Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by Professor Marci Hamilton, legal icon and leading expert on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and extreme religious liberty. Professor Hamilton explains the origin story of RFRA, how it has led us to the emerging theocracy we face, and what Americans can do to reclaim true religious liberty before it’s too late. 

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Background

• Professor Marci Hamilton’s bio

• CHILD USA, Prof. Hamilton's think tank

• FFRF’s FAQ on RFRA 

• Congressional Research Service primer on RFRA

Cases

• City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)

• Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

• Tanzin v. Tanvir (2020) 

• FFRF’s amicus brief, written by Marci Hamilton

• American Atheists and Center For Inquiry’s amicus brief

• 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023)

• U.S. Pastor Council (Braidwood Management) v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2023)

• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC (2012)

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca go back to school! They discuss the latest wild and crazy state/church violations in public schools reported to their organizations, the postscript on the Coach Kennedy case, and the alarming move by Oklahoma to create the first religious public school.

Background

• Pray to Play report

• Prayer Walks and Public Schools report

• We Dissent Episode 5 – You, Coach Kennedy, are no Tim Tebow

Complaints Discussed

• Auburn University football team baptism

• Baptism in Charlotte County Public Schools, FL 

• “Jesus and Germs are Everywhere” sign in Victor Valley Union High School District, CA

• Prayer walk in Marion County Public Schools, FL

Cases

• Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)

• Liz Cavell, FFRF - “Praying coach’s actions do not alter the Constitution”

• Hiram Sasser, First Liberty - “School district that fired praying coach Joe Kennedy under investigation, again”

• Stone v. Graham (1980)

• Trinity Lutheran v. Comer (2017)

• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue (2020)

• St. Isidore Charter School Lawsuit - OKPLAC v. Statewide Virtual Charter School Board (2023)

• Attorney General O'Connor’s December 2022 letter

• FFRF’s January 2023 memo

• Attorney General Drummond’s February 2023 letter

• Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Resources

• American Atheists Report a Violation

• FFRF Report a Violation

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca take a deep dive into Texas for a case study in theocratic government. They discuss recent Christian nationalist legislation advancing in the state, the takeover of state institutions by conservative Christian legal groups, and the many state/church battles their organizations have fought in Texas. 

Background

• Texas Monthly - “How a Right-wing Law Firm Shaped the Judge Who Will Rule on the Abortion Pill”

• The Washington Post - “Texas legislature passes bill allowing chaplains in public schools”

• Religion News Service - “More than 100 chaplains urge Texans not to hire school chaplains”

• FFRF, Americans United, and the ACLU/ACLU of Texas letter to Texas school districts

• FFRF - “Thou shalt honor our secular public schools, Texas” 

• Texas Tribune - “Key supporter of Texas school chaplain bill has pushed for evangelism in schools”

Resources

• FFRF Action Alert sign-up

• FFRF report a violation

• American Atheists report a violation

• American Atheists Action Alerts sign-up 

• School Chaplain Law Advocacy Toolkit

• Interfaith Alliance “Say No to Chaplains in Public Schools” campaign page

Bills Discussed

• HB 4949/SB 1396 and SB 19: Would allow a period of prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text in public schools

• SB 17: Would have created the right for a public school employee to engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty

• SB 1515: Would require the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools

• SB 763: Would allow school districts to employ chaplains to perform the duties of school counselors

Cases

• American Atheist’s Metroplex Atheists lawsuit

• FFRF’s Texas Bill of Rights display lawsuit

• FFRF’s praying judge lawsuit

• Stone v. Graham (1980)

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca discuss a better vision for religious liberty with Liz Reiner Platt, director of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project, a law and policy think tank based at Columbia Law School. They talk about using religious exemptions to promote progressive social causes and issues, including the legal fight for a right to abortion based on freedom of conscience.

Background

• Liz Reiner Platt bio

• Law, Rights, and Religion Project

• We Dissent episode about 303 Creative

Resources

• All Faiths and None: A Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty for Everyone

• A Religious Right to Abortion: Legal History and Analysis

• Parading the Horribles: The Risk of Expanding Religious Exemptions

Amicus Briefs

• LRRP - Dousa v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• LRRP “ No More Deaths” case - United States vs. Warren

• American Atheists - Tanzin v. Tanvir

• LRRP - United States v. Safehouse 

• LRRP and FFRF - ​​Jane Doe v. AG of Indiana Amicus Brief 

• LRRP - 303 Creative v. Elenis

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

The Supreme Court continues to mess up civil rights for everyone. In this episode Rebecca and Liz discuss the two opinions handed down by the Supreme Court at the end of June, Groff v. DeJoy and 303 Creative v. Elenis. They recap the case, summarize the rulings, and discuss implications of the decisions.

Background

• Groff v. DeJoy

• SCOTUS decision

• SCOTUSBlog - “Justices rule in favor of evangelical Christian postal worker”

• Vox - “The other big decision handed down by the Supreme Court today, explained”

• AA Groff v. DeJoy press release

• FFRF Groff v. DeJoy press release

• 303 Creative v. Elenis

• SCOTUS Decision 

• SCOTUSBlog - “Supreme Court rules website designer can decline to create same-sex wedding websites”

• Vox - “Neil Gorsuch has a problem with telling the truth”

• FFRF 303 Creative press release

• AA 303 Creative press release

Cases

• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977)

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Rebecca, and Liz discuss the pending Post Office case—Groff v. DeJoy—another high-stakes case in which the Supreme Court considers how much hardship a business must bear to accommodate the religious practices of employees. They explain how the case threatens to disrupt decades of case law interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and what the oral arguments may have signaled about the potential outcome. 

Background

• SCOTUS Blog Page

• Oral arguments transcript

• Freedom From Religion Foundation’s amicus brief

• Center for Inquiry and American Atheists’ amicus brief

• SCOTUS Blog - “Justices look for common ground in postal worker’s religious liberty case”

• Vox - “The Supreme Court is unlikely to put the Christian Right in charge of your workplace — at least not yet”

• Time - “The Post Office Made a Christian Employee Work on Sundays. Now He's at the Supreme Court”

• New York Times - “Supreme Court Weighs Clash of Postal Worker’s Sabbath and Sunday Deliveries”

Cases

• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977)

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Rebecca, Liz, and Alison discuss the state of state/church separation with Professor Caroline Corbin, constitutional law professor at the University of Miami. They review the history of Establishment Clause jurisprudence, remind listeners about what the Supreme Court did to the religion clauses in 2022, and discuss where we stand now in regards to rights under the First Amendment. TLDR: If you’re a Christian, rest assured it’s a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” court.

Background

• Professor Caroline Corbin’s bio 

• The Remains of the Establishment Clause (Lupu & Tuttle, updated 2023)

• James Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments

• Previous We Dissent episodes on Carson v. Makin

• The Sleeper Case: Carson v. Makin

• Bonus Episode! Carson v. Makin Update

• American Atheists Kennedy v. Bremerton amicus brief

Cases

• Firewalker-Fields v. Lee (2023)

• Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)

• Sambrano v. United Airlines (2022)

• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union (1989)

• The American Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019)

• Stone v. Graham (1980)

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca are joined by Katie O’Connor, Deputy Chief Counsel at Demand Justice, to discuss court reform. Katie explains how the Supreme Court and federal courts have been broken, why it’s an existential threat to our secular democracy, and how we can fix it. 

Background

• Demand Justice

• FFRF report on Trump judges

• Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States

Legislation Discussed

• Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023

• H.R.1 - For the People Act of 2021

• H.R.4 - John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021

• H.R.2584 - Judiciary Act of 2021

• H.R.5140 - Supreme Court Term Limits and Regular Appointments Act of 2021

• H.R.4886 - District Court Judgeships Act of 2021

• H.R.8936 - Circuit Court Judgeships Act of 2022

• H.R.642 - Restoring Judicial Separation of Powers Act

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca welcome another guest to the pod—Sasha Buchert, senior attorney and director of the Non-Binary and Transgender Rights Project for Lambda Legal. Sasha guides us through a discussion of the history of transgender rights in the courts, the current legislative attacks on trans people we are seeing across the country, and the litigation to overturn anti-trans laws.

Background

• Lambda Legal

• Sasha Buchert’s bio

• “Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins at Thirty” by Sasha Buchert

• Examples of Court Decisions Supporting Coverage of LGBT-Related Discrimination Under Title VII

Cases

• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1988)

• Bostock v. Clayton County (2020)

• Lusardi v. McHugh (2015)

• Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board (2021)

• Adams v. The School Board of St. Johns County, Florida (2020)

• B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education (2023)

• L.E. v. Lee (2023)

• Soule et al v. CT Association of Schools et al. (2023) 

• Bridge v. Oklahoma State Department of Education (2022)

• Schroer v. Billington (2008)

• Religious Sisters of Mercy v. Becerra (2022)

Resources

• American Atheists

• Sign up for action alerts 

• State Legislation Tracker 

• FFRF

• Sign up for action alerts 

• Lambda Legal events

• How to Contact Your Elected Officials

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

What is the ministerial exception? Where did it come from? What has the Supreme Court said about this legal doctrine? In this episode, Rebecca, Liz and Alison recount the history of the ministerial exception and break down the two major cases from the Supreme Court on point: Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrisey-Berru. 

Background

• “The Right’s Religious Liberty Agenda Is on a Collision Course With Labor Law”

• “Supreme Court affirms ‘ministerial exception’ that protects religious organizations from some lawsuits”

Cases

• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC (2012)

• Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru (2020)

• FFRF and American Medical Women’s Association amicus brief

• The Center for Inquiry, American Atheists, and American Humanist Association's amicus brief

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Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.