Speaker Bio
The Most Reverend Bishop Curry
Thomas J. Curry, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, was born and educated in Ireland. Ordained from All Hallows Seminary, Dublin, in 1967, for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he served successively as pastor, teacher and archdiocesan official before his episcopal ordination in 1994. A noted student of Church-state relations, Bishop Curry is the author of The First Freedoms (1986) and Farewell to Christendom: The Future of Church and State in America (2001), both from Oxford University Press.
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(Defensive) Church - (Hostile) State Relations
The struggle for religious liberty in America is often talked about, and is often misunderstood. The First Amendment to the Constitution was designed to protect that liberty, but many layers of judicial interpretation have come between its original intent and how it is applied today.
Beginning in 1947, the Supreme Court miscast the meaning of the First Amendment by identifying it as a “wall of separation between Church and State," rather than what it is: a declaration that the government has no power in religious matters. However, virtually every criterion the courts use for assessing Church-State matters is religious.
This presentation will challenge the assumptions that have dominated discussion of religious freedom issues in the United States for more than six decades. It will argue that religious liberty is best served when government confines itself to its proper sphere and has no authority to assess religious matters. Specifically, we will address the question of exemptions from laws because of claims of conscience.
"Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable."
