Religious Liberty

Our Research & Offerings on Religious Liberty
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  • Factsheet on February 17, 2012 Obamacare Anti-Conscience Mandate: An Assault on the Constitution

    Trampling Religious Liberty The Anti-Conscience Mandate: Under Obamacare, all insurance plans must cover, at no charge, abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives, sterilization, and patient education and counseling for…

  • Backgrounder posted July 29, 2011 by Thomas Messner Same-Sex Marriage and Threats to Religious Freedom: How Nondiscrimination Laws Factor In

    Abstract: Proponents of religious freedom have firmly established that same-sex marriage threatens religious freedom in a number of ways. In response, some have argued that certain threats to religious freedom discussed in this context have more to do with nondiscrimination laws than with the…

  • Lecture posted June 7, 2011 by Mark David Hall, Ph.D. Did America Have a Christian Founding?

    Abstract: Did America have a Christian Founding? This disputed question, far from being only of historical interest, has important implications for how we conceive of the role of religion in the American…

  • Report posted March 29, 2012 by Thomas Berg Faith, Freedom, and the First Amendment: The Guarantee of Religious Liberty

    Abstract: Freedom of religion is at the heart of the American understanding of liberty. Under our constitutional order, the free exercise of religion is not a mere matter of toleration but an inalienable natural right. As George Washington explained in his famous…

  • Issue Brief posted April 18, 2012 by Ryan Messmore, D.Phil. Obamacare, Religious Liberty, and Civil Society: What the Debate Is Really About

    The recent Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate under Obamacare, requiring nearly all insurance plans to cover abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization, has sparked heated debate across the country. Although proponents of Obamacare have attempted to frame the debate differently, one question remains fundamentally at issue: Can the federal government…

  • First Principles Series Report posted November 6, 2006 by Michael Novak Faith and the American Founding: Illustrating Religion's Influence

    How long are we going to keep this experiment, this America? We are "testing whether this nation can long endure," Lincoln said at Gettysburg. We're still testing. Is America a meteor that blazed across the heavens and is now exhausted? Or rather is our present moral fog a transient time…

  • WebMemo posted June 28, 2011 by Chuck Donovan Five Impacts of the New York Same-Sex Marriage Vote

    The New York legislature’s June 24 vote to redefine the family and recognize homosexual marriage will have a number of short-term and long-term impacts within and well beyond the Empire State.[1] The vote does not signal an end to the now two-decade fight over the meaning of marriage.…

  • Commentary posted March 26, 2012 by Jennifer Marshall War on Women? Beware the Liberal Blitzkrieg

    America is in the midst of a gravely serious debate about religious liberty. It was touched off by news that President Obama’s health care law will coerce religious groups to violate conscience by covering certain products and services in their health plans or face steep fines. Sadly,…

  • Backgrounder posted January 26, 2012 by Thomas Messner Protecting Religious Staffing by Religious Organizations: A Wise and Just Public Policy

    Abstract: Religious staffing by religious organizations is an established, baseline position in federal law that deserves continued support. Most fundamentally, religious staffing by religious organizations is socially desirable conduct that benefits individuals and society, not unjust discrimination that should be eradicated through law. In…

  • Backgrounder posted April 5, 2011 by Chuck Donovan A Clash of Integrities: Moral and Religious Liberty in the Armed Forces

    Abstract: The repeal of the 1993 law prohibiting open homosexuality in the military poses significant risk for military service members and chaplains who, as matters of religious or moral conviction, hold to traditional values regarding marriage and sexual…

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  • Issue Brief posted April 18, 2012 by Ryan Messmore, D.Phil. Obamacare, Religious Liberty, and Civil Society: What the Debate Is Really About

    The recent Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate under Obamacare, requiring nearly all insurance plans to cover abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization, has sparked heated debate across the country. Although proponents of Obamacare have attempted to frame the debate differently, one question remains fundamentally at issue: Can the federal government…

  • Report posted March 29, 2012 by Thomas Berg Faith, Freedom, and the First Amendment: The Guarantee of Religious Liberty

    Abstract: Freedom of religion is at the heart of the American understanding of liberty. Under our constitutional order, the free exercise of religion is not a mere matter of toleration but an inalienable natural right. As George Washington explained in his famous…

  • Backgrounder posted January 26, 2012 by Thomas Messner Protecting Religious Staffing by Religious Organizations: A Wise and Just Public Policy

    Abstract: Religious staffing by religious organizations is an established, baseline position in federal law that deserves continued support. Most fundamentally, religious staffing by religious organizations is socially desirable conduct that benefits individuals and society, not unjust discrimination that should be eradicated through law. In…

  • WebMemo posted January 10, 2012 by Ryan Messmore, D.Phil. Questions About Religion on the Campaign Trail

    As Americans exercise their right to vote in presidential primaries, caucuses, and conventions, candidates face questions from voters on a wide range of issues, including religious faith. When it comes to this issue, what should they be looking for? Which questions about religion are most helpful in selecting a President?…

  • WebMemo posted October 4, 2011 by Ryan Messmore, D.Phil. Religious Freedom Is Not Just for Churches

    On October 5, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a very important case concerning religious freedom. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC has to do with which employees of a church-run school count as ministers and, thus, whose employment status lies within the sphere of that…

  • Backgrounder posted July 29, 2011 by Thomas Messner Same-Sex Marriage and Threats to Religious Freedom: How Nondiscrimination Laws Factor In

    Abstract: Proponents of religious freedom have firmly established that same-sex marriage threatens religious freedom in a number of ways. In response, some have argued that certain threats to religious freedom discussed in this context have more to do with nondiscrimination laws than with the…

  • WebMemo posted June 28, 2011 by Chuck Donovan Five Impacts of the New York Same-Sex Marriage Vote

    The New York legislature’s June 24 vote to redefine the family and recognize homosexual marriage will have a number of short-term and long-term impacts within and well beyond the Empire State.[1] The vote does not signal an end to the now two-decade fight over the meaning of marriage.…

  • Backgrounder posted April 13, 2011 by Thomas Messner From Culture Wars to Conscience Wars: Emerging Threats to Conscience

    Abstract: Today, religious liberty issues are more complicated than simply freedom from government interference in religious worship or teaching. Threats to religious liberty and respect for conscience are emerging in the health care field, in the area of institutional religious freedom, and in the…

  • WebMemo posted April 7, 2011 by David Addington Why Does the Illinois Government Oppose the Religious Liberty of Pharmacists?

    The government of Illinois does not understand the importance of, and the legal protections for, religious liberty. The law protects the right of conscience of health care providers, but the Illinois bureaucracy is on a six-year (so far) unholy war to force two pharmacists who own their own businesses to…

  • Backgrounder posted April 5, 2011 by Chuck Donovan A Clash of Integrities: Moral and Religious Liberty in the Armed Forces

    Abstract: The repeal of the 1993 law prohibiting open homosexuality in the military poses significant risk for military service members and chaplains who, as matters of religious or moral conviction, hold to traditional values regarding marriage and sexual…

Find more work on Religious Liberty
Find more work on Religious Liberty