Stream of Conscience: Becket's Religious Liberty Podcast

What if the government promised to help you pay for your child’s preschool—but then denied you access to that funding simply because you chose a Catholic preschool? That’s what happened in Colorado, where thousands of families have already been denied access to the State’s “universal” preschool funding program because they chose a Catholic education for their children. Now, these families are taking their fight to the United States Supreme Court.

In this episode of Becket’s Stream of Conscience podcast, Becket’s Director of Communications Ryan Colby talks with attorneys Nick Reaves and Amanda Dixon about St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy and what the case means for parental choice, religious freedom, and families nationwide.

What if your child’s school introduced storybooks promoting one-sided ideology on gender and sexuality—and refused to let you opt out? That’s what happened in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the school board mandated storybooks about topics like gender transitioning, Pride parades, and pronoun preferences for kids starting in pre-K. A diverse group of religious parents took the school board all the way to the Supreme Court—and won. In this episode of Becket’s Stream of Conscience podcast, attorney Eric Baxter interviews parents Chris and Melissa Persak and Jeff and Svitlana Roman on their journey to the Court and what this victory means for parental rights, religious freedom, and public education nationwide.

In 2018, heroic foster care mothers had to give up their life’s work when the City of Philadelphia forced a 200-year-old Catholic foster care agency to close because of its religious beliefs. This is the story of how Sharonell Fulton, Toni Simms-Busch, and their foster care agency fought for their right to serve vulnerable children and won—unanimously—at the Supreme Court.

After the City of Ventura, California, asked churches to partner with it to help solve its crisis of homelessness, a small church took the request to heart and made solving the crisis its mission. But no good deed goes unpunished. Years into expanding their homeless ministry, the Harbor Missionary Church suddenly found itself in court opposite the city—and that’s when the Stanford Law School Religious Liberty Clinic stepped in.

The government took your land, now what? In this episode, we dive into a case about eminent domain, the Takings Clause, property rights, and court access. Where does religious liberty play a part? It turns out that the property rights of religious groups are especially vulnerable.

When Asian American rock musician Simon Tam started his band, he never guessed it would bring him to the steps of the Supreme Court. But when the federal trademarking office rejected his band’s name, The Slants, saying it was offensive to Asian Americans, it set Simon on a long and frustrating path through the courts. Though it was a free speech case at its heart, Becket weighed in at the Supreme Court to add another layer of consideration—that the trademarking laws were dangerously close to the anti-blasphemy laws the U.S. fights abroad.

Mark Janus was a public sector employee who became the unlikely namesake of an iconic Supreme Court case, where the Court ruled that private unions cannot force dues on non-members. But what do unions have to do with religious liberty? It hinges on something we call “coercion laundering.”

After the City of Boca Raton gave a Chabad a shot at building a new center, a small but hostile group sprang up in opposition. What followed was a classic case of Establishment Clause misunderstanding, something that frequently troubles the courts. Rabbi Ruvi New tells about the East Boca Chabad’s journey to building a better home and the prejudice it encountered along the way.

What happens when the government catches wind of a little-known religion with an unusual ritual, like animal sacrifice? Guest Ernesto Pichardo, a priest of the Lukumi Church, tells us about his Santeria faith and its rituals, including animal sacrifice. Becket’s Eric Rassbach explains why it’s just as important to defend minority faiths as it is to defend familiar and mainstream practices.

When Simmer Singh decided to join the U.S. Army, he fully believed he could serve his country and uphold his Sikh beliefs and traditions. But when West Point gave him a stark choice—shave his religious beard or get discharged—it started Simmer on a long path to fighting for religious freedom for himself and other Sikhs.