Hesburgh Lecture to address religious freedom

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — In the United States today, the courts defend religious freedom, rejecting government efforts and official policies that intrude on that constitutional right, according to Richard Garnett, a Notre Dame University professor of law and political science. This leaves Garnett cautiously optimistic about the future of religious freedom in the U.S.

Garnett, who is considered a leading authority on the subject, will share his perspective at the Hesburgh Lecture on Oct. 16 at Juan Diego Catholic High School. The co-author of Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment, he will also provide some of the history and background of what he calls the U.S.’s “new experiment in protecting religious freedom through law.”

“We managed to avoid the mistakes of the French Revolution and we protected diverse religious traditions without becoming anti-religious as the French Revolution did,” he said. “I think what we tried to do from the very beginning with our American Constitution and our First Amendment – it was an experiment. It was something that really hadn’t been tried before, to say religious faith is very important and religion matters, and that governments should respect it and at the same time to allow for religious freedom for everybody, not just one denomination or tradition.”

Although there are challenges to religious freedom in America, this idea is doing well, Garnett said. “There are changes in American society that I think are going to pose some challenges going forward in terms of how we deal with increasing secularization, increasing polarization on divisive issues, increasing government regulation in various sectors of life – all things that our religious freedom experiment has to deal with.”

However, “Americans on the whole should be grateful for our experiment” when compared to many other countries that lack these freedoms and even persecute religious minorities, he added. “In the U.S. we have disagreements, but generally speaking the basic conditions in the United States are friendly to religious freedom.”

Although some people in American society are hostile to religious freedom and some government actions seem to seek to undermine it, “what gives me some hope is that the basic fundamental premises of our law are still friendly to religious freedom,” Garnett said. “Often when government officials and bureaucrats overstep, the courts vindicate religious freedom and they pull these regulators back in line.”

Nevertheless, “I don’t think it’s incorrect for people to point out that there are people in this country and there are bureaucrats who have disrespected religious freedom and who have acted in ways defiling religious freedom, and it’s appropriate to raise the alarm about that,” he said.

The Church’s and Vatican II’s teachings on religious freedom are “foundational” for Garnett, who sees them as a gift. “The Church’s teachings on religious freedom enhances the American experiment,” he said.

In Dignitatis Humanae, Vatican II’s Declaration on Religious Liberty, “the council fathers said God has made us all in his image and because we’re made in his image we bear a dignity,” Garnett said. “Because of that dignity we have a right to search for God and to cling to him when we find him, and it’s a right that is more important than anything governments might want to do.”

The annual Hesburgh Lecture has been sponsored by the University of Notre Dame since 1986 to bring university faculty members to Notre Dame clubs and their local communities to provide audiences with meaningful continuing education. The Notre Dame of Utah club’s board members chose to have Garnett address religious freedom because there is a great deal of interest in the subject, board member Jacqui Dimpel said. “We thought it would interest a lot of people with an election coming up and so many Supreme Court cases that touch on that topic (i.e. abortion, speech, companies/churches not wanting to compromise their values, etc.).”

The Hesburgh Lecture is named for a former university president, the late Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC. In addition to sponsoring the lecture, each year club members participate in six to 10 activities, including service projects, worship and socials. While many Notre Dame alumni are members, the Utah club is open to anyone interested in the mission and goals of the university, Dimpel said. Club members will have information available at the Oct. 16 event for those who would like to know more.

WHAT: Hesburgh Lecture: “Religious Freedom in America Today”

WHEN: Monday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Juan Diego Catholic High School auditorium, 300 East 11800 South, Draper

Free and open to the public