It is undeniable that religious groups, even recently, have faced serious and vile prejudice from government-run organizations, particularly on college campuses. It is also important to note that our nation’s courts at the time rightfully stepped in to prohibit and correct this vile prejudice wherever claims were brought. Perhaps due to an overcorrection of the problem on college campuses, however, the religious liberty landscape has shifted considerably in the past five years. That this shift in religious liberty doctrine has incurred alongside the wildly successful conservative political effort to reshape the judicial branch is not a coincidence. Now, instead of defending religious groups from discrimination, our nation’s courts are openly declaring that conservative religious views enjoy a privileged position in the First Amendment above all other rights. Including, according to Amy Coney Barrett, being above political speech , once universally accepted as being at the core of the First Amendment’s guarantee. Until the politically motivated conservative takeover of our courts, First Amendment religious liberty doctrine reflected a commitment toward ensuring religion had equal access to the public square and that government remained neutral . With conservatives dominating the judicial branch, however, any pretense of neutrality was quickly abandoned and […]
