Stream Of Conscience

What if your child’s school introduced storybooks promoting one-sided ideology on gender and sexuality—and refused to let you opt out? That’s what happened in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the school board mandated storybooks about topics like gender transitioning, Pride parades, and pronoun preferences for kids starting in pre-K. A diverse group of religious parents took the school board all the way to the Supreme Court—and won. In this episode of Becket’s Stream of Conscience podcast, attorney Eric Baxter interviews parents Chris and Melissa Persak and Jeff and Svitlana Roman on their journey to the Court and what this victory means for parental rights, religious freedom, and public education nationwide.

In 2018, heroic foster care mothers had to give up their life’s work when the City of Philadelphia forced a 200-year-old Catholic foster care agency to close because of its religious beliefs. This is the story of how Sharonell Fulton, Toni Simms-Busch, and their foster care agency fought for their right to serve vulnerable children and won—unanimously—at the Supreme Court.

After the City of Ventura, California, asked churches to partner with it to help solve its crisis of homelessness, a small church took the request to heart and made solving the crisis its mission. But no good deed goes unpunished. Years into expanding their homeless ministry, the Harbor Missionary Church suddenly found itself in court opposite the city—and that’s when the Stanford Law School Religious Liberty Clinic stepped in.

The government took your land, now what? In this episode, we dive into a case about eminent domain, the Takings Clause, property rights, and court access. Where does religious liberty play a part? It turns out that the property rights of religious groups are especially vulnerable.

When Asian American rock musician Simon Tam started his band, he never guessed it would bring him to the steps of the Supreme Court. But when the federal trademarking office rejected his band’s name, The Slants, saying it was offensive to Asian Americans, it set Simon on a long and frustrating path through the courts. Though it was a free speech case at its heart, Becket weighed in at the Supreme Court to add another layer of consideration—that the trademarking laws were dangerously close to the anti-blasphemy laws the U.S. fights abroad.

Mark Janus was a public sector employee who became the unlikely namesake of an iconic Supreme Court case, where the Court ruled that private unions cannot force dues on non-members. But what do unions have to do with religious liberty? It hinges on something we call “coercion laundering.”

After the City of Boca Raton gave a Chabad a shot at building a new center, a small but hostile group sprang up in opposition. What followed was a classic case of Establishment Clause misunderstanding, something that frequently troubles the courts. Rabbi Ruvi New tells about the East Boca Chabad’s journey to building a better home and the prejudice it encountered along the way.

What happens when the government catches wind of a little-known religion with an unusual ritual, like animal sacrifice? Guest Ernesto Pichardo, a priest of the Lukumi Church, tells us about his Santeria faith and its rituals, including animal sacrifice. Becket’s Eric Rassbach explains why it’s just as important to defend minority faiths as it is to defend familiar and mainstream practices.

When Simmer Singh decided to join the U.S. Army, he fully believed he could serve his country and uphold his Sikh beliefs and traditions. But when West Point gave him a stark choice—shave his religious beard or get discharged—it started Simmer on a long path to fighting for religious freedom for himself and other Sikhs.

For decades, a federal tax exemption has allowed tax-free housing for pastors who live in their church communities, until a lawsuit from an atheist organization challenged the housing allowance. Pastor Chris Butler gives us a look inside his southside Chicago church and explains why his community, and others like it, rely on this tax rule—and what would happen if it disappeared.

We’ve all heard the phrase “separation of church and state,” but do we know where it came from? Guest Professor Philip Hamburger gets us into the history of the Establishment Clause, the flaws in the “separation” theory, and why a memorial cross on public property in Bladensburg, Maryland, deserves to stay.

Host Katie Geary and Becket Executive Director Montse Alvarado launch Season 2 of Stream of Conscience with an episode on our favorite four-letter word: RFRA. In 1993, Congress passed RFRA, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, with overwhelming, bipartisan support, and President Bill Clinton signed it into being. So, why is RFRA controversial today?

When religious liberty experts notice a prisoner’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, his case to grow a beard gains support and sheds light on the prison-prisoner relationship.

A small-town lawyer gives his church pro bono legal advice after a dispute between the church school and an employee—and ends up with a case headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sikhs have lived in the United States for hundreds of years, but do we really understand their beliefs? When a federal employee loses her job for practicing her faith, bad policy and ignorance are both at fault. This episode features Kawal Tagore, Scott Newar and Becket's Daniel Blomberg. Learn more about the case here: http://www.becketlaw.org/case/tagore-v-department-homeland-security/

When a federally funded fair housing group sues a Christian homeless shelter and rehabilitation center, the people who turn their lives around—thanks to the mission—are at risk. This episode features Rev. Bill Roscoe, Flora Langley and Becket's Luke Goodrich. Learn more about the case here: http://www.becketlaw.org/case/intermountain-fair-housing-council-v-boise-rescue-mission-ministries/

An order of Catholic nuns is stunned to discover that they don’t qualify for a religious exemption from a controversial healthcare mandate. When their pleas fall on deaf ears, they take on the federal government — all the way to the Supreme Court. This podcast features Sister Constance Veit and Becket President Mark Rienzi. Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/littlesisters/

After a dedicated army chaplain is forced to choose between preaching Church teachings and following military orders, a young lawyer puts his brand new law firm to task. Features Father Vincent Rigdon, Eric Treene and Becket's Founder Kevin "Seamus" Hasson

Do religious images belong only in private? A war memorial at a Whitefish, Montana ski resort answers the question. Features Ray Leopold, Gene Thomas and Becket's Eric Baxter

Are they Amish American, American Amish, or something else entirely? When the U.S. legal system clashes with Amish communities, it takes getting to know this diverse group of people to find resolutions. Features Donald Kraybill, Karen Johnson-Weiner and Becket's Lori Windham Learn more about the case here: http://www.becketlaw.org/case/yoder-v-morristown/