In Becket’s first series of our podcast Stream of Conscience, Katie Geary and Hannah Smith tell the human stories behind twelve diverse and influential religious liberty cases. Each one gives a unique look at the real-life implications of religious liberty in America. Together, they illustrate the vital need to defend this fundamental freedom for people of all faiths.

 

Season 1 Episodes:

BONUS EPISODE Conviction and Confinement:  When religious liberty experts notice a prisoner’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, his case to grow a beard gains support and sheds light on the prison-prisoner relationship.

Learn more about the case here:  https://www.becketlaw.org/case/holt/

 

Synods and Statutes: A small-town lawyer gives his church pro bono legal advice after a dispute between the church school and an employee—and ends up with a case the Wall Street Journal called “among the most important religious liberty cases in a half century” headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/eeoc-v-hosanna-tabor-evangelical-lutheran-church-school/

 

 

Religion and Recovery:  When a federally funded fair housing group sues a Christian homeless shelter and rehabilitation center, the people who turn their lives around—thanks to the mission—are at risk.

This episode features Rev. Bill Roscoe, Flora Langley and Becket’s Luke Goodrich.

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/intermountain-fair-housing-council-v-boise-rescue-mission-ministries/

 

 

Beliefs and Bureaucrats: Sikhs have lived in the United States for hundreds of years, but do we really understand their beliefs? When a federal employee loses her job for practicing her faith, bad policy and ignorance are both at fault.

This episode features Kawal Tagore, Scott Newar and Becket’s Daniel Blomberg.

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/tagore-v-department-homeland-security/

 

 

Morality and Mandates:  An order of Catholic nuns is stunned to discover that they don’t qualify for a religious exemption from a controversial healthcare mandate. When their pleas fall on deaf ears, they take on the federal government—all the way to the Supreme Court.

Features Sister Constance, Mark Rienzi

Learn more about the case at:  https://www.becketlaw.org/case/littlesisters/

 

 

Orders and Obedience:  After a dedicated army chaplain is forced to choose between preaching Church teachings and following military orders, a young lawyer and his brand new law firm win the case.

Features Father Vincent Rigdon, Eric Treene, Seamus Hasson

Learn more about the case at:  https://www.becketlaw.org/case/rigdon-v-perry/

 

 

Slopes and Statutes:  Do religious images belong only in private? A war memorial at a Whitefish, Montana ski resort answers the question.

Features Ray Leopold, Gene Thomas and Eric Baxter

Learn more about the case at:  https://www.becketlaw.org/case/freedom-religion-foundation-v-weber-big-mountain-jesus/

 

 

Rights and Recitations: A 17-year-old goes to court to prove that the Pledge of Allegiance is about more than patriotism—it’s about the very foundation of our rights.

Features Samantha Jones and Eric Rassbach

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/pledge-allegiance-cases/ 

 

 

Codes and Communities:  Are they Amish American, American Amish, or something else entirely? When the U.S. legal system clashes with Amish communities, it takes getting to know this diverse group of people to find resolutions.

Features Donald Kraybill, Karen Johnson-Weiner and Lori Windham

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/yoder-v-morristown/

 

 

Pills and Principles:  Can corporations be run according to principles of faith? When the Department of Health and Human Services says “no,” the Green family puts their livelihood on the line to take a stand for people of all faiths.

Features: Lauren Green McAfee and Lori Windham

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/burwell-v-hobby-lobby/ 

 

 

Feds and Feathers:  After an undercover federal agent confiscates his sacred feathers, a Lipan Apache pastor’s quest for justice leads him through ten years of litigation and red tape.

Features Pastor Robert Soto and Luke Goodrich

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/mcallen-grace-brethren-church-v-jewell/

 

 

Permits and Prejudice:  When plans for an Islamic Center pass a Tennessee permit process with flying colors, hostile members of the community pressure the local government to backtrack. Only empathy—and an experienced legal team—can set things right.

Features: Imam Ossama Bahloul and Luke Goodrich

Learn more about the case here: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/islamic-center-murfreesboro-v-rutherford-county/