An expanded version of a series of debates between the authors, this book examines the nature of corporate rights, especially with respect to religious liberty, in the context of the controversial Hobby Lobby case from the Supreme Court's 2013-14 term.

What are the rights of religious institutions? Should those rights extend to for-profit corporations? Houses of worship have claimed they should be free from anti-discrimination laws in hiring and firing ministers and other employees. Faith-based institutions, including hospitals and universities, have sought exemptions from requirements to provide contraception. Now, in a surprising development, large for-profit corporations have succeeded in asserting rights to religious free exercise. The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty explores this "corporate" turn in law and religion. Drawing on a broad range perspectives, this book examines the idea of "freedom of the church," the rights of for-profit corporations, and the implications of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby for debates on anti-discrimination law, same-sex marriage, health care, and religious freedom.

This book addresses one of the most urgent issues in contemporary American law—namely, the logic and limits of extending free exercise rights to corporate entities. Pointing to the polarization that surrounds disputes like Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, David argues that such cases need not involve pitting flesh-and-blood individuals against the rights of so-called “corporate moral persons.” Instead, David proposes that such disputes should be resolved by attending to the moral quality of group actions. This approach shifts attention away from polarizing rights-talk and towards the virtues required for thriving civic communities. More radically, however, this approach suggests that groups themselves should not be viewed as things or “persons” in the first instance, but rather as occasions of coordinated activity. Discerned in the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas, this reconceptualization helps illuminate the moral stakes of a novel—and controversial—form of religious freedom.

Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case—Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby— that has arisen as society tries to reconcile corporate rights with religious liberty. Since the Hobby Lobby’s founding, the Green family has managed their

This book investigates the intersection between business and religion from a legal perspective. Taking a fresh look at some of the most compelling literature in law and religion, it proposes a rethinking of what scholars on both sides of the Atlantic have dubbed “church autonomy” or, more recently, “corporate religious freedom”. The volume explores how, in the wake of a decade of US Supreme Court case law, corporate religious freedom is now increasingly being extended to protect the religious liberty of another corporate entity: the for-profit corporation. By exposing this shift from church to business autonomy in American law, it is argued that a similar narrative has also begun to take place in Europe. Through a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to corporate religious freedom, the work provides the reader with a new, comprehensive, and easily accessible history of the genesis and evolution of this legal category in American and European law. The book combines material that straddles international law and religion, corporate law, and economic theory. The diversity of views contained within it makes it a valuable resource for scholars and students in law and religion, corporate social responsibility, and law and economics.

This book addresses one of the most urgent issues in contemporary American law—namely, the logic and limits of extending free exercise rights to corporate entities. Pointing to the polarization that surrounds disputes like Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, David argues that such cases need not involve pitting flesh-and-blood individuals against the rights of so-called “corporate moral persons.” Instead, David proposes that such disputes should be resolved by attending to the moral quality of group actions. This approach shifts attention away from polarizing rights-talk and towards the virtues required for thriving civic communities. More radically, however, this approach suggests that groups themselves should not be viewed as things or “persons” in the first instance, but rather as occasions of coordinated activity. Discerned in the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas, this reconceptualization helps illuminate the moral stakes of a novel—and controversial—form of religious freedom.

The principal aim of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment was to preclude congressional imposition of a national church. A balance was sought between states' rights and the rights of individuals to exercise their religious conscience. While the founding fathers were debating such issues, the potential for serious conflict was confined chiefly to variations among the dominant Christian sects. Today, issues of marriage, child bearing, cultural diversity, and corporate personhood, among others, suffuse constitutional jurisprudence, raising difficult questions regarding the nature of beliefs that qualify as 'religious', and the reach of law into the realm in which those beliefs are held. The essays collected in this volume explore in a selective and instructive way the intellectual and philosophical roots of religious liberty and contemporary confrontations between this liberty and the authority of secular law.

Clergy sex abuse, polygamy, children dying from faith healing, companies that refuse to do business with same-sex couples, and residential neighborhoods forced to host homeless shelters - what do all of these have in common? They are all examples of religious believers harming others and demanding religious liberty regardless of the harm. This book unmasks those responsible, explains how this new set of rights is not derived from the First Amendment and argues for a return to common-sense religious liberty. In straightforward, readable prose, God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty sets the record straight about the United States' move toward extreme religious liberty. More than half of this thoroughly revised second edition is new content, featuring a new introduction and epilogue and contemporary stories. All Americans need to read this book, before they or their friends and family are harmed by religious believers exercising their newfound rights.

Excerpt from Laws Relating to Religious Corporations: Being a Collection of the General Statutes of the Several States and Territories for the Incorporation and Management of Churches, Religious Societies, Presbyteries, Synods, Etc There are certain matters connected with the relations of Church and State in the United States of America; the rela tions of churches to the corporations which hold their property; the organization of religious corporations; the decisions Of ju dicial courts as to rights in church property; and the relations Of spiritual officers of a church to the Trustees; which require at least partial statement and explanation, in order to clear understanding of the statutes contained in this volume, and to compliance with their provisions on the part Of church authori ties. This Introduction deals with such matters consecutively and concisely, SO far as deemed necessary, having in View chie y Presbyterian churches, and with repetition of the advice given, at the close of the Preface, that upon all questions in volving the organization and management of religious corpora tions and the rights Of church property, care be taken by church Officials to secure the best legal counsel attainable. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

David Gans and Ilya Shapi ...