“In Defense of Defense” by David Little

United States Department of Defense Building (US-PD). The executive order of President Trump to turn the Department of Defense into the Department of War is profoundly ominous. Especially when combined with the president’s desire to eliminate the United States Institute of Peace, thereby discouraging a search for alternatives to war, and to portray the U.S. military as “ruthless,” as both he and

“Democracy and Religions in Italy Beyond the Concordat and Agreements: Towards a Participatory Model” by Davide Dimodugno

Italian Chamber of Deputies in Palazzo Montecitorio, Rome, Italy by Palazzo del Quirinale (PD-ItalyGov)  This paper summarizes and translates into English the article, Democrazia e religioni oltre il concordato e le intese: verso una declinazione partecipativa nei rapporti tra Stato e confessioni religiose?, published in the Italian Law & Religion Journal, Stato, Chiese e pluralismo

“Federal Theology as Political Theology” By Pablo Ava

Reading the Bible by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (US-PD). During the Protestant Reformation, the Herborn Academy was a Calvinist Reformed institution located in German territory, which was therefore Lutheran. It operated from 1584 until 1817. Herborn was the cradle of covenant theology, also known as federal theology. Due to its adherence to Calvinism, it was never officially

“Balancing Faith and Inclusion in the Federal Workplace” by Michael J. Broyde

Courtroom Bench Gavel by Patrick Feller (CC BY 2.0). A new memorandum from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), issued July 28, 2025, has put the spotlight on religious expression in federal workplaces. OPM Director Scott Kupor’s guidance explicitly affirms that federal employees “may seek to ‘persuade others of the correctness of their own

“Washington State and the Priest-Penitent Privilege Redux: The Federal Trial Court Injunction” by Charles J. Russo

View of the Vatican City Gardens by Patrik Kunec (CC BY-SA 4.0). My earlier column reviewed Washington’s recently passed Senate Bill 5375 that would have required Roman Catholic priests to violate their sacred duty to maintain the seal of confession by reporting those who committed the heinous act of child abuse to state authorities. Based

“Reflections on Washington State’s Effort to Eliminate the Priest-Penitent Privilege” by Charles J. Russo

Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City via Wikimedia Commons (CC0-01). Washington’s controversial Senate Bill 5375, “An ACT Relating to the duty of clergy to report child abuse and neglect,” scheduled to go into effect on July 27, 2025, removes the legal protection for Roman Catholic priests under the seal of confession when dealing with mandatory sexual

“The Ethical Spirit of AI Constitutionalism” by M. Christian Green

ChatGPT Rendering of AI via Wikimedia Commons (PD). In the spring of 2024, the state of Louisiana faced a critical legal juncture. The newly elected Governor Jeff Landry had begun to speak of the need for a new Louisiana Constitution and to gesture toward the new constitution being drafted by the end of the regular

“When Dharma Meets Dobbs: Navigating Abortion Through the Hindu-American Lens” by Sai Santosh Kumar Kolluru

Tripura Sundari Hindu Temple via WikiMedia Commons (CC0 1.0) In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and overruled both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In doing so, the Court puts state governments in charge of regulating

“Comparative Answers to Contemporary Challenge of Legal Authoritarianism: The Case of Kuwait” by Courtney Freer

North Kuwait City by Francisco Anzolaivi (CC BY-SA 2.0) Kuwait, prior to May 2024, presented political scientists with a valuable case study of a hybrid regime within the Middle East: a monarchy under the al-Sabah ruling family held strong and indeed ultimate authority, yet an elected parliament also held significant power to effect policy changes.

“Justifiable Limitations Upon Freedom of Religion and Belief in Australia’s Draft Human Rights Bill: Lessons from the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990” by P. T. Babie

Image of Dunedin, New Zealand by Arvid Olson from Pixabay While Section 116 of the Australian Constitution appears textually to provide broad protection for freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), its interpretation by the High Court of Australia severely restricts its potential. The problem stems from the judicial conflation of two questions: whether FoRB has been violated and,