Thomas Jeffersons 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptistsbetter known for its reference to a wall of separation between church and statewas little remembered until Chief Justice Morrison Waite revived it in Reynolds v. United States (1879). With the help

Map: The ConversationIn Episode 70 ofLegal Spirits, Center Director Mark Movsesian speaks withDan Harre, Deputy Director ofSave Armenia, about a significantand controversialdraft agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Brokered last month at th

Source: National ArchivesIn this episode of Legal Spirits, Center Director Mark Movsesian talks with legal scholar Steven D. Smith about a question that goes to the heart of American law and politics: What happens when people stop believing in the co

In this episode of Legal Spirits, we review the Supreme Courts major religion cases from the October 2024 Term. From religious charter schools to religious exemptions to parental rights in public education, the Court addressed long-standing issuesand, i

Washington State Gov. Bob Ferguson at the Signing Ceremony for the New Clergy Reporting LawIn this episode ofLegal Spirits, we examine a new Washington State law that eliminates the clergy-penitent privilege in child abuse reporting. The law requires

We’re back after a bit of a hiatus with a new Legal Spirits episode. Center Director Mark Movsesian talks with Professors Andrea Pin and Luca Vanoni about the International Moot Court Competition in Law and Religion, an annual event that gathers

Photo: Reasonable TheologyIn this episode, Fordham Law Professors Sean Griffith and Richard Squire join Mattone Center Director Mark Movsesian to talk about their experience leading a discussion of CS Lewis’s Mere Christianity in a student readi

Ever since President Ronald Reagan popularized the phrase in the 1980s, American leaders have referred to the United States as the “shining city on a hill.” Reagan adapted the phrase from John Winthrop, the 17th century governor of the

Ganzdasar Monastery, a 13th Century Armenian Christian site in Nagorno-Karabakh (Wikipedia)In September 2023, in violation of an order from the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan ethnically cleansed the region of Nagorno-Karabakh of its 120,00

(Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger)When the Cedar Grove School District in New Jersey surveyed students about their religious identities and other sensitive matters, St. John’s Law Professor Patricia Montana went into action. She and other parent