Religious Freedom, Equality, and Non-Discrimination in Employment Cases: Interview with Cole Durham

W. Cole Durham, Jr. is Emeritus Professor of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University, where he held the Susa Young Gates University Professorship and Founding Director of the Law School’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies. He was interviewed by Dmytro Vovk.

Before the interview, we asked you to think about a case of a line of cases you have modified your views about. What have you chosen?

My plan is to talk mainly about Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC (2012) and the follow-up case, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru (2020). These are both cases that deal with the religious autonomy doctrine, and I think they represent a concerning trend.

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Moving Toward Anti-Separation of Religion and State: Frank Ravitch on the Current U.S. Supreme Court

Frank Ravitch (Michigan State University College of Law) discusses America’s shift from moderate separationism to an anti-separationist approach to religion-state relations. According to Ravitch, the victimhood of social conservatives not only drives the Supreme Court’s current majority to an increasingly anti-establishment stance but also results in strong politicization of the Court and its decisions. Ravitch explains how recent First Amendment decisions, including Mahmoud v. Taylor (more because of bias evident in the majority opinion rather than the decision itself), contribute to this trend and predicts that the Court will eventually overturn Smith v. Employment Division and constitutionalize Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. He also touches on an alternative approach to both the current anti-establishment drift and radical separationism.

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Mahmoud v. Taylor: Even When the Current Supreme Court Gets It Right the Supermajority’s Bias Is on Display

Frank S. Ravitch is Professor of Law and Walter H. Stowers Chair in Law and Religion at the Michigan State University College of Law.

On 27 June 2025, the United States Supreme Court decided Mahmoud v. Taylor.[1] The case focused on the Montgomery County (Maryland) School Board’s integration of books featuring LGBTQ characters into the elementary-school English curriculum. The board had long integrated books with characters from a variety of backgrounds, including different religious and cultural backgrounds, into its curriculum. The goal of including books with LGBTQ characters was to be inclusive because the district is one of the most culturally, socially, racially, and religiously diverse districts in the United States.

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