Bundle - Religious Liberty

In First Amendment Issues, Professor Bradley predicts a “martyrdom of religious institutions,” making him a prophet of what is now threatening Catholic institutions.  Listen to his course to learn more about the interpretation of the First Amendment throughout the past 70 years, and how it has brought us to this place.

In Religious Liberty in the United States, Mr. Ball walks the student through the evolving relationship between church and state in the U.S.  The Founders clearly envisioned a role for the Christian religion in the founding of the country: to provide the moral code to which all Americans would be expected to adhere.  However, with concern that the assumption of Christianity by government institutions was a violation of the First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion…"), courts began to rule that there could be no traces of religion in government institutions, especially public schools.

These courses are similar in subject matter, but differ in approach.  First Amendment Issues dissects the First Amendment, and follows the evolution of its interpretation.  Religious Liberty in the United States acts as a history of the court cases that have affected the changes in understanding of Religious Liberty.

First Amendment Issues

6 1-hour lectures

1. The Establishment Clause
2. The Free Exercise Clause
3. Secularism and the Constitution
4. The Trajectory Toward the Naked Public Square
5. Catholic Institutions in the Naked Public Square
6. Possibilities for Reform