A Debate about Religious Liberty in America

How did America’s founders view religious liberty? What does it mean today? And to what does the Constitution require religious exemptions from generally applicable laws? Marci Hamilton, author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty, and Michael McConnell, co-author of Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience, join for a special Constitution Day discussion to celebrate the opening of the Center’s new First Amendment gallery. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.  

Resources: 

• National Constitution Center’s First Amendment gallery  
• Marci Hamilton, God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty (2014) 
• Marci Hamilton, “‘Warped history’: How the U.S. supreme court justified gutting gay rights,”  The Guardian (Aug 23, 2023) 
• “Prof. Michael McConnell (Stanford) on 303 Creative (the Web Site Designer / Same-Sex Wedding Case),” Volokh Conspiracy (Dec. 2022)  
• Michael McConnell, Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause Protects Religious Diversity and Freedom of Conscience (2023) 

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