Faith and Law

You're listening to the Faith and Law podcast. This spring, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, protecting the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children and to opt their young children out of one-sided gender ideology curriculum in public schools.Our panel of experts, in partnership with the Becket Fund For Religious Liberty, explored the Mahmoud decision and what it means for the future of parental rights and religious freedomSupport the show

The culture of freedom we enjoy in the United States is deeply shaped by religious minorities seeking to honor God in their beliefs and orders of worship from the colonial period to the present day. Marc Wheat, General Counsel for Advancing American Freedom,  introduced the historical and legal context for the First Amendment, thereby establishing the foundation for our Friday Forum titled “Religious Liberty and Parental Opt-Outs: School Choice at the Supreme Court” in partnership with Becket. Support the show

Mark Strand, former President of the Congressional Institute and a current member of the Faith and Law Board, shares insights on the complexities of legislative politics. He emphasizes the importance of Congress in democracy, revealing how young people can effect change on key issues like substance abuse. The discussion touches on the clash between objective truth and postmodern beliefs, as well as the ethical dimensions of freedom. Strand also reflects on his journey in the pro-life movement and the necessity of purpose and respect in political careers.

In 1988, Ben Spencer was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit. He spent 34 years wrongfully imprisoned. Now, Ben has teamed up with award-winning journalist Barbara Bradley Hagerty to share his story – and larger story about the flaws in the legal system that allow mistakes to occur, and how some states are trying to fix them.Conversation was moderated by Scott Peyton, director of government affairs at Prison Fellowship.Support the show

Many Christians talk earnestly about ‘the Christian roots of America,’ but never say what they were. Equally the MAGA movement aims to ‘make America great again,’ but never stops to say what made America great in first place.Dr. Os Guinness, foreign admirer of the US, joined us to discuss what it was that gave the American republic a freedom like no other – which needs to be recovered today.Support the show

People with disabilities are created in the image of God, imbued with the same intrinsic value and bestowed the unalienable rights declared in our  nation’s founding document. However, the history of disability policy and social norms have not always mirrored this foundational truth. Drawing from her experience, surviving a life threatening and rare spinal cord tumor that left her as a quadriplegic and her decades working on Capitol Hill, Rachel Barkley director of the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Able Americans program, first discussed what the Bible says about people with disabilities, then in light of this, how we should approach disability policy.Support the show

Is the purpose of religious liberty to end religious oppression or is it to change, perhaps even eradicate, religion as it has been known across history? That question has been at the heart of America’s debates about religious liberty since the founding era and it still plagues us today.Dr. Richard Samuelson, Associate Professor of Government at Hillsdale College, presented a study of this founding era debate to help us understand this important tension that has persisted across American history.Support the show

In his 1962 book, Propaganda, Jacques Ellul outlines three conditions for propaganda’s success. Bombard people with excessive information so they will forget, always have “breaking news” so they do not reflect or think critically, and have no North Star or standard to measure deviation. As Christians we are called to remember, called to think, and called to follow our certain and firm North Star. Dr. Stephen J. Nichols, president of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, discussed how a Christian worldview speaks to these conditions and encourages us to both speak and live truthfully in difficult times.Support the show

During a time when political conversations are marked by deep division, polarization, and challenging moral questions, what resources do evangelicals have to think and act critically, coherently, and theologically about public life?In their new book, Hopeful Realism: Evangelical Natural Law and Democratic Politics, political theorists Dr. Jesse Covington of Westmont College, Dr Bryan T. McGraw of Wheaton College, and Dr. Micah Watson of Calvin College lay out an evangelical theory of the natural law and show how it can be employed within the context of our pluralist democratic order.Support the show

Dr. Amy Black, a political science professor at Wheaton College and author of the upcoming book on civil religion, discusses the intricate relationship between religion and politics in a pluralist democracy. She critiques both strict secularism and Christian nationalism, arguing for an inclusive civil religion to foster harmony. The conversation delves into the implications of religious pluralism and advocates for shared values that embrace diversity, while encouraging believers to embody positive virtues in public life amidst today's polarized landscape.