When Law and Religion Collide

Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 1:00 pm

Speaker: Dr. Alan Garfield, Widener University Delaware Law School

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May the government ban kosher slaughtering as inhumane? Some European countries have done so at the behest of animal rights activists. May the government forbid circumcision as an unnecessary medical procedure? San Francisco residents almost voted on a ballot referendum, initiated by “intactivists,” to ban infant circumcision.

What happens when secular law requires religious believers to violate their faith? Should believers have to comply with the law or must government give them an exemption? What if the person seeking an exemption is a religious baker who refuses to serve same-sex couples (a case currently before the Supreme Court)? What if the baker instead refuses to serve Jews?

Come find out how the Supreme Court resolves collisions between secular and religious laws as we explore the meaning of the First Amendment’s religion clauses.

This program is presented in relation to the Amending America: The Bill of Rights exhibit, on display through May 28, 2018.