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Protecting the Freedom to Choose — or Reject — Faith

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Does religious freedom only benefit the devout or is it the bedrock foundation that keeps all civil liberties intact?

This week on "Deseret Voices," host Jane Clayson Johnson sits down with Josh McDaniel, assistant professor at Harvard Law School and director of the Harvard Religious Freedom Clinic, to unpack the rapidly shifting landscape of the First Amendment.

McDaniel explores the fascinating political evolution of religious accommodations — explaining why a right once championed by political liberals has largely pivoted to the conservative mantle, fueled by modern culture wars. From defending the lifestyle of the Old Order Amish against criminal citations in Ohio, to building broad ideological coalitions to protecting Native American sacred sites in Arizona, McDaniel argues that religious minorities are the ultimate "canaries in the coal mine" for government overreach.

They tackle the thorny realities of modern jurisprudence, the fine line between private religious expression and public coercion in schools, and why robust religious liberty ultimately requires a dose of humility from believers.

 

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