Respecting Religion

As religious communities deal with bans on mass gatherings, legal disputes are popping up across the country. What’s happening now, and what could we see more of when the country begins lifting restrictions? This week, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman examine the key issues in these lawsuits (starting at 12:45) and talk about how courts are ruling in the various cases, including drive-in church services (19:42). Plus, they share how they’re learning about other religious traditions as people of faith continue to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Segment 1: A patchwork of orders and how the vast majority of churches are responding (starting at 00:40)

Amanda mentioned this research from PRRI that shows most Americans stayed home for Easter and oppose religious exemptions to “stay-at-home” orders.

Amanda also mentioned this story in The Washington Post: Cellphone data shows coronavirus kept churchgoers at home in every state on Easter.

Amanda shared two tragic examples of the coronavirus impacting religious communities:

The church choir in Washington state that saw members fall ill with the coronavirus after a rehearsal in March.

The death of Bishop Gerald Glenn, the pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Richmond.

Amanda and Holly talked in general about cases and the three religious liberty principles to keep in mind on episode 8 of this podcast series. They also discussed “stay-at-home” orders on episode 6.

Segment 2: Lawsuits across the country, including drive-in churches (Starting at 17:25)

Holly mentioned DriveInMovie.com, a website with news and information about drive-in movie theaters.

Read the Department of Justice’s Statement of Interest in the Mississippi case about a church holding a service in a parking lot at this link.

For a look at some of the various cases being litigated, read this post on the “Latest News” section of our website.

Segment 3: Where did we see religion respected in our world? (starting at 41:37)

Holly talked about the American Humanist Association’s “Ask an Atheist” day, which included a Facebook Live from Greg M. Epstein, Harvard University’s humanist chaplain. You can watch it here.

Amanda mentioned this story by Aysha Khan for Religion News Service: Gift drive for the children of Muslim inmates seeks to serve the “hidden ummah.”

How do religious groups work together for the greater good? On this episode of Respecting Religion, we bring you a conversation featuring Eboo Patel, the founder of Interfaith Youth Core (starting at 13:01). In this discussion from March 2020, Patel talks about how the history behind the term “Judeo-Christian” suggests opportunities for greater religious inclusion, shares personal reflections on what it is like to be a Muslim in America today, and explains why he is optimistic about religious pluralism. Plus, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman talk about how they saw religion respected in the world during the celebrations of Easter and Passover.

Show notes:

Segment 1: Where we saw religion respected (Starting at 00:40)

Amanda mentioned her church’s rendition of Handel’s Messiah, which is available on YouTube.

Holly mentioned this piece by Michele Norris in The Washington Post: The coronavirus is depriving people of the rituals needed to process pain.

Amanda mentioned this piece in Religion News Service by Simrin Singh about the Sikh community finding new ways to celebrate Vaisakhi: Sikhs turn to online Vaisakhi

For more information on the Shurden Lectures — including an interview with Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden — visit BJConline.org/ShurdenLectures.

To learn more about the Baptist House of Studies at the Perkins School of Theology at SMU, visit this link.

The Rev. Dr. George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church and Faith Commons interviews Patel during this discussion. To learn more about Faith Commons, visit this link.

Segment 2: Eboo Patel on the term “Judeo-Christian” and working across faiths (Starting at 13:01)

Eboo Patel’s latest book is Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise.

Patel mentioned the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign. Learn more at this link.

Patel mentioned an opinion piece by Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi published in The Washington Post. It is titled “I thought the Iranian Revolution would bring freedom. I was wrong.”

Segment 3: Close (Starting at 47:42)

Videos of all three of Eboo Patel’s presentations for the 2020 Shurden Lectures will soon be available on BJC’s YouTube channel.

As the coronavirus changes everything – including the topics for this podcast series – Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman review how religious freedom principles are coming into focus. They talk about three principles that are part of many conversations during this time: the essential nature of religion for many people (04:53), why the government does not have to treat religious organizations differently when it comes to health and safety (12:00), and why the government should not fund religion (19:55). In the third segment, Amanda and Holly talk about what they are doing – and being inspired by – during this week that marks the beginning of Passover and the advent of Easter.

Segment 1: Religion is essential, but the government doesn’t have to treat religious organizations differently when it comes to health and safety. (starting at 00:40)

The front-page Washington Post story that Holly and Amanda mentioned is from April 5, titled “Coronavirus creates conflict for churches, where gatherings can be dangerous but also provide solace.” It was written by Scott Wilson, Michelle Boorstein, Arelis R. Hernández and Lori Rozsa.

Amanda read a message on COVID-19 from Timothy Stewart, the president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Read the entire statement at this link.

Segment 2: Government should not fund religion. (starting at 19:55)

Holly and Amanda discussed the Espinoza case on government funding of religion during episode 2 of this podcast series.

Holly mentioned the 2017 Trinity Lutheran case about funding a church playground. Learn more and read BJC’s brief at BJConline.org/TrinityLutheran.

For more information and frequently asked questions about the regulations and guidelines of the CARES Act from the Small Business Association, visit this link.

Segment 3: Where did we see religion respected in the world around us? Passover and Easter week (starting at 32:14)

Holly mentioned the article by Marc Fisher in the Washington Post titled “Flushing out the true cause of the global toilet paper shortage amid coronavirus pandemic.”

Amanda is using this matzo ball soup recipe from The New York Times.

As the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus, Congress passed and the president signed stimulus packages that impact businesses and nonprofits. But, what does this mean for houses of worship? On this week’s Respecting Religion, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman review the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (starting at 5:35), provisions of the CARES Act (15:45) – including the Paycheck Protection Program Loans (20:10) and increased charitable giving incentives – and more. They discuss new requirements and opportunities for nonprofits and what houses of worship need to consider when determining whether to apply for financial relief programs. In the third segment, Amanda and Holly explore how religious communities are caring for people in new ways during this time.

Segment 1: Families First Coronavirus Response Act (starting at 00:40)

Read BJC’s analysis of the COVID-19 stimulus packages in a piece written by Holly on our Medium channel at this link.

Read the text of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act at this link.

For more on how the provisions apply to nonprofit organizations, check out the helpful resources from the National Council of Nonprofits at this link. The webinar Amanda referenced can be found at this link.

The resource memo from the United Church of Christ (UCC) on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is available at this link. The UCC webinar that Holly referenced can be found at this link.

Resources from the Department of Labor on COVID-19 and the American Workplace are available at this link.

For additional resources, check out the links in BJC’s analysis on Medium.

Segment 2: CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program (starting at 15:44)

Read the text of the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) at this link.

To access resources on previous cases on BJC’s website, visit this link.

Segment 3: Church daycare programs and how religious communities are caring for others (starting at 38:00)

Each week, Amanda and Holly talk about how they are seeing religion respected in the world around us.

Amanda mentioned this NPR story by Lulu Garcia-Navarro: Hospital Chaplains Bring Hope And Solace To COVID-19 Patients And Staff.

What does it mean for religious liberty when the government asks houses of worship not to hold services in the middle of a pandemic? Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman look at the impact of the coronavirus on religious communities and how they are responding (starting at 6:13). Plus, they explore a key law that keeps coming up in these conversations: the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (23:03). In the final segment, Amanda and Holly share how the stay-at-home orders are impacting them and how churches are finding new ways to serve in this time.

Segment 1: How do government-issued stay-at-home orders impact religious exercise? (Starting at 00:40)

Read the Pew Forum survey on why people attend religious services at this link.

Segment 2: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act and religious exemptions (starting at 15:40)

Read about the pastor who continues to hold church services in Louisiana in this article by Daniel Silliman in Christianity Today: Pentecostal Pastor Won’t Stop Church for COVID-19.

Learn more about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) at BJConline.org/RFRA.

For more on the current Supreme Court case examining RFRA remedies (Tanzin v. Tanvir), visit this link on our website.

Segment 3: Where did we see religion respected in our world? Religious communities react to the coronavirus (30:58)

Read the story about a pastor who preached to photos of his congregants in this story by David Wilkinson in Baptist News Global: Don’t mess with Texas, COVID-19: this church packed the pews on Sunday.

Read the story about the Alabama church that provided space to test people for coronavirus in this article by Sarah Pulliam Bailey in The Washington Post: A megachurch has helped test nearly 1,000 people for coronavirus in two days.

The coronavirus is leading many conversations this week, and we’ll talk about how it has impacted religious communities during this unprecedented time. But first, Amanda Tyler and Holly Holllman take a look at several Supreme Court cases this term that deal with protections for workers from employment discrimination that could have implications for religious organizations. They break down the term “because of sex” in Title VII (starting at 4:30) and discuss the ministerial exception (18:20), an important part of the law that protects religious organizations. On the final segment, Amanda and Holly share how the coronavirus is impacting – and showcasing – religion in the lives of Americans and how we can lean into a theology of abundance during this time (34:40).

Show notes:

Segment 1: Title VII cases and the phrase “because of sex” (starting at 00:40)

Read the Supreme Court press release announcing the postponement of oral arguments because of COVID-19 at this link.

For more resources on the three “because of sex” cases (Bostock v. Clayton County, Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda, Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC), Holly recommended the resources available at SCOTUSblog, including this piece wrapping up oral arguments by Amy Howe.

The podcast mentioned by Amanda is Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick. The episode featuring Dean Erwin Chemerinsky previewing the Title VII cases is available at this link.

If you want to listen to the oral arguments in the Title VII case mentioned, visit this C-SPAN link.

Segment 2: Ministerial exception case (starting at 17:22)

Learn more about the 2012 case affirming the ministerial exception on BJC’s website: BJConline.org/Hosanna-Tabor

Amanda mentioned a 2011 article Holly wrote titled “Defining the ministerial exception.”

If you want to read all of the amicus briefs in the current ministerial exception case (Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morissey-Berru), you can see them at this link.

Segment 3: Where did we see religion in our world? The coronavirus and religious communities (starting at 34:40)

Holly mentioned articles that did a great job showing religious communities responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including this piece on communion and rituals by Sarah Pulliam Bailey for The Washington Post.

Holly also mentioned the op-ed titled “In Italy, we live in silence, die in silence — and wait.” It was written by Monica Maggioni and published by The Washington Post.

Holly talked about a piece from George Mason and Mark Wingfield at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, who put their experiences during the Ebola crisis into context. It’s titled “How to lead calmly in a global outbreak,” published by Faith & Leadership at Duke Divinity School.

This year, the Trump administration released proposed regulations impacting faith-based organizations that partner with the government. But, the story has gone largely unnoticed by the media, and it can have huge implications for people receiving government services. On this episode of Respecting Religion, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman discuss the history of government partnerships with faith-based groups – including “Charitable Choice” and the faith-based initiative office under President George W. Bush (6:07). They also explore the new Trump administration proposals and three major points of concern that could undermine the religious freedom rights of those who often receive government services (21:13).  In the final segment, Holly and Amanda discuss how religion has been discussed during the Democratic presidential primary and what this means about how religion is respected in our conversations (36:45).

Show notes:

Segment 1: The history of charitable choice, the faith-based initiative, and long-standing partnerships between the government and religious institutions (starting at 1:15)

The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under the Bush administration was sometimes abbreviated “WHOFBCI,” which some pronounced as “Woof-book-ee.”

Segment 2: Comments on the proposed regulations and three major points of concern (starting at 15:30)

You can read information about the final rule issued in 2016 that extends religious liberty protections to beneficiaries at this link.

The book by Melissa Rogers that Holly recommended is Faith in American Public Life. Rogers served as the chair of the task force and later as the head of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships during the Obama administration.

For more on BJC’s comments on the proposed 2020 regulations, read this post on our website. Our comments for the various agencies are pretty similar – here is a direct link to our comments on the regulations in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For additional resources and commentary, visit BJConline.org/resources and click on the “Government Funding of Religious Organizations” category.

Links to some of the comments discussed:

Comments from the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD):  https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=HHS-OS-2020-0001-20893

Comments from Melissa Rogers: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=HHS-OS-2020-0001-22690

Comments filed by Christian Legal Society and National Association of Evangelicals: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=HHS-OS-2020-0001-21174

Segment 3: Where did we see religion in our world? The Democratic presidential primary campaign and religion (starting at 36:45)

Each week, Amanda and Holly talk about where they see religion in the world around us and what they are reading.

Amanda mentioned a Deseret News article by Kelsey Dallas titled “Why should the Democrats talk about faith if half of the country isn’t listening?”

Amanda mentioned this clip of Elizabeth Warren from a CNN Town Hall talking about religion that often circulated on Twitter.

Amanda mentioned exit polling in New Hampshire regarding how frequency of church attendance correlated with who people voted for in the primary. Read more in this Religion News Service article by Jack Jenkins: “Klobuchar wins over New Hampshire voters who attend religious services”

Amanda also mentioned Brian Kaylor, a researcher and Baptist journalist who has often written about these issues and decried the lack of polling data about religion on Super Tuesday. Read his recent Twitter thread here.

Holly mentioned a Washington Post article by Sarah Pulliam Bailey titled “Buttigieg’s candidacy made being openly gay and Christian normal, LGBT activists say.”

Has God been kicked out of the public schools? Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman dig into a recent announcement from President Trump about constitutional prayer in public schools and explore the rhetoric and the reality. Hear their reactions to the Oval Office announcement (starting at 3:20), the stories behind the stories shared there (11:11), and the long history of guidelines on religion in the public schools through Supreme Court cases and consensus efforts (18:32). In the final segment, Amanda and Holly look at how religion is portrayed – and not – in the movie “Little Women” (37:35) and discuss a meditation practice in a public school.

Show notes:

Segment 1: Trump administration’s guidelines on prayer in public schools (starting at 01:08)

To watch President Trump’s announcement from the Oval Office and hear the stories shared by others during the event, visit this C-SPAN link.

The guidance from the Trump administration on religious expression in public schools is available at this link.

The government guidance on religion in the public schools from 2003 is available at this link.

To read more about the stories shared in the Oval Office, here is a Deseret News article about the teacher at the heart of the Ash Wednesday controversy and how she apologized.

Here is an article from the Washington Post from 2015 about the lawsuit regarding the student who gathered others to pray at school.

As Amanda and Holly mention in the conversation, former BJC Executive Director James Dunn often said, “As long as there are math tests, there will be prayer in schools.”

Segment 2: What does the law say about religion in public schools? (starting at 17:35)

For more resources from BJC on religion in the public schools – including a printable handout as well as pamphlets created in previous decades that turned the guidance into guidebooks – visit BJConline.org/resources.

Amanda mentions an article she wrote during Public Schools Week titled “America’s public schools protect religious liberty. We all should be #PublicSchoolProud.” Click here to read it on our Medium channel.

Segment 3: Where did we see religion in our world? The movie “Little Women,” concerns over meditation in schools (starting at 33:12)

Each week, Amanda and Holly will talk about where they see religion in the world around us and what they are reading.

Holly mentioned this Washington Post article about teachers using meditation in public schools.

Holly also mentioned this Wall Street Journal article titled “God Goes Missing in ‘Little Women.’”

Why is religion treated differently by our Constitution? In a blockbuster year at the Supreme Court, BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler and General Counsel Holly Hollman examine one case that could have major implications for religious liberty law. They dig deeper into Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (starting at 1:50), talk about what people mean when they say “Blaine amendments,” explain the footnote of a previous decision that came up during oral arguments (18:20), and share their predictions for the decision.  They also point out the links between this case and other events, including a troubling proposal released by President Trump during his State of the Union address (29:31). In the final segment, Amanda and Holly review how Supreme Court news continues to dominate religious liberty conversations and note how religion is being treated in news about the coronavirus (39:57).

Why do we need to talk about religion and the law? In the inaugural episode of the “Respecting Religion” podcast series, BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler and General Counsel Holly Hollman recount things that have happened in the first few weeks of 2020 (starting at 4:50) and discuss the importance of understanding what’s at stake. They also share their reactions to this year’s unusually political National Prayer Breakfast (28:44), including the lessons it has for all of us. Plus, Amanda and Holly talk about their favorite rejected names for this new podcast series (16:30).