: Monarchism and the Far Right” by Sarah Riccardi-Swartz
“Well, I personally think we should scrap the constitution,” current congressional candidate Michael Sisco proclaimed in December 2020 during an… - “Disgust and Discrimination in Tehran” by Kristina Arriaga
Offering a cup of tea to a stranger is universally viewed as an act of hospitality. Except if you are… - “The EU Needs an RFRA: The Leftovers of Religious Freedom in the Case Law of the Court of Justice” by Andrea Pin
Recently, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) passed a new ruling on the Muslim headscarf. That headscarves cause… - “The Global Minimum Tax: Blessing or Curse?” by Allen Calhoun
The Group of Seven nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — agreed… - “Religion, Law, and the Redoubling of Ideas” by Colby Dickinson
I. According to their nature, ideas, as purely abstract concepts, are radical intrusions into material existence. They are that which… - “Using the Addiction Card” by Kevin Jung
If someone is an addict, does that mean he or she is immune from moral responsibility? From substance addiction to… - “Stop Accusing Religious Conservatives of ‘Using’ Religion” by Raphael A. Friedman
Identifying proper boundaries for religious liberty in American public life continues to be a hot-button issue. Stories of friction between… - “The European Margin of Dis-Appreciation and the Big No to Ritual Slaughter” by Sohail Wahedi
Religious traditions that are not historically rooted in the Christo-European culture face particular legal and political challenges that are unprecedented… - “Christian Nationalism and Recent Anti-Trans State Laws” by Daniel D. Miller
A number of states, such as Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee, have recently passed laws targeting transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC)… - “Of Bans, Sin, and Reconciliation” by M. Christian Green
Following the murder of eight people in Atlanta, six of them Asian-American women, news broke that the killer Robert Aaron… - “How an LGBTQ+ Rights Case Could Affect the Response to COVID-19” by Patrick Hornbeck
Here’s a thought experiment. Imagine for a moment that it was last term, rather than this term, when the U.S.… - ““[E]ven in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten:” Banning Communal Worship Poses Continuing Threats to Religious Freedom” by Charles J. Russo
“Even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten.” — Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo,… - “The Scowling ‘Shari’a’: Muslim Views on Prayer” by Niloofar Haeri
Do Muslims pray even when they are not required to by “shari’a”? Or is being a Muslim a matter of… - “The Reckoning of Religious Studies and Colonialism” by Laura Ammon
The study of religion has a long history of service to Western imperial ambitions. Recent decades have seen religious scholars… - “A Votive Candle in the Tiny Chapel in the Middle of Our Nation” by Marguerite Spencer
US Center Chapel, located at the Geographic Center of the Lower 48 States in Lebanon, Kansas / Flickr Jimmy Emerson,… - “The Chorister’s Tale: Religious Freedom Analogies in the COVID Pandemic” by M. Christian Green
No one has heard a peep from this chorister in nearly a year. Trained in law, religion, and the law… - “Religious Freedom Cases During the Pandemic: Round II” by Michael J. Broyde
Three weeks ago, in the case of South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, the United States Supreme Court stayed… - “Section 230 and the Millstone” by Mark Edward Blankenship Jr.
The millstone was an integral tool needed to grind grain to make bread and sustain life, and during Biblical times,… - “America’s Constitutional Theology: Sovereignty and Grace In Bostock, Espinoza, and Our Lady of Guadalupe” by William E. Thro
Constitutional Theology is the intersection of theology with constitutional theory. Constitutional Theology recognizes that the constitutional design will reflect society’s… - Top Ten Most Read Articles of 2020
A selection of our most popular essays over the past year. You can browse all of our content here! “Decisions… - “The Cross and the Criminal Record” by Darrin Sims
Though you might not know it, you’re probably familiar with the Biblical story of Barabbas. Appearing only briefly in the… - “Religious Tests, Religious Freedom, and ‘Animus’ and ‘Bigotry’ at the Supreme Court” by M. Christian Green
The No Religious Test Clause within Article VI, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution is a special text in… - “Religious Freedom, Public Health, and the Limits of Law” by Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Brooklyn, NY. Source: Jim Henderson / Wikimedia CC0-1.0 The U.S. government designates certain entities… - “QAnon as a Religion” by Annabelle Bichler
On October 28, 2017, a post appeared on 4chan, an anonymous online message board, alleging Hillary Clinton’s imminent arrest and… - “Questioning Justice Barrett’s Questions in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia” by Patrick Hornbeck
When Amy Coney Barrett took the bench November 4 for her third day of oral arguments as an associate justice… - “Contemporary Homeschooling: Black Children’s Best Interests, Freedom from Religion, and Anti-Racism” by Cheryl Fields-Smith and Andrea L. Dennis
“I’m just not going to do that. I’m one of these secular homeschoolers. I am not going to join a… - “Thanksgiving and Traditional Jewish Life: Celebrating American Holidays and Jewish Law” by Michael J. Broyde
Introduction This short posting on what the Jewish tradition has to say about Thanksgiving will strike some as surprising —… - “Religion-Making in Japan’s Courts of Law” by Ernils Larsson
When Japan set out to reinvent itself as a modern nation-state in the second half of the 19th century, the… - “When Campaign Attacks Become Theological” by Deirdre Jonese Austin
Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta, Georgia. Source: DXR, Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0. Currently, all eyes are on Georgia as the state… - “Constitutional Grace: Securing the Blessings of Liberty Through Dignity and Forgiveness” by William E. Thro
We the People … in order … to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain… - “Law as Love-Song” by Laura S. Lieber
By the 6th century CE, Christianity was a religion of empire that produced significant codices of imperial law, many of… - “What We Owe the Democracy: Martin Luther King, Jr., the Right to Vote, and the Call to Civic Duty” by Atiba R. Ellis
The right to vote is a contested concept in American society. The choices made by elected federal and state governments,… - “How the Divisive Nature of Religion Could Unify our Divided Politics” by Mingyu Jun
In the 2016 presidential election, 81% of white evangelical Christians voted for the GOP candidate Donald Trump, while only 16%… - “Trump, Biden, and Religious Claims in a Secular Space” by John E. King
“USA Bible” by Pastor Robert / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0 At a campaign event in early August 2020, President… - “The Cost of Florida’s Ballot” by Benjamin Plener Cover
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Right / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0 Florida is the most populous battleground… - “The Uncertain Good of Overruling Smith” by Gary J. Simson
Thirty years ago, when the Supreme Court decided Employment Division v. Smith, I never imagined that I’d ever respond with… - “Religious Questions: Relevant, Legitimate, and Impossible” by Paul Horwitz
For the writer on law and religion, the “religious test” question is a gift that keeps on giving. Over two… - “Religion and the Presidential Election” by Steven K. Green
It has been ten presidential election cycles since Ronald Reagan defeated the nation’s most religiously devout president, Jimmy Carter, a… - “The Beauty of Disobedience” by Stephen S. Bush
Political Beauty On June 27, 2015, ten days after a white supremacist shot and killed nine African Americans at the… - “Representation and Whiteness among the ‘Spiritual but not Religious’” by Dr. Amanda Lucia
Yoga class, Lightning in a Bottle, 2016 / Photo courtesy of author. When I was conducting research for my new… - “Baptist History and Pentecostalism” by Doug Weaver
The Apostolic Faith Mission on Azusa Street, Los Angeles, CA in 1907 / Wikimedia Most observers (and participants!) do not… - “American Faith Leaders and Criminal Justice Reform” by Adrienne Phillips
Recent killings of black Americans have incited anger, leading to large and sometimes violent protests across the country. The most… - “Does Religion Have a Place in the Diverse Marketplace of Ideas?” by Charles J. Russo
In his dissent in Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, wherein the Supreme Court invalidated student-led prayer prior to… - “George Floyd and James H. Cone: A Conversation With My Adult Children” by Marguerite Spencer
The May 25, 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, despite his multiple cries of, “I can’t breathe,” has… - “A Hindu-American Lawyer’s Quest” by Sai Santosh Kumar Kolluru
Om Hreem Shree Gurubhyo Namah Introduction Swami Vivekananda’s famous speech at the Parliament of World Religions in 1893 introduced Hinduism… - “Holy Communion in the Church of England in light of the Coronavirus Pandemic” by Christopher Grout
Photo / James Coleman / Unsplash The coronavirus pandemic has had (and continues to have) worldwide implications. Quite apart from… - “Schuman’s European Vision” by Rafael Domingo
The French politician Robert Schuman (1886-1963) embodies the most genuine spirit of European reconciliation after the Second World War. One… - “Ministerial Exceptions, Religious Exemptions, and Anti-Discrimination Legislation: Reciprocal Lessons from America and Australia” by Paul T. Babie
The recent Supreme Court decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel (‘Morrissey-Berru’) has… - Call for Proposals for Participation in Blog Webinar
Proposals for participation in a blog conference on Law, Religion, and Coronavirus in the United States: A Six-Month Assessment, are… - “Qualified Immunity and Natural Law” by Brandon Paradise
In defense of his direct-action campaign and breaking of Jim Crow laws, Martin Luther King, Jr. cited Saint Thomas Aquinas’s… - “On Returning to Campus: What Might We Learn from Christian Ethics?” by Paul Lewis
COVID-19 presents colleges with precisely the kind of problem that those of us in the liberal arts claim that we… - “Fatal Intersections of Black Women and the Law: The Case of Breonna Taylor” by Najuma Smith-Pollard
I live in Los Angeles, California, near what seems to me to be one of the most dangerous intersections in… - “‘Losing Religion:’ Black Lives Matter, the Sacred, and the Secular” by Ari Colston
In an interview with Krista Tippet’s theology podcast On Being, prominent civil rights activist and public theologian Ruby Sales considers… - “Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue: The Free Exercise Clause Prevails” by Martha McCarthy
The Supreme Court delivered a precedent-setting decision on June 30, 2020, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The facts and… - “Rethinking American Establishment Jurisprudence” by Eric Wang
Many Americans gleam over Uncle Sam’s “wall of separation” between church and state. That this wall should be thick and… - “Jobs for All?” by Brooks Holifield and Steven Tipton
An earlier version of this essay was originally published in the University of Chicago’s online publication, Sightings. Since the Covid-19… - “Prohibitions on In-Person Religious Services: Valid Under the Smith Test, No Matter Their Free Exercise Burden” by Connor Hees
As the United States nears the grim milestone of 150,000 American coronavirus deaths and cases surge in many parts of… - “A Spirituality of Social Justice and Peacemaking: Elements from within the Roman Catholic Tradition” by Thomas Massaro, S.J.
The word spirituality is often misunderstood and even off-putting, conjuring up images of wispy New Age-y practices and a general… - “Jonah Redivivus? Retributive Justice in the Book of Jonah and the Jonah Hex Comic Book Series” by Dan Clanton
I have taught the book of Jonah for years, and I used to be very pleased with my reading of… - “Right Test, Wrong Outcome: Avoiding Misuse of the Ministerial Exception in Faith-Based Schools” by Charles J. Russo & Allan G. Osborne
During the closing days of its 2019-20 term, the Supreme Court’s trilogy of rulings in the companion cases of Our… - “Imperial Pieties: Religion, the Sanctification of Whiteness, and the Duplicity of the Sacred” by Joseph Winters
The image of Donald Trump wielding a Bible outside St. John’s Episcopal Church, a snapshot that occurred immediately after protestors… - “The Social Gospel in Black and White, Then and Now” by Gary Dorrien
This essay was originally delivered as a speech at the annual dinner of Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries of Greater Boston on June 6, 2020. I… - “Transitional Justice and The Role of Legitimacy in Informal Institutional Change” by Aaron Alfredo Acosta & Nelson Camilo Sánchez
Capitolio Nacional Seat of the Congress. Bogotá, Colombia. 2008. Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 Transitional Justice in Colombia In the… - “A Protestant Perspective on Privatization and Subsidiarity” by Jordan J. Ballor
“Mount Nebo” by Maya-Anaïs Yataghène / Wikimedia CC BY 2.0 The doctrine of subsidiarity is most closely associated with modern… - “From Breath to Voices” by Nadia Marzouki
Civil unrest in Philadelphia, PA. June 2, 2020. / Rob Buhlman / Flickr / CC-BY-2.0 The murder of George Floyd… - “Racist Security” by Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou
The racialization of security currently playing out is nothing new. Security has often been racialized and racism has always been… - “Born of Bigotry, Died in Religious Liberty: The Supreme Court Ends the Blaine Amendments in Empowering Parental Choice” by Charles J. Russo & William E. Thro
“The Blaine Amendment was ‘born of bigotry.”’ Reasonable people can certainly disagree over whether Chief Justice John Roberts’ forceful words… - “Defund the Border Police: Racial Justice and the American Border” by Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Americans looking for a way forward in this national crisis are calling for prioritizing anti-racism, demilitarizing American society, and democratizing… - “Trump’s Problem with Race and Religion” by Steven K. Green
The images have already become iconic: militarized police using tear gas and rubber bullets to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette… - “The Comfort and Discomfort of Meaninglessness: Christian Faith in the Time of Coronavirus” by Paul Dafydd Jones
Although the sudden emergence of a novel form of coronavirus might bring Martin Luther to mind, it is revealing that… - “Answering the Call: How the Church Can Respond to the Call to Defund the Police” by Deirdre Jonese Austin
Photo by Alex Holyoake / Unsplash Growing up in the Black Church, I have been raised in a context in… - “Non-Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation” by Johan D. van der Vyver
The judgment of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, decided on June 15, 2020,… - “Is there a Right to Healthcare? Towards a Comprehensive Jewish Approach” by Jason Weiner
The question of the “right” to fair, universal and comprehensive healthcare has been circulating for quite a while, but rapid… - “Why Do White Christians in America Think They Are Persecuted?” by John Corrigan
Over the last decade, the internet has been abuzz with complaints from white American Christians that they are the victims… - “Big Brother and the New Ministry of Truth: How President Trump’s Executive Order May have Disastrous Consequences for Religious Freedom” by Kristina Arriaga
Last month, for the first time ever, Twitter fact-checked two presidential tweets. In response, President Donald Trump issued an executive…