I’m looking forward to participating in this upcoming online symposium the SMU Law Review will sponsor next month: Religion and Government: The Future of the Establishment Clause. Registration link available in the photo above. Friends of the Mattone Center, sign on and say hello!
Law students take note! The 10th edition of the International Moot Court Competition in Law & Religion will take place from March 10-13, 2027, at the University of Milan Law School. This competition, which the Mattone Center co-sponsors, brings together teams from the US and Europe to argue a case before judges representing the US Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. It’s a fantastic opportunity. Please check the website for the announcement and upcoming posting of this year’s case: https://sites.google.com/view/imcclr/home?pli=1&authuser=0.
Delighted to announce our Mattone Center Student Fellows for 2026-2027: Vincent D’Avanzo ’27, Marc Derrickson ’28, Anastasia Kaliabakos ’27, and Isabel Lane ’27. Fellows help produce the Forum and the Legal Spirits podcast series and assist generally with Center activities. For more about this year’s team, please see our People page.
I’ll be in Palermo this week, speaking on a panel at the biennial ICLARS conference. Friends of the Mattone Center, please stop by and say hello! https://www.iclarspalermo2026.org/
In this episode of Legal Spirits, Center Director Mark Movsesian speaks with Professor Arman Tatoyan of the American University of Armenia about a controversy involving the Armenian Apostolic Church and the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The dispute centers on a civil-court order requiring the Church to allow a bishop to continue serving as diocesan Primate while he challenged his removal. After the Church defrocked the bishop, authorities brought criminal charges against Catholicos Karekin II and other senior clerics for allegedly defying the order. We discuss the case under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the principle of church autonomy, and ask whether even a temporary court order—and the threat of criminal enforcement—can become a serious burden on religious freedom. We also compare the European approach with U.S. church-autonomy doctrine and consider why the controversy matters well beyond Armenia. Listen in!
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In this Legal Spirits Short Take, Center Director Mark Movsesian discusses a new federal lawsuit challenging New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. Catholic healthcare providers argue that the state’s statutory regime will require them to counsel patients about medically assisted suicide, even though their religious commitments prohibit them from participating in the practice. New York has not yet responded, and important questions remain about what the law actually requires. Assuming the plaintiffs’ account is correct, Mark considers whether the counseling obligation substantially burdens their religious exercise, whether the law’s different treatment of hospices undermines its general applicability, and whether New York could protect patient access to legal end-of-life options through less restrictive means. Listen in!
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In this Legal Spirits Short Take, Mattone Center Director Mark Movsesian discusses the recent controversy involving Congressman Dan Goldman and a Brooklyn coffee shop that reportedly said it would have refused him service because of his support for Israel. Was this illegal discrimination based on religion, or a refusal of service based on politics? What does this episode reveal about public accommodations law, political disagreement, and our penchant for turning ordinary commerce into a space for ideological conflict? Listen in!
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The Defense Department recently created a controversy by revising its list of religious affiliation codes for service members and failing to designate the LDS Church as Christian. After objections, DOD removed the Christian designation from the list altogether. In this Legal Spirits Short Take, Center Director Mark Movsesian explains how the episode reveals a deeper problem of liberalism in a religiously diverse society: government must frequently classify religion, but no classification can be completely neutral. Listen in!
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This month, I have had the pleasure of teaching an online seminar on the Supreme Court of the United States for students in Yerevan State University’s Master’s Program in American Studies. The seminar focuses on the Court’s power of judicial review and the limits on that power—limits imposed by the other branches of government, by the Court itself, and by the American people. We also have been discussing current proposals for Supreme Court reform. I have used the Court’s Religion Clause jurisprudence as an example of its influence in US life.
The seminar has been a lot of fun. The students have asked excellent questions about constitutional law, judicial power, and the Court’s role in American public life. I am grateful to Yerevan State University, the Master’s Program in American Studies, Alexander Markarov, and Vahagn Aglyan for the invitation and for their hospitality.
Pleased to post below a link to the Mattone Center’s annual review for 2025-2026. Among the highlights: media productions, including podcasts and a video series on landmark cases in religious freedom; events, including international conferences and moot courts; and faculty scholarship. Thanks to everyone who has supported our activities–looking forward to next year!
https://t.e2ma.net/webview/imanfk/e675ed3ee68b1bd00f92234f8db7e2b3