In the North Carolina Constitutional ratification debates, James Iredell specifically discussed the possibility of the Pope becoming president, arguing it was possible but unlikely. He said it would be hard for a Pope to be "so much in the confidence of his own country as to be elected President."

Law Librarian to the Stars@audiolibrarian.bsky.social · 7mo ago

no rule that says the pope can’t be president

Really exciting to see religious liberty arguments successfully upholding a preliminary injunction protecting abortion access in Indiana.

Catesby Holmes@catesby.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Evangelical Christians aren't the only people whose faith-based views of abortion matter, ruled an Indiana judge who just blocked the state's abortion ban citing Jewish religious freedom. Someone had to say it! RNG has tracked this case as it moved through the courts. Our updated story here.

Don Lemon’s arrest highlights the urgent need for robust press protections, both in statute and via the Press Clause. At the end of 2024, I co-authored a report with Floyd Abrams, @jschrinerbriggs.bsky.social, and others on empowering the Press Clause. Read it here: law.yale.edu/sites/defaul...

Checking Louisiana's approved Ten Commandments posters. One uses the Supreme Court frieze, which features the Prophet Muhammad. Urging public schools to hang images of Muhammad is religiously inflammatory and violates Islamic teachings. aglizmurrill.com/Page/HB71

Louisiana’s state-approved Ten Commandments poster for classrooms is wild. It gives equal space to Moses and Mike Johnson. It doesn’t number the Commandments. And it claims the portraits in the House—which include Napoleon and Suleiman the Magnificent—established principles of American law.

Drew McKevitt@drewmckevitt.bsky.social · 10mo ago

omg the Ten Commandments "poster" that Louisiana intends to send to schools (which are required to display them in every public classroom, including at universities) includes images of Moses and Mike Johnson share.google/eoRiDvHsshEg...

Interesting legal fight in London. The Met police are engaged in anti-Masonic efforts to force officers to reveal if they are Freemasons. Freemasons argue that is religious discrimination against them. In U.S. law, the Masons would have a strong case. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Freemasons seek injunction against Met policy requiring officers to declare membership

Exclusive: Organisation accuses Sir Mark Rowley of religious discrimination and ‘whipping up conspiracy theories’

theguardian.com

Saddened to learn Jane Goodall died. She devoted a surprising amount of time to the Jane Goodall Center at Western Connecticut State University, where my mom taught. When I was a kid, she was kind and gracious in answering my questions at one of her talks and providing an autograph.

I am glad to see that the law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in Texas classrooms was enjoined. The law used the King James Bible's wording, a Protestant translation. This functionally marginalized Catholics and Jews, not to mention other faiths.

Judge Halts Texas’ Law Mandating the Ten Commandments in School

nytimes.com

Good to see the Pope use one of his first major public appearances to advocate for press freedom. Support for journalists is sorely needed right now.

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 2y ago

Pope Leo XIV expressed solidarity with imprisoned journalists and affirmed the “precious gift of free speech and the press.” He spoke in an audience with some of the 6,000 journalists who descended on Rome to cover his election as the first American pontiff.

Agreed — what distinguishes a charter school from a private one is that it operates as an arm of the state. Letting a charter school promote religion is no different than the government creating a church.

Eric Segall@espinsegall.bsky.social · 2y ago

Not for nothing but Oklahoma has said charter schools are public schools. That should end this case.

My brother-in-law got his job back with the National Park Service yesterday, with back pay, thanks to Judge Alsup’s order. The position could still be eliminated, but for now, he has the job he loves.

One of the twentieth-century’s greatest and most prolific American church historians has died. currentpub.com/2025/02/26/m...

Martin Marty, RIP

Via Chicago Sun-Times One of the twentieth-century's greatest and most prolific American church historians has died. Here is Martin Marty's obituary:

currentpub.com

I’ve been watching this case closely. Really pleased to see this injunction, and kudos to the team at @democracyforward.org who litigated it. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/u...

Judge Blocks Trump Administration Policy Allowing ICE Raids in Certain Places of Worship (Gift Article)

Religious organizations are challenging a Trump administration policy that allows ICE to conduct operations in sensitive locations. The judge declined to pause the policy more broadly.

nytimes.com

Proud of my brother-in-law Josh Barnes, who spoke to the NY Times after being fired from the Park Service by the Trump administration. Josh was devoted to his work as a Park Ranger. The attack on our National Parks is an outrage.

Fired Park Rangers Try to ‘Open Some Hearts’ on Social Media (Gift Article)

Some rangers decided it was worth the risk to speak out online about their firings and share their love of the National Park Service.

nytimes.com

Grateful for the invitation to speak alongside such a distinguished panel. Our report on the Press Clause, which we discussed, is available at the link below.

The Information Society Project at Yale Law School@yaleisp.bsky.social · 2y ago

At today’s Law & Tech Talk, we had the pleasure of hosting a very special panel discussion on the the Abrams Institute Press Clause Report with guests Floyd Abrams, @jschrinerbriggs.bsky.social, and our own Jack Balkin and @isaacbarnesmay.bsky.social. Thank you all for a wonderful panel!

Pope Francis’s statement in point 6 seems like a clear rebuke of Vance’s public statements on theology.

Rich Raho@richraho.bsky.social · 2y ago

MAJOR BREAKING: Pope Francis has written a letter to US Bishops saying he’s following “major crisis” of “mass deportations;” takes on Vance saying “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the “Good Samaritan”

People rightly worry that the SCOTUS case about Oklahoma funding a Catholic charter school undermines the Establishment Clause. One less-noticed aspect is that St. Isidore, the school, is "virtual." I am skeptical that entirely online K-12 instruction is ideal. stisidorevirtualschool.org/about-us

Bishop Budde's sermon struck a nerve with Trump, who condemned her and the National Cathedral. The administration’s support for Christian nationalism increasingly puts it at odds with the Episcopal Church and many Mainline Protestants. apnews.com/article/trum...

Trump demands an apology from bishop who asked him to ‘have mercy’ on LGBTQ+ people and migrants

President Donald Trump is demanding an apology from the Episcopal bishop of Washington after she asked him to have mercy on the LGBTQ+ community and migrants in the United States illegally during a pr...

apnews.com

This is a good summary of some recent disturbing trends related to press freedom. Even before taking office, Trump has been using lawsuits to suppress journalism.

Trump is already delivering on his promise to go after the press

First Amendment advocates worry about an emboldened Trump using civil litigation to target journalists he dislikes.

politico.com

The fellowship deadline at Yale Law's Information Society Project is approaching. Come hang out with me and a smart and interesting group of folks; it's a great place.

The Information Society Project at Yale Law School@yaleisp.bsky.social · 2y ago

Get involved with the ISP! Apply for our 2025-26 roles: 1⃣ Resident Fellowship 2⃣ The Majority World Initiative (MWI) 3⃣ Wikimedia Initiative On Intermediaries and Information (WII) Deadline for applications: Dec 18! law.yale.edu/isp/join-us#...

Indiana Supreme Court allows a preliminary injunction to remain for a religious exemption to the state’s abortion ban. This case goes back to the lower court for further proceedings. This is a setback for the state and a temporary win for the individual plaintiffs and Hoosiers Jews for Choice.

Indiana Supreme Court lets preliminary block to abortion ban stand for religious objectors

The Indiana Supreme Court decided to let stand a preliminary injunction against the abortion ban for plaintiffs making a religious freedom argument.

indystar.com

Good article this morning @rns.org by Bonhoeffer biographer Charles Marsh: religionnews.com/2024/12/09/b...

Both right and left claim Bonhoeffer as a champion. Here's why his ideas fit neither.

(RNS) — Bonhoeffer matters precisely because he reminds us that Christian behavior and attitudes are more than calculations for a partisan edge.

religionnews.com

Rothfeld notes in her WaPo review: "Peterson is cagey on whether Christianity is literally true." There is an increasing trend among right-leaning intellectuals to align with Christianity for its perceived social utility rather than belief.

Jeff (Hot Type) Jarvis@jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 2y ago

I've been hoping for Becca Rothfeld to perform dissection without anesthetic on Jordan Peterson and here it is, a gift link for you. So many good lines. 1/ The gospel according to Jordan Peterson wapo.st/3ZGSfUT

Religion’s most iconic vehicle just got an upgrade. The popemobile now goes 30 mph and has a heated swivel seat.

RNS@rns.org · 2y ago

The new popemobile is also Mercedes-Benz's first fully electric vehicle.

Congress needs to pass the PRESS Act. Schumer is apparently set on doing it next week. There's nothing else Congress could do right now that would do more to protect press freedom and the public's right to know. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | The Senate has a shrinking window to protect press freedom

Senators should make passing the Press Act a top priority before the session ends.

washingtonpost.com

Given how closely Hegseth has publicly tied his family to Wilson — reading his books, attending church in his denom, suggesting he’d send his kids to his college — seems appropriate to ask Hegseth whether he, himself, is a Christian nationalist and/or thinks the U.S. should be a Christian nation.

Peter Baker@peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 2y ago

Hegseth wants to send his kids to a college run by a Christian nationalist who argues that slavery produced "genuine affection between the races," homosexuality should be a crime and granting women the vote was a mistake. @MikeBaker.bsky.social @ruthgraham.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/u...

Fascinating article. I’d always blamed Locke for supporting slavery in “The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina,” and this caused me to rethink that.

Holly Brewer@earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 2y ago

This article explores the manuscript evidence in seven versions of The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina to argue that the clause granting “absolute power & authority … over slaves” in early 1670 was *important* to the development of slavery but was not by Locke. ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/lo...

I didn’t think the history of the Quaker Boston martyrs would have relevance in modern politics, but unfortunately, it does.

Jack Jenkins@jackjenkins.me · 2y ago

Related *to* the relatedly, last year I asked Doug Wilson — the Idaho pastor and popular purveyor of Christian nationalism whose denomination, the CREC, includes the church of Trump Defense Sec nominee Peter Hegseth — about the hanging of Quakers by Puritans mentioned here. This was his response: