Toward the end of yet another landmark Supreme Court term, the Court issued decisions in two major cases concerning religious liberty when it comes to education in America. Carson v. Makin held that the state of Maine can’t withhold public funding from families relying on vouchers to attend religious schools. And Kennedy v. Bremerton came out in favor of a public high school football coach who lost his job after leading prayers on the 50-yard line. These are big First Amendment cases with widespread implications for free exercise of religion and separation of church and state in schools nationwide. In this episode, Michael Moreland, of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, and Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley Law, unpack the Court’s reasoning and help explain the outcomes. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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This episode was produced by Melody Rowell and engineered by Greg Scheckler. Research was provided by Colin Thibault, Vishan Chaudhary, Eliot Peck, Samuel Turner, Sam Desai, and Lana Ulrich.
Participants
Michael Moreland is the University Professor of Law and Religion and Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. He is a renowned and widely-published scholar of constitutional law, torts, bioethics, and religious freedom.
Erwin Chemerinsky is the Dean of Berkeley Law. He is the author of fourteen books, including leading casebooks and treatises about constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federal jurisdiction. His most recent books are Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights (2021), and The Religion Clauses: The Case for Separating Church and State (2020).
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Read the opinion in Carson v. Makin
- Read the opinion in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
- “The Supreme Court demolishes another precedent separating church and state,” an op-ed by Erwin Chemerinsky in Los Angeles Times
- Michael Moreland on NPR: “Supreme Court backs a high school football coach's right to pray on the 50-yard line,” by Nina Totenberg
- “Student Aid, Religious Education, and the First Amendment,” We the People episode on Carson v. Makin
- “Football, Faith, and the First Amendment” and “Football, Faith, and the First Amendment – Part 2” We the People episodes on Kennedy v. Bremerton
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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