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Religion and American Law

Michael Avi Helfand

In an age of ever-growing religious diversity and political fracture, the United States is confronting a host of complex questions at the crossroads of faith, identity, and politics. Conflicts between religious beliefs and government policies have raised fundamental questions about the future of religious liberty in the United States. And the increasing intersection of religious affiliation, government expression, and institutional funding has reignited debates over the separation of church and state. The goal of this course is to explore the evolution of these clashes between law and religion, evaluating how we might apply the constitutional principles of religious liberty and non-establishment to contemporary and divisive church-state dilemmas.

Readings may include:

Religious Freedom and Religious Exemptions I

United States v. Reynolds (1879)

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

Religious Freedom and Religious Exemptions II

Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC (2012)

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014)

State of Washington v. Arlene’s Flowers (2015)

Separating Church and State I

County of Allegheny v. ACLU (1989)

Lee v. Weisman (1992)

Kiryas Joel v. Grumet (1994)

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

Separating Church and State II

Locke v. Davey (2004)

Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)

Meet the Instructor

Michael Avi Helfand

Pepperdine University

Dr. Michael (Avi) Helfand is an expert on religious law and religious liberty. A frequent author and lecturer, his work considers how the state treats religious law, custom and practice. He is currently an associate professor at Pepperdine University School of Law and co-director of Pepperdine University’s Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale University.

His academic articles have appeared in numerous law journals, including the Yale Law Journal, New York University Law Review, and Duke Law Journal.  Professor Helfand also often provides commentary on clashes between law and religion, writing for various general audience publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Forward, and has provided legal commentary for various news outlets, including the New York Times, PBS, and Huffington Post.

In addition to his academic work, Professor Helfand is an executive board member of the Beth Din of America, where he also serves as a consultant on the enforceability of rabbinical arbitration agreements and awards in U.S. courts.