Photo via @LoriWindham1
The so-called “Hobby Lobby case” and its implications for religious freedom have been in the news for some time, and Tuesday, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in the case that has stoked passions on both sides of the ledger and spurred discussions of the nature of religious freedom, corporations and the scope of government mandates.
One of those discussions took place Monday in Washington, D.C., in the latest “On Topic” forum with Baylor President Ken Starr and Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz. The event was “On Topic’s” first foray away from campus and into the heart of the nation’s capital, in an event co-sponsored by Baylor’s Institute for the Studies of Religion and the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University.
Judge Starr discussed the legal merits of arguments by the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, in an op-ed published Monday in USA Today. Expounding on the subject with Dershowitz, Judge Starr and Dershowitz agreed that Hobby Lobby had religious rights despite their status as a corporation, but differed on what events constituted an unfair burden for people of religious faith.
You can read more about their discussion on this complex topic or watch archived video of the event, which was televised nationally on C-SPAN. Following in the long Baptist tradition of supporting freedom of religion, Judge Starr’s focus on religious liberty has given Baylor a major voice in the national discussion, and his op-eds on the subject have appeared in a variety of publications.
Sic ’em, Judge Starr!