On November 6, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the first legislative prayer case that the Court has taken in more than three decades. Greece focuses on whether a small town in upstate New York acted unconstitutionally in allowing only Christian clergy to open official town meetings with sectarian prayer. The outcome of this case could have major implications for the future of religion in the public sphere in America.
Greece is just one of many religious liberty cases winding their way through the federal courts today, on issues ranging from the role of religion in same-sex marriage to protests of contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care Act. The decisions in each of these cases will either strengthen and broaden religious liberty in our country – one of the most fundamental of freedoms in our Constitution — or codify discrimination in the name of religious freedom.
Please join Legal Progress, the legal policy program at Center for American Progress, for “Why Courts Matter: Preserving Religious Liberty,” the next in our ongoing Why Courts Matter series.
Welcome:
Andrew Blotky, Director, Legal Progress
Introduction:
Sally Steenland, Director, Faith & Progressive Policy Initiative
Panelists:
Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director, ACLU National
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director, Americans United for Separation of Church & State
Ian Millhiser, Senior Constitutional Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress
Moderated by:
Sandhya Bathija, Campaign Manager, Legal Progress