Michael A. Helfand

For the third time in five years, the New York State Education Department is proposing new rules for evaluating nonpublic schools.  Continue Reading »

A recent court case concerning accommodations for Orthodox Jews on Shabbat raises the question: How can the law build a more decent society for the faithful?  Continue Reading »

Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the Affordable Care Act’s “contraception mandate”—the requirement that employers provide employees health insurance that covers contraception and abortifacients—impermissibly infringes on the religious liberty of . . . . Continue Reading »

The religion wars in the United States have officially “gone commercial.” In contrast to past religious controversies that have centered on questions like prayer in public schools and religious symbols on government property, recent conflicts between law and religion have quite a different feel because of their unmistakable commercial component… . Continue Reading »

Few freedoms are more cherished in the United States”and more vigorously surveilled”than the right to religious liberty. For government to discriminate against religious conduct”and make it the subject of heightened government regulation”would run afoul of the constitutional principles at the heart of America’s founding and undermine liberalism’s unequivocal commitment to religious autonomy… . Continue Reading »