American Jews, the Constitution, and the Challenges to Religious Liberty

New threats to the freedom of religion—and new areas of constitutional uncertainty—have arisen in the U.S. in recent years, as seen in the desire of Hobby Lobby and the Little Sisters of the Poor to be exempted from new healthcare regulations regarding the provision of contraceptives and abortion, the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, and even attempts to outlaw such Jewish rituals as circumcision and kapparot (the ritual dedication of chickens to charity on the eve of Yom Kippur). Yuval Levin addresses some of these questions with reference to the Jewish experience in America; Leonard Leo argues that religious liberty will be safe only if the government abides by constitutional restraints on its authority and on the separation of powers—both of which, he believes, have been too often ignored. (Moderated by Aylana Meisel. Video, 73 minutes.)