Recent legal and political issues have highlighted the potential difference between religious liberty for individuals and religious liberty or autonomy for the organizations to which these individuals belong: the "freedom of the church." Is "freedom of the church" protected under the First Amendment? If so, what is its foundation, and what are its limits? Does "the church" include religious institutions like hospitals, social services organizations, schools, and universities? To what activities does freedom of the church extend and under what circumstances? How does "freedom of the church" relate to broader questions of social and institutional pluralism?
These questions have been at the center of legal and political controversy surrounding Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, the contraception mandate, antidiscrimination law, and government funding conditions. While religious liberty has long been formulated in terms of individual "conscience," freedom of the church asks whether religious institutions can assert themselves in response to laws or policies that affect them. Our distinguished panelists will consider the implications of the freedom of the church (or its absence) for our constitutional republic.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.