In this episode, Center Director Mark Movsesian interviews religion journalist Kelsey Dallas about the controversy that arose last month when the National Park Service refused to allow the Knights of Columbus to celebrate an annual Memorial Day Mass at a national cemetery in Virginia. The Park Service said it was enforcing the rules against “demonstrations”; the Knights said the refusal violated the group’s religious freedom. Who was right? And what does this controversy reveal about church-state relations in an increasingly secular America? Listen in!
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As someone who might be considered an expert on the religion clauses of the First Amendment and who has just written an op-ed (to be published soon) on the Knights of Columbus v. NPS dispute, I commend you for this very informative and balanced discussion of this dispute. I would only add two things: First, the regulation prohibiting public gatherings in national cemeteries was issued in 1986. Therefore, and secondly, why was that policy not applied to the Knights until 2023? And were the Knights the only private group to which the policy was not applied? If so, then that would suggest that the reason the regulation was not applied to the Knights was religious favoritism, which could itself be considered a violation of the religion clauses.