Task Forces of the Simon Center
The Simon Center on Religion and the
Constitution has formed two task forces on key issues in American
politics: the Task Force on International Religious Freedom and the
Task Force on Conscience Protection.
The Task Force on International Religious Freedom is concerned with the promotion of religious liberty around the world, and with placing this concern at the center of United States foreign policy. Holding that religious freedom is a natural human right, a pre-political liberty that no government granted and none can abrogate, the Task Force is seeks to identify the key principles of religious freedom, and the obstacles to its full realization around the world. A project currently in progress is a monograph making a comprehensive case for religious liberty, drawing on philosophy, theology, political theory, international relations, and recent sociological research. The Task Force will meet for a consultation in May 2011 with invited scholars, advocates, and former public officials to discuss the nature of religious freedom, its contribution to justice, liberty, and political stability, and the threat to it in various political regimes.
Scholars:
Thomas F. Farr (Chair), Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University
Jennifer Bryson, Islam and Civil Society Project, The Witherspoon Institute
William Inboden, Legatum Institute
Jennifer Marshall, Heritage Foundation
Margarita Mooney, University of North Carolina
Joseph Wood, German Marshall Fund
The Task Force on Conscience Protection focuses on the jeopardy to the exercise of religious conscience in American domestic politics. Concerned with threats to the full freedom of religious conscience emanating from public institutions and public policies, the Task Force's attention turns to the fate of both individuals and religious institutions such as schools, hospitals, and charitable associations. Planning a major consultation with scholars and advocates in June 2011, the Task Force is interested in identifying legal and philosophical questions deserving of closer study and analysis, including the constitutional doctrine of "expressive association," the use of ministerial exemptions, and ways to understand conscience as part of the common good rather than a field of adversarial politics.
Scholars:
Helen Alvaré (Chair), George Mason University
Robert P. George, Princeton University
Douglas L. Carver
Yuval Levin, Ethics and Public Policy Center
V. Bradley Lewis, Catholic University of America
Michael Moreland, Villanova University
O. Carter Snead, University of Notre Dame
The Task Force on International Religious Freedom is concerned with the promotion of religious liberty around the world, and with placing this concern at the center of United States foreign policy. Holding that religious freedom is a natural human right, a pre-political liberty that no government granted and none can abrogate, the Task Force is seeks to identify the key principles of religious freedom, and the obstacles to its full realization around the world. A project currently in progress is a monograph making a comprehensive case for religious liberty, drawing on philosophy, theology, political theory, international relations, and recent sociological research. The Task Force will meet for a consultation in May 2011 with invited scholars, advocates, and former public officials to discuss the nature of religious freedom, its contribution to justice, liberty, and political stability, and the threat to it in various political regimes.
Scholars:
Thomas F. Farr (Chair), Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University
Jennifer Bryson, Islam and Civil Society Project, The Witherspoon Institute
William Inboden, Legatum Institute
Jennifer Marshall, Heritage Foundation
Margarita Mooney, University of North Carolina
Joseph Wood, German Marshall Fund
The Task Force on Conscience Protection focuses on the jeopardy to the exercise of religious conscience in American domestic politics. Concerned with threats to the full freedom of religious conscience emanating from public institutions and public policies, the Task Force's attention turns to the fate of both individuals and religious institutions such as schools, hospitals, and charitable associations. Planning a major consultation with scholars and advocates in June 2011, the Task Force is interested in identifying legal and philosophical questions deserving of closer study and analysis, including the constitutional doctrine of "expressive association," the use of ministerial exemptions, and ways to understand conscience as part of the common good rather than a field of adversarial politics.
Scholars:
Helen Alvaré (Chair), George Mason University
Robert P. George, Princeton University
Douglas L. Carver
Yuval Levin, Ethics and Public Policy Center
V. Bradley Lewis, Catholic University of America
Michael Moreland, Villanova University
O. Carter Snead, University of Notre Dame
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