Judaism and Religious Freedom in America
As a country, we have long debated the extent of religious liberty protections due individuals and institutions. What should the law do when church and state collide? These questions, which remain pressing to all faith communities, have been of particular importance for American Jews who, as a religious minority, have long benefited from the freedoms afforded by the First Amendment. The goals of this course are two-fold: (1) first, to understand how First Amendment principles of religious liberty govern the relationship between church and state and (2) second, to consider how the Jewish community, as a paradigmatic religious minority, has and should continue to engage in ongoing religious liberty debates.