Legal Spirits

Catholicos Karekin II (OC Media)

In this episode of Legal Spirits, Center Director Mark Movsesian speaks with Professor Arman Tatoyan of the American University of Armenia about a controversy involving the Armenian Apostolic Church and the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The dispute centers on a civil-court order requiring the Church to allow a bishop to continue serving as diocesan Primate while he challenged his removal. After the Church defrocked the bishop, authorities brought criminal charges against Catholicos Karekin II and other senior clerics for allegedly defying the order. We discuss the case under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the principle of church autonomy, and ask whether even a temporary court order—and the threat of criminal enforcement—can become a serious burden on religious freedom. We also compare the European approach with U.S. church-autonomy doctrine and consider why the controversy matters well beyond Armenia. Listen in!

The post Legal Spirits 081: Who Chooses the Bishops? Armenia’s Church-State Crisis appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.

Photo: Becket

In this Legal Spirits Short Take, Center Director Mark Movsesian discusses a new federal lawsuit challenging New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. Catholic healthcare providers argue that the state’s statutory regime will require them to counsel patients about medically assisted suicide, even though their religious commitments prohibit them from participating in the practice. New York has not yet responded, and important questions remain about what the law actually requires. Assuming the plaintiffs’ account is correct, Mark considers whether the counseling obligation substantially burdens their religious exercise, whether the law’s different treatment of hospices undermines its general applicability, and whether New York could protect patient access to legal end-of-life options through less restrictive means. Listen in!

The post Legal Spirits 080: A Short Take on Religious Objections to New York’s Assisted-Suicide Law appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.

Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn

In this Legal Spirits Short Take, Mattone Center Director Mark Movsesian discusses the recent controversy involving Congressman Dan Goldman and a Brooklyn coffee shop that reportedly said it would have refused him service because of his support for Israel. Was this illegal discrimination based on religion, or a refusal of service based on politics? What does this episode reveal about public accommodations law, political disagreement, and our penchant for turning ordinary commerce into a space for ideological conflict? Listen in!

The post Legal Spirits 079: A Short Take on Coffee Shops and Political Combat appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.

The Defense Department recently created a controversy by revising its list of religious affiliation codes for service members and failing to designate the LDS Church as Christian. After objections, DOD removed the Christian designation from the list altogether. In this Legal Spirits Short Take, Center Director Mark Movsesian explains how the episode reveals a deeper problem of liberalism in a religiously diverse society: government must frequently classify religion, but no classification can be completely neutral. Listen in!

The post Legal Spirits 078: A Short Take on Religion in the Military appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.

In this episode of Legal Spirits, I speak with Andrea Pin about his new book, Dignity in Judgment, and the role of human dignity in contemporary constitutional law. We explore competing understandings of dignity—a secular, autonomy-based view and a more communal conception influenced by religious traditions—and consider how courts choose between them. Along the way, we discuss why the secular view appears to dominate in practice and how judicial formation shapes the meaning of dignity in constitutional adjudication.

The post Legal Spirits 077: Dignity in Judgment appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.