Respecting Religion

• S7, Ep. 02: Amanda and Holly LIVE on peaceful protests, the impact of the government shutdown, and more

  In this LIVE conversation, Amanda and Holly take a moment to catch up and review some of the recent news since last week's program. They discuss how religious leaders have been engaging in peaceful protests of immigration raids, how the ongoing government shutdown is impacting court cases, a change in Oklahoma regarding Bible teaching in public schools, and more. This show first aired live on Thursday, October 23, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time on BJC's YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels. SHOW NOTES: Do you want special emails about the show, including notifications when we go live? Click here to sign up for our special email list! Read more about how faith leaders are protesting immigration raids in this article by Jack Jenkins for Religion News Service: After clergy arrests, religious pushback to ICE expands in Chicago Amanda and Holly talked about Ryan Walters and his edict to have certain Bibles in Oklahoma public school classrooms on Episode 2 of Season 6: Oklahoma and Texas try to force Bible teaching in public schools Read this update on what's happening in Oklahoma now: New Oklahoma schools superintendent rescinds mandate for Bible instruction in schools Hear Amanda on NPR's All Things Considered in this piece from Jason DeRose: Progressive Christians counter Christian Nationalism message Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC's generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

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• S7, Ep. 01: The Supreme Court in a new era

  As the Supreme Court begins a new term, we can't ignore what else is going on in our country – attacks on the rule of law, weaponization of the Department of Justice, the militarization of American cities, disruptive and chaotic immigration enforcement, and a government shutdown. Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman are back for a new season of Respecting Religion to bring thoughtful conversations to these issues and more at the intersection of religion and the law. In the season 7 premiere, they focus on the current Supreme Court term, including a case with an egregious violation of a person's religious freedom rights that brought together unlikely allies. SHOW NOTES Segment 1 (starting at 00:38): Welcome back to season 7 BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) is also the home of Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Amanda's book is titled How to End Christian Nationalism, and it is available wherever you get your books.: Video of our episodes are now on YouTube! Click here for the season 7 playlist. Do you want to receive special emails about the show? Click here to sign up for our email list! Segment 2 (starting at 07:26): A disturbing case on religious freedom coming to the Court Read about the three cases from last term in this article from BJC's magazine, Report from the Capital: Supreme Court issues decisions on religious charter school, exemptions and opt-out rights Amanda and Holly mentioned Steve Vladeck's One First newsletter. BJC joined a friend-of-the-court brief in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections. Click here to read the brief and see the groups that came together across other ideological lines. Read more about the case in this article on our website. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Landor on November 10. Here's another preview piece, by Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog: Court to decide whether government officials can be held personally liable for violating inmate's religious liberty Segment 3 (starting at 26:42): What else can we expect from the Court? Read more about Chiles v. Salazar in this article by Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Majority of court appears skeptical of Colorado's "conversion therapy" ban You're invited! Join us in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, Oct. 21-23 for a special event focussed on the Sanctuary movement. We're honored to welcome Dr. Sergio González, historian, author, and co-creator of the podcast Sanctuary: On the Border Between Church and State, to explore the history, challenges, and future of the movement. Visit BJConline.org/ShurdenLectures for more details and links to sign up. Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC's generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

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• S6, Ep. 18: End of term roundup

  On our season 6 finale, Amanda Tyler and Holly Hollman explore some of the consequential decisions from the final days of the Supreme Court term, including Mahmoud v. Taylor – which involves parents who want to opt their children out of curriculum they find in conflict with their religious beliefs – and U.S. v. Skrmetti, which focuses on access to medical care for transgender youth. They discuss the real world implications of these and other recent rulings. Amanda and Holly also celebrate a decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals striking down Louisiana's law requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and share why this case might find its way up to the Supreme Court before too long. SHOW NOTES Segment 1 (starting at 00:38): Recent activities and news For the latest on the budget reconciliation bill and ways to make your voice known, visit BJConline.org/budgetbill2025 Segment 2 (starting at 07:01): A federal court decision and a Supreme Court case with far-reaching implications Roake v. Brumley is the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case that struck down the Louisiana law mandating the posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Read more about the decision and BJC's brief on our website: Federal appeals court finds Louisiana's Ten Commandments law unconstitutional as Texas enacts a similar measure Trump v. CASA is the case often called the "birthright citizenship" case that is about national injunctions. Amanda and Holly recommended listening to the oral arguments and reading the decision and the dissent. All are available on the Supreme Court's website. Segment 3 (starting at 19:07): The decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor and its potential impact Amanda and Holly discussed oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor in episode 15 of season 6. You can read the decision and the dissent on the Supreme Court's website. Holly mentioned this piece on the case from Religion News Service: 'We were called book burners': Families react to SCOTUS LGBTQ+ books decision Segment 4 (starting 46:13): U.S. v. Skrmetti and what's ahead for the Court Amanda and Holly discussed U.S. v. Skrmetti in episode 6 of season 6. You can read the decision and the dissent on the Supreme Court's website. For more on the case involving the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act that the Supreme Court will hear this fall, read this piece by Adam Liptak for The New York Times: Supreme Court to Hear Rastafarian Prisoner's Suit Over Shaved Dreadlocks Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC's generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

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• S6, Ep. 17: Christian nationalism and the Texas public sphere

  What's the difference between religious privilege and religious freedom? How does Christian nationalism spread? Why do so many ideas that start in Texas expand to other parts of the country? On this podcast, we bring you a special panel discussion on Christian nationalism in the Texas public sphere, recorded live on April 8. It features BJC Executive Director (and Respecting Religion co-host) Amanda Tyler, scholar David Brockman, professor Mark Chancey, and journalist Robert Downen. Moderated by Jack Jenkins, it was part of an all-day event focused on telling the story of religion in Texas through journalism, hosted by the Texas Tribune in partnership with Religion News Service, the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life, and Southern Methodist University's Religious Studies department. SHOW NOTES Segment 1 (starting at 00:33): Introducing today's show and the panelists Learn more about the Texas Tribune's April 8 event titled "Telling the story of religion in Texas through journalism" on the website of the Texas Tribune. The website page dedicated to the event includes YouTube videos of each speaker and panel presentation. The day-long event was held in partnership with the Texas Tribune, Religion News Service, the Institute for Diversity and Civic Life, and Southern Methodist University's Religious Studies department. Segment 2 (starting at 02:51): Panel presentation You can watch a video of this presentation on YouTube, including a Q&A following the conversation. The panelists are: Amanda Tyler, executive director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, and co-host of this podcast Dr. David Brockman, a non-resident scholar in religion and public policy at Rice University's Baker Institute who also serves as an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University Dr. Mark Chancey, professor of religious studies at SMU Robert Downen, senior writer at "Texas Monthly" The moderator is Jack Jenkins, national reporter at Religion News Service. NOTE: After this panel was recorded, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did sign legislation requiring every Texas public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments. Read more in this piece by Sameea Kamal for the Texas Tribune: Texas will require public school classrooms to display Ten Commandments under bill signed by governor Amanda and Holly talked about the Texas Bible curriculum in episode 2 of this season: Oklahoma and Texas try to force Bible teaching in public schools Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC's generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

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• S6, Ep. 16: What's going on with the Supreme Court, a new travel ban, and the military in L.A.?

  With decisions from the Supreme Court, a new travel ban, and a federally militarized presence in Los Angeles, there are many activities in our world that deserve attention. Amanda and Holly discuss several current events in this episode, including the revival of one of the ugliest policies of the first Trump administration. Plus, they review the unanimous decision in a Supreme Court case about religious exemptions to employment law and discuss the Court's decision not to hear a case involving the protection of sacred land. SHOW NOTES Segment 1 (starting at 00:37): Recent and still-developing news Holly and Amanda discussed changes in policy about sensitive locations in S6, Episode 10. We discussed the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia in a special episode released April 21 with Melissa Rogers. We discussed the harmful school voucher provision in the "big beautiful bill" during their live episode, released May 27. Hear the episode at this link or in your podcast feed, or watch it on YouTube. Join BJC for a webinar on the problems with the budget reconciliation bill on Monday, June 16, at 2:30 p.m. Click here to register for the event, which is hosted by BJC, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and Bread for the World. Read more about the fallout from Rep. Mary Miller referring to a Sikh prayer leader as a "Muslim" and erroneously claiming our country was founded as a "Christian nation" in this article by Andrew Solender for Axios: Rep. Mary Miller faces bipartisan fury over "ignorant" Sikh comment In memory of Dr. Walter Brueggemann, listen to his 2019 conversation with Amanda on our podcast series exploring the dangers of Christian nationalism: Theological view of Christian nationalism with Walter Brueggemann Segment 2 (starting at 13:17): The new travel ban After President Trump issued his new travel ban on June 4, Amanda released a statement you can read on BJC's website: BJC condemns new travel ban as 'state-sanctioned discrimination' Visit BJC's website to read more about the case of Trump v. Hawaii and the history of the travel ban. Support the NO BAN Act: Click here to use BJC's form to contact your members of Congress about the legislation. Segment 3 (starting 20:09): The decision in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission Supreme Court decisions we are waiting for include: Mahmoud v. Taylor (Hear a discussion of oral arguments in S6, Ep. 15) U.S. v. Skrmetti (Hear a discussion of oral arguments in S6, Ep. 06) The case Apache Stronghold v. U.S. involves the sacred land of Ch�'chil Biłdagoteel — loosely translated in English as "Oak Flat." Read more about the denial of cert on BJC's website: U.S. Supreme Court declines Oak Flat petition, allows for federal transfer of sacred land to mining company. Amanda and Holly talked about this issue on a podcast back in 2022: S3, Ep. 17: Religious freedom and our Indigenous neighbors: Save Oak Flat. Amanda and Holly talked about the oral arguments in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin in Ep. 12: Back to SCOTUS: Regular business in disturbing times Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC's generous donors. Your gift to BJC is tax-deductible, and you can support these conversations with a gift to BJC.

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