Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Mattone Center to Host ICLARS Regional Conference This Weekend

This weekend at St. John’s Law, the Mattone Center will host a regional conference of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS), “Education, Religious Freedom, and State Neutrality.” The conference will gather scholars and judges from Europe and the United States. Papers from the conference will appear eventually here on the blog. From the start, the Mattone Center has had a special interest in comparative law and religion, and we’re delighted to continue the tradition in this way

I’ve attached an abbreviated conference program below.

ICLARS Program – St. John’s – AbbreviatedDownload
Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Mattone Center Reading Group Discusses Natural Law in C.S. Lewis

Last night, the Mattone Center Reading Group met to discuss natural law in C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity.” Great turnout for an important topic. Thanks to all the St. John’s Law students who participated!

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans secured near unanimous approval for a $230 million bankruptcy settlement. The settlement payout breaks down to $130 million in cash from the archdiocese and its affiliates, $20 million in promissory notes, $30 million from insurers, and up to $50 million from the sale of various property owned by the archdiocese.
  • A federal district court in California dismissed a Title VII religious discrimination claim by a DMV worker who objected to a Covid vaccine. The court held that the worker’s vague statements about bodily autonomy and God did not amount to a religious conviction.
  • A Texas state appeals court affirmed the dismissal of United Methodist Rio Conference Board of Trustees v. Alice First Methodist Church. This suit was brought by the United Methodist Church parent body in an effort to challenge attempts bylocal Texas congregations to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. The Court held that dismissal was proper under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, which precludes courts from interpreting religious documents that dictate church governance.
  • The Texas Supreme Court added a new Comment to Canon 4 of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct which would allow judges to abstain from performing same-sex marriages because of their sincerely held religious beliefs.
  • A new report from Barna Group shows that Gen Z and Millennial Christians are not only attending church more frequently than in previous years but are also attending more often than Christians of older generations.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, the state filed a remedial brief arguing that the discrimination found to be unconstitutional in the case could be remedied by ending the exemption for all religious organizations or expanding it to cover Catholic Charities.
  • In Ruiz v. Nevada Department of Corrections, the 9th Circuit upheld the district court’s denial of request by a Messianic Jewish inmate for a special diet. 
  • Last week, an HVAC technician filed a suit in New York alleging that his firing violated Title VII, after his employer stationed him with a female worker despite his accommodation request rooted in a sincerely held religious belief that he cannot be alone with women other than his wife.
  • In Catholic Charities v. Whitmer, Catholic counselors are challenging a Michigan law that banned them from helping children struggling with their biological sex.  
  • In Armenia, multiple clergymen have been detained by the government for allegedly inciting violent coups, showcasing the continued government crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: CLR_AroundtheGlobe_Logo.jpg.webp

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • After New York City dropped the case against a woman who assaulted a pro-life influencer, the legal nonprofit Thomas More Society has asked the DA to reconsider. 
  • The Vatican has appointed a five-member panel of independent judges to oversee the canonical trial of Father Marko Rupnik, who faces allegations of sexual and psychological abuse involving consecrated women under his spiritual care.
  • Oklahoma’s new state superintendent has dropped the prior mandate requiring Bibles to be placed in public school classrooms and will not distribute them or enforce a biblical character curriculum. 
  • A federal judge has temporarily blocked key provisions of Texas’ new campus speech law, siding with Christian and other student groups who argued the law infringed their First Amendment rights.
  • A New Jersey jury has awarded $5 million in damages to a former student who alleged he was sexually abused decades ago by a monk at the elite Delbarton School.
  • After strong community pressure and protests, St. Demetrios Church in Astoria and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America reached a deal changing how the Archdiocese is involved in the parish, including removing a controversial clause and banning the sale of church or school property. This agreement protects the school, keeps the parish independent, and sets up a plan for managing money responsibly in the future.
  • Dallin H. Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice, has been selected to lead The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the death of his 101-year-old predecessor, Russell M. Nelson.
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 509, a proposed law that would have required police to receive training on “transnational repression” (how foreign governments target people living in the U.S.) because he felt existing programs were sufficient and worried about federal coordination. The veto caused tension in the Indian-American community, with many Sikh Americans supporting the bill for protection against harassment, while many Hindu Americans opposed it, fearing it could unfairly target them.
  • The Catholic nonprofit Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) will publish its biennial “Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025” on October 21 in Rome, highlighting global trends in religious persecution and restrictions. 
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The State of Washington has agreed to withdraw its challenge to the seal of confession. 
  • Israel and Hamas have reached the first stage of a cease-fire and hostage release agreement.  
  • Pope Leo has urged United States bishops to defend and support immigrants in response to the Trump administration’s immigration policies.  
  • Police arrested a man found with hundreds of explosives outside of a church holding a Mass in honor of the Supreme Court. Authorities allege he had written a manifesto expressing hostility toward the Court and ICE. 
  • On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on whether to strike down state bans on conversion therapy.  

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The 10th Circuit held that that the nondiscrimination requirements of Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program do not violate the free exercise or expressive association rights of Catholic schools by excluding them from the program due to their policy of considering the sexual orientation and gender identity of applicants and their parents in making admissions decisions. The Court cited the program’s general applicability in reaching their decision that it does not discriminate against religious schools specifically.
  • A federal district court in Idaho ruled that a charter school violated Truth Family Bible Church’s First Amendment rights when it canceled a lease that allowed the church to hold Sunday services inside its gymnasium.
  • Students and former students at Brooklyn yeshivas, as well as parents, filed a class action lawsuit claiming that New York allows yeshivas to meet state education requirements “without reliably teaching core subjects such as English, math and civics.”
  • An Illinois state appellate court held that the state’s Insurance Abortion Coverage Mandate did not violate a Baptist group’s rights under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Court reasoned that since the group is neither required to provide insurance that is regulated by the Illinois Department of Insurance, or any insurance at all for that matter, nor subject to any tax or penalty for failing to provide this type of insurance, the regulation did not violate the group’s rights.
  • King Charles announced that he has approved the nomination of Bishop Sarah Mullally for election by the College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral as Archbishop of Canterbury. Bishop Mullally would be the first woman to hold the position.
  • The FDA recently approved a generic version of the abortion pill, mifepristone. Conservatives objected to the move, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who called approval of the pill “a betrayal.”

Posted on by Mark Movsesian

St. John’s to Host International Moot Court Competition in Law & Religion

I’m delighted to announce that St. John’s will host the annual International Moot Court Competition in Law & Religion at our Rome campus in March 2026. This is a wonderful opportunity for law students, which brings together teams from the US and Europe to argue a case before panels representing the US Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. I have participated for many years, as both a coach and a judge, and have always found it a very worthwhile and fun experience.

Details about this year’s case and the competition rules can be found at this link. Check it out. And see you in Rome next year!

Posted on by L&R Forum

Legal Spirits 071: Jefferson, Wine, and the Wall of Separation

Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists—better known for its reference to a “wall of separation” between church and state—was little remembered until Chief Justice Morrison Waite revived it in Reynolds v. United States (1879). With the help of historian George Bancroft, Waite transformed Jefferson’s passing metaphor into a constitutional principle, despite Jefferson’s limited role in drafting the First Amendment. In this episode of Legal Spirits, historians Don and Lisa Drakeman join Center Director Mark Movsesian to explore how Jefferson’s words, and even his passion for French wine, helped shape the Court’s Religion Clause jurisprudence—and to consider what lessons today’s Justices should draw about the risks of using history in constitutional interpretation. Listen in!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Leach v. Gateway Church, a federal district court in Texas refused to dismiss a case alleging misappropriation of tithed funds.  
  • In Detwiler v. Mid-Columbia Medical Center, the 9th Circuit upheld a district court’s dismissal of a Title VII suit wherein the plaintiff rejected a religious accommodation to the Covid vaccine because of a mandatory antigen testing requirement.   
  • Yet another lawsuit was filed in Texas seeking an injunction in school districts that are being made to comply with a Texas statute, which requires public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.
  • In American Marriage Ministries v. Collins, an organization that ordains ministers online sued Tennessee officials over a law that says those who receive online ordination may not solemnize marriages. 
  • In Truth Family Bible Church Middleton v. Idaho Housing and Finance Association, a district court held that the plaintiff’s First Amendment rights were violated by the termination of their lease of a school gym because it was to be used for Sunday Services.