Religious Liberty Initiative at Notre Dame Law School

Dean G. Marcus Cole is interviewed in the latest edition of Notre Dame Magazine.  You can read the entire article here.  An excerpt regarding religious liberty:

Cole’s top academic priority is a Religious Liberty Initiative, which he predicts will enable the law school to become a major force for the protection of freedom of conscience. It will include a clinic to lead the fight against religious persecution.

“I want people all around the world to look to Notre Dame for help when their religious liberty is being encroached upon or they’re being oppressed because of their faith — or lack of faith,” he says. He mentions more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslims imprisoned in Chinese internment camps for their beliefs and notes that atheism remains punishable by death in 13 countries.

He sees disrespect for faith growing in the U.S., referencing churches in California that are trying to feed the homeless but are told they are providing social services and therefore need licenses. And he mentions Catholic hospitals that have told physicians they can’t provide assisted suicides in their facilities but are facing new state laws legalizing the procedures, seemingly forcing hospital operators to violate their religious convictions.