Interactions Podcast

Interactions Podcast

The Interactions podcast, a podcast about the interactions between law and religion, is produced by the CSLR and distributed by Canopy Forum. New episodes now available.

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Masking Religious Freedom Violations

Masking Religious Freedom Violations

This symposium explores the complex and multifaceted nature of religious discrimination. Read new essays by various experts here.

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Ongoing Series

Ongoing Series

Our three latest series include essays on Transnational Christian Nationalism, IVF and ART, and a collaboration with the journal, Derecho en Sociedad. Explore our latest series by scholars around the globe.

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“The First Word: To Be Human is to be Free” by Desmond M. Tutu

Photo by kylefromthenorth on Unsplash. We at Canopy Forum join the world in lamenting the recent death and celebrating the remarkable life of Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu. The following text is based on a keynote lecture that Archbishop Tutu offered to conclude the international conference on “Christianity and Democracy in Global Context,” November 11-14, 1991, convened by

“Why Secular Society Desperately Needs the Recognition of Religious Holidays” by Bruce Ledewitz

Image by Fabio Valeggia from Pixabay. It is the common and traditional view that disputes over the recognition of religious holidays — disputes over creches and menorahs on public property, for example — are a clash between religious and secular citizens over the meaning of the Establishment Clause in the Constitution. But this is an

“Halloween in Jewish Law: Religious and Cultural Transformation” by Michael J. Broyde

Image by Alexa from Pixabay. A number of years ago, I wrote an article addressing celebrating Thanksgiving according to Jewish law, which was published in Canopy Forum last year. In that article, I noted that most Jewish law authorities accept that: (1) Thanksgiving is an American holiday with secular origins, (2) While some people might celebrate

“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 in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced. This is unacceptable,” opined former President Trump in a press release issued through his new technology

“Locke, Toleration and Political Participation – A New Manuscript” by Craig Walmsley

Portrait of John Locke by Godfrey Kneller. (PD-US). A manuscript by the philosopher John Locke recently discovered in North Carolina raises fundamental questions of political participation. John Locke’s influence on the Founding Fathers in their formulation of the U.S. Constitution is well-known. It was Locke who argued, in the 1689 Two Treatises of Government, that

“Revealing the Dagger: Holocaust Education for Medical and Law Students” by Jessica Rosh

Image by Luke Lawreszuk from Pixabay. December 9th marks the 75th anniversary of the start of the Doctors’ Trial at Nuremberg, which sought justice against twenty-three physicians and administrators for their crimes against humanity during the Holocaust. In his opening statement for the prosecution, Brigadier General Telford Taylor described “murders, tortures, and other atrocities committed

“An Evaluation of Religious Exemptions from COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements” by Samuel L. Bray and Nathan S. Chapman

Photo by Jurga Ka on Unsplash. This article also appears at Mere Orthodoxy. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many deaths and much suffering. It has also created a number of acute challenges for churches, one of which is how to think about religious exemptions to vaccine requirements. These requirements are sometimes imposed by employers, and

“Enter the Metaverse: The Religious & Legal Study of The Matrix in Modern Society” by Mark Blankenship

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash. As you can see, we’ve had our eye on you for some time now Mr. Anderson. It seems that you have been living two lives. In one life, you’re Thomas A. Anderson, program writer for a respectable software company. You have a social security number, pay your taxes, and

“REVIEW: Mordecai Would Not Bow Down: Antisemitism, the Holocaust, and Christian Supersessionism by Timothy Jackson” by David Blumenthal

Mordecai Would Not Bow Down: Antisemitism, the Holocaust, and Christian Supersessionismby Timothy Jackson Review by David Blumenthal Books in Protestant constructive theology are not so much expository writing as they are an extended conversation with varied sources on a theological theme. In this book, Timothy Jackson sets forth his theses in a sequence of conversations

“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 Court, has ruled on the display of the crucifix in public school classrooms. Issued on September 9, 2021, decision no. 24414/2021 synthesizes an extensive number of precedents, including those of the Italian Constitutional Court and