Mirror of Justice

A blog dedicated to the development of Catholic legal theory.
Affiliated with the Program on Church, State & Society at Notre Dame Law School.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Brooks on the Rise of New York City's Orthodox Jewish Community

An excellent column by David Brooks this morning on the rising strength of New York City's Orthodox Jewish Community.  One highly relevant feature of his piece is the importance of law as a structure that limits choice, and of the beneficent constraining power of law.  You should read the whole piece.  But by far the sharpest line in it is not Brooks's, but belongs to Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth Jonathan Sacks: "The Torah is an anthology of argument with a shared vocabulary of common restraint."  

An analogy is made here (by Brooks and Rabbi Sacks both, it seems) to constitutional law -- that is, a conceptual connection between the shared cultural norms of a common tradition and norms of constitutional interpretation and adjudication.  Amen.

Rienzi: "God and the Profits: Is There Religious Liberty for Money-Makers?"

Mark Rienzi's new paper -- which is certainly timely and important, in light of the ongoing HHS-mandate controversity -- is up at SSRN.  Here's the abstract:

Is there a religious way to pump gas, sell groceries, or advertise for a craft store? 

Litigation over the HHS contraceptive mandate has raised the question whether a for-profit business and its owner can engage in religious exercise under federal law. The federal government has argued, and some courts have found, that the activities of a profit-making business are ineligible for religious freedom protection. 

This article offers a comprehensive look at the relationship between profit-making and religious liberty, arguing that the act of earning money does not preclude profit-making businesses and their owners from engaging in protected religious exercise.

Many religions impose, and at least some businesses follow, religious requirements for the conduct of profit-making businesses. Thus businesses can be observed to engage in actions that are obviously motivated by religious beliefs: from preparing food according to ancient Jewish religious laws, to seeking out loans that comply with Islamic legal requirements, to encouraging people to “know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.” These actions easily qualify as exercises of religion.

It is widely accepted that religious freedom laws protect non-profit organizations. The argument for denying religious freedom in the for-profit context rests on a claimed categorical distinction between for-profit and non-profit entities. Yet a broad examination of how the law treats these entities in various contexts severely undermines the claimed categorical distinction. Viewed in this broader context, it is clear that denying religious liberty rights for profit-makers would actually require singling out religion for disfavored treatment in ways forbidden by the Free Exercise Clause and federal law.

Check it out!

Religious Legal Theory conference at Touro

This year's Religious Legal Theory conference -- which started in 2009, at Seton Hall -- is being held at Touro, on April 10-12, thanks to the hard work of (inter alia) Sam Levine.  The line-up of speakers, on a wonderfully diverse array of topics, is outstanding.  For more information, go here:

The first annual Religious Legal Theory (RLT) conference was held in 2009 at Seton Hall Law School. The conference was designed to bring together national legal scholars to explore ways in which religious thought might help illuminate law and legal theory. The conference addresses a wide range of substantive, conceptual and philosophical areas of law. It has been held annually since its inception at St. John’s University School of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law and this year at Touro Law Center. This year’s conference theme is “Religious Legal Theory – Expanding the Conversation” and includes topics such as Religion and the Practice of Law, Media Perspectives on Law and Religion, Religion and the Laws of War, among others.

"Foreign Law, Religious Law, and the American Legal System"

FYI, Eugene Volokh will be speaking on the above referenced topic today at noon at the Univesity of Oklahoma College of Law.

Inazu on "the importance of groups"

Here's a piece about Prof. John Inazu's testimony at an upcoming hearing before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on religious freedom and antidiscrimination principles.  And, his (very thoughtful) complete testimony is here

"Can Any Good Come of It?"

University of St. Thomas law prof Charles Reid addresses that question in his inaugural post at ReligiousLeftLaw, here.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Job Opportunities

Amy Uelmen wants to bring this job opportunity to the attention of our readers:

Georgetown University in Washington, DC is seeking a Catholic Chaplain for our Campus Ministry, Law Center and Medical Center. The Catholic Chaplain will be an integral part of an ecumenical and interfaith ministry environment within the Office of Campus Ministry. For a complete job description and to apply please visit http://www12.georgetown.edu/hr/employment_services/joblist/jobs.cfm  In the middle of that page, in the Job Requisition Number box, enter 20130210 and click the "Search by Job Number" button.  On that page, you will see the job announcement - and at the bottom of the announcement, a link to "Apply for this position."

And if you're looking for a ministry-type job in Minnesota, Bryan Bademan, Director of  MacLaurinCSF, (the Christian Study Center at the University of Minnesota) is looking for "two new part to full-time members of our staff team. MacLaurinCSF’s mission (strengthening Christian thinking by bridging church and university) has nurtured a dynamic work environment in which MacLaurinCSF staff along with University and community members seek to understand the implications of Christian faith for all of life—especially University life."  More details here.

"Is the Supreme Court Threatening Religous Groups?"

And if you're stopping over in Minneapolis on your way back from Norman, please come to the UST School of Law to hear Nelson Tebbe and John Inazu rumble over the question:  "Is the Supreme Court Threatening Religious Groups?", the latest in the Murphy Institute's "Hot Topics:  Cool Talk" series.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

"Christians May Dance No Longer: The Global Crisis in Religious Freedom."

If you are in the Norman area tonight, I invite you to a 7pm lecture in the Bell Courtroom at the College of Law. Dr. Thomas F. Farr, the Director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, will deliver his lecture titled "Christians May Dance No Longer: The Global Crisis in Religious Freedom."

Are you a "Communion Catholic"? Or a "Kingdom Catholic"?

Or none of the above?  Read and decide:  E.J. Dionne, Polarization, Church and Country.

What am I?  Well, this time of year, I must confess, I am--unlike Rick G., unlike my dear son Daniel, unlike some of my Emory colleagues and students--I am an ABD:  Anybody But Duke!  Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa ...