"Religious liberty protects one of the most fundamental and universal elements of the human experience — our desire to know our Creator," Deborah A. O’Malley Deborah A. O’Malley Guest Columnist Parma native Deborah A. O’Malley is associate director of the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government at the University of Notre Dame and a research fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy. This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions affecting the rights of religious parties, Groff v. DeJoy and 303 Creative. But, contrary to popular opinion, the Supreme Court is not the only arbiter of religious freedom in this country. Opinion: Supreme Court 303 Creative decision distorts religious freedom. We are no longer equal. While the court has the duty to protect this sacred right, protection of religious liberty begins with the people’s representatives at the state level. Fortunately for Ohioans, the state’s lawmakers have taken this duty seriously, making Ohio one of the top states in the country for religious freedom protections. The Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy has released its second annual Religious Liberty in the States index, an evaluation of constitutional and statutory religious freedom protections in each state. The project […]
