Earlier this week I was informed that my article, "Justificatory Liberalism and Same-Sex Marriage," has just been published in the journal Ratio Juris: An International Journal of Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law 26.4 (December 2013): 487-509. Here is the abstract of the article: Supporters of Justificatory Liberalism (JL)—such as John Rawls and Gerard Gaus—typically maintain that the state may not coerce its citizens on matters of constitutional essentials unless it can provide public justif … [Read more...]
My new article in Ratio Juris: “Justificatory Liberalism and Same-Sex Marriage”
November 15, 2013 by 2 Comments
Dr. J., Religion, and the Bigotry of Superficial Sophistication
August 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
That's the title of my most recent column over at The Catholic Thing. Here's how it begins: When I was a kid in the 1970s, most liberal-minded adults, in order to make sure you knew that they harbored no racial prejudices, often went out of their way to say what they thought were kind things about minorities – which actually revealed just the opposite. So, for example, after watching a television interview of the great professional basketball star Julius Erving (aka “Dr. J.”), one of my fathe … [Read more...]
Reconsidering the First Freedom: Second Thoughts
October 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
That's the title of an essay I published in the latest issue of The City, a publication of Houston Baptist University. It is a review of Religious Liberty, Why Now?: Defending an Embattled Human Right, by The Task Force on International Religious Freedom of the Witherspoon Institute (Princeton, NJ: The Witherspoon Institute 2012). Here's how my essay begins: In a class I teach at Baylor University, “Law and Religion in the United States,” I begin the semester by asking my students this questio … [Read more...]
Ever Wonder Why Secular Elites Are So Ignorant of Faith and Reason Issues?
April 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Short answer: they don't think there are any issues. The longer answer is found in my latest entry over at The Catholic Thing. Entitled, "Faith, Reason, and Secular Hegemony," here's how it begins: About a year ago I was invited to contribute to a book on the topic of political philosophy and religious beliefs, set to be published next year by a university press. My chapter, tentatively titled, “Fides, Ratio et Juris: How Some Courts and Some Legal Theorists Misrepresent the Rational Status of … [Read more...]
The Parable of the Kosher Deli: Bishop Lori’s Statement to the House Committee on Oversight regarding Religious Freedom
March 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I anticipate the bishop's analogy in my October 14, 2011 Catholic Thing essay, "President Obama: Ex-Liberal." Here is the text of Bishop Lori's statement: … [Read more...]
We Are All Imbeciles Now: The HHS Regulations and the Specter of Buck v. Bell
March 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
That's the title of a piece I published earlier this week over at Bench Memos on National Review Online. Here's how it begins: In the 1927 case Buck v. Bell, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Virginia statute that allowed the “superintendent of certain institutions” to order the sterilizations of “feeble-minded” persons who were under the care of these state institutions, if the superintendent“shall be of opinion that it is for the best interests of the patients and of society that an inmate under … [Read more...]
Read All About It!: President Obama to exempt religious organizations..[+Update]
February 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
![Read All About It!: President Obama to exempt religious organizations..[+Update]](http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/returntorome/files/2012/02/6a00d834515b2069e200e54f2e99e58833-800wi.gif)
from the list of tax-exempt non-profits that a citizen can work for in order to have the government forgive the student's college loan. Read all about in the Washington Post On Faith blog. Here's an excerpt: Are clergy and teachers of religious faith/thought public servants? Is their work on par with that of others who work for 501c3 non-for-profit groups and for government agencies? It used to be, but as of January 31st, the federal government has changed its mind about that.Although not … [Read more...]
The Dangers of Anti-Sharia Laws
February 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
That's the title of a well-reasoned article published in the March 2012 issue of First Things. Authored by the University of St. Thomas Law School professor Robert K. Vischer, here's how it begins: The law in several states now requires pro-life pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill, Christian adoption agencies to place children with same-sex couples, and religious entities to pay for their employees’ contraceptives. The list of such violations of religious freedom keeps growing, al … [Read more...]
Wall Street Journal: Birth-Control Mandate: Unconstitutional and Illegal
February 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
David Rivkin and Ed Whelan write in the Wall Street Journal (15 February 2012): Last Friday, the White House announced that it would revise the controversial ObamaCare birth-control mandate to address religious-liberty concerns. Its proposed modifications are a farce.The Department of Health and Human Services would still require employers with religious objections to select an insurance company to provide contraceptives and drugs that induce abortions to its employees. The employers … [Read more...]
Two Key Questions that Unlock the HHS “compromise” debate
February 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Do religious-based organizations, such as Catholic hospitals and universities, and businesses owned by devout religious believers including Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox Jews, and Muslims, have the right under Obamacare to negotiate an agreement with an insurance company so that the insurance policy the employer offers to its employees does not include contraception, abortion, sterilization, etc.? Does an entrepreneur under Obamacare have a right to create an insurance company that in fact … [Read more...]
