Podcast
Legal Spirits
Hosted by Legal Spirits · EN
Mattone Center for Law and Religion at St. John's Law
10episodes
Episodes
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Legal Spirits 075: A Short Take on the Louisiana 10 Commandments Case
Mar 400:06:02Tap to summarizeLouisiana Authorities Announce the New 10 Commandments Policy (CNN) A couple of weeks ago, the en banc 5th Circuit vacated on ripeness grounds a lower court ruling that Louisiana’s law requiring placement of the 10 Commandments in public school classrooms violates the Establishment Clause. In this short take, Mattone Center Director Mark Movsesian explains what the case is all about, and the significance of the en banc court’s decision. Listen in! The post Legal Spirits 075: A Short Take on the Louisiana 10 Commandments Case appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
Transcribe →Legal Spirits 074: Religion and the State in Japan
Feb 1000:33:19Tap to summarizeNearly eighty years after Japan adopted constitutional provisions separating religion and the state, Japanese courts continue to grapple with a question familiar to American lawyers: how to enforce separation without severing law from history, tradition, and social practice. In this episode of Legal Spirits, Mark Movsesian speaks with Professor Eiichiro Takahata of Nihon University about the Japanese Supreme Court’s church–state jurisprudence, including its adaptation of U.S. Establishment Clause doctrine and its distinctive reliance on common-sense social understandings. The conversation offers a comparative lens on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent turn away from abstract tests like Lemon and toward history and tradition—and highlights both the parallels and the limits of that convergence. Listen in! The post Legal Spirits 074: Religion and the State in Japan appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
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Legal Spirits 073: A Short Take on the Minnesota Church Protest
Jan 2700:06:28Tap to summarizeCities Church (MPR News) In this episode—the first in a new series of Legal Spirits law-and-religion short takes—Mattone Center Director Mark Movsesian offers an initial assessment of the recent anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in Minnesota. He explains what is known so far, the legal issues the episode raises, and why those issues matter beyond this particular controversy. Whatever the merits of the underlying cause, he argues, intruding into a private worship service infringes a core understanding of the free exercise of religion. Listen in! The post Legal Spirits 073: A Short Take on the Minnesota Church Protest appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
Transcribe →Legal Spirits 072: Religion at the “Constitutional Court of Europe”
Jan 20Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Mattone Center Director Mark Movsesian speaks with Judge Ioannis Ktistakis of the European Court of Human Rights about his career as an advocate, scholar, and international judge, and about emerging religious-freedom challenges facing Europe. They explore the role of the European Court—which Judge Ktistakis describes as “the Constitutional Court of Europe”—and examine how it supports the protection of fundamental rights across the continent. The conversation offers U.S. lawyers and law students a rare inside look at the Court’s internal workings and its approach to sensitive questions of law and religion. The post Legal Spirits 072: Religion at the “Constitutional Court of Europe” appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
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Legal Spirits 071: Jefferson, Wine, and the Wall of Separation
Sep 30Tap to summarizeThomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists—better known for its reference to a “wall of separation” between church and state—was little remembered until Chief Justice Morrison Waite revived it in Reynolds v. United States (1879). With the help of historian George Bancroft, Waite transformed Jefferson’s passing metaphor into a constitutional principle, despite Jefferson’s limited role in drafting the First Amendment. In this episode of Legal Spirits, historians Don and Lisa Drakeman join Center Director Mark Movsesian to explore how Jefferson’s words, and even his passion for French wine, helped shape the Court’s Religion Clause jurisprudence—and to consider what lessons today’s Justices should draw about the risks of using history in constitutional interpretation. Listen in! The post Legal Spirits 071: Jefferson, Wine, and the Wall of Separation appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
Transcribe →Legal Spirits 070: Religion & Realism: The New US Role in Armenia
Sep 300:31:10Tap to summarizeMap: The Conversation In Episode 70 of Legal Spirits, Center Director Mark Movsesian speaks with Dan Harre, Deputy Director of Save Armenia, about a significant—and controversial—draft agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Brokered last month at the White House, the terms reflect a major realignment in the region: Armenia relinquishes any claim to Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan backs off earlier demands for extraterritorial control, and the United States gains a 99-year lease on a key new transit route. The episode explores how U.S. foreign policy, Christian advocacy, and strategic infrastructure intersect in the South Caucasus. Dan offers a perspective from within the U.S. advocacy world—one shaped by a broader movement to defend Christian communities in places like Iraq and Syria. The episode also considers how groups like Save Armenia navigate diplomatic tensions between Armenia and Israel, and how this moment relates to past decisions about American involvement in Armenian affairs, including the post-WWI mandate the U.S. ultimately declined. What role did American Christian organizations play in this deal? What’s in it for the United States? And is this a turning point in Armenia’s future? Listen in! The post Legal Spirits 070: Religion & Realism: The New US Role in Armenia appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
Transcribe →Legal Spirits 069: The Consent of the Governed
Aug 500:32:08Tap to summarizeSource: National Archives In this episode of Legal Spirits, Center Director Mark Movsesian talks with legal scholar Steven D. Smith about a question that goes to the heart of American law and politics: What happens when people stop believing in “the consent of the governed”? Drawing on Smith’s new paper, The Collapse of Consent, they explore how this once-powerful idea has shifted over time—from a principle rooted in natural law and divine authority to a secular fiction that’s becoming harder to sustain. In an increasingly polarized society, can America’s founding narrative still hold us together? A deep and thought-provoking conversation about legitimacy, identity, and the future of our legal order. The post Legal Spirits 069: The Consent of the Governed appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
Transcribe →Legal Spirits 068: Religion at the Court: October Term 2024 Recap
Jul 800:28:01Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Legal Spirits, we review the Supreme Court’s major religion cases from the October 2024 Term. From religious charter schools to religious exemptions to parental rights in public education, the Court addressed long-standing issues—and, in one case, made a dramatic move. Join Center Director Mark Movsesian and guest John McGinnis as they unpack the implications of Drummond, Catholic Charities Bureau, and Mahmoud v. Taylor. The post Legal Spirits 068: Religion at the Court: October Term 2024 Recap appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
Transcribe →Legal Spirits 067: Confession and the Constitution
May 27, 2025Tap to summarizeWashington State Gov. Bob Ferguson at the Signing Ceremony for the New Clergy Reporting Law In this episode of Legal Spirits, we examine a new Washington State law that eliminates the clergy-penitent privilege in child abuse reporting. The law requires clergy to report suspected abuse, even if they learn about it through Confession and other confidential spiritual communications—raising serious questions under the Free Exercise Clause. Host Mark Movsesian and guest Marc DeGirolami discuss the legal framework, historical background, and broader implications for religious liberty. Listen in! The post Legal Spirits 067: Confession and the Constitution appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
Transcribe →Legal Spirits 066: The International Moot Court Competition in Law & Religion
Apr 23, 202500:34:06Tap to summarizeWe’re back after a bit of a hiatus with a new Legal Spirits episode. Center Director Mark Movsesian talks with Professors Andrea Pin and Luca Vanoni about the International Moot Court Competition in Law and Religion, an annual event that gathers law students from the US and Europe to argue a case before panels representing the European Court of Human Rights and the US Supreme Court. Andrea and Luca discuss how they came up with the idea for this unique competition, its pedagogical goals, and why it has succeeded for a decade and counting. Listen in! The post Legal Spirits 066: The International Moot Court Competition in Law & Religion appeared first on LAW AND RELIGION FORUM.
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