Description
Exemptions from legal requirements, especially religious exemptions, have been a major topic of political debate in recent years. For example, bakers in various states have sought the right to refuse to make wedding cakes for gay and lesbian couples, despite the Supreme Court's validation of same-sex marriage. Many parents are granted exemptions from vaccinating their children, despite public health laws requiring otherwise. Various religious organizations as well as some corporations have sought an exemption from the requirement to provide contraceptive coverage in employee healthcare plans, as required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Religious exemptions have a long history in the United States, but they remain controversial. Exemptions release some people from following laws that everyone else must follow, raising questions of fairness, and exemptions often privilege religious belief, raising concerns about equal treatment. At the same time there are good reasons to support exemptions, such as respect for the right of religious freedom and preventing religious organizations from becoming too closely intertwined with government.The essays in this volume represent valuable contributions to the complex debate about exemptions from legal requirements. In particular, they contribute to the moral dimensions of religious exemptions. These essays go beyond legal analysis about which exemptions are constitutionally appropriate, and ask instead when religious exemptions are morally required or morally prohibited.
Table of Contents
Introduction Kevin Vallier and Michael Weber1. Conscience, Religion, and Exemptions: An Egalitarian View Jocelyn Macclure2. On the Constitutionality and Political Morality of Granting Conscience-Protecting Exemptions Only to Religious Beliefs Michael Perry3. How Should We Treat Religion?: On Exemptions and Exclusions Kyle Swan4. Contempt, Futility, and Exemption Simon May5. Legal Exemptions for Religious Feelings Lucas Swaine6. Political Liberalism and Religious Exemptions Christie Hartley and Lori Watson7. Religious Accommodation, Social Justice, and Public Education Robert Audi8. Scopes of Religious Exemptions: A Normative Map Perry Dane9. Neutrality and the Religion Analogy Andrew Koppelman10. Prioritizing Religion in Vaccine Exemption Policies Mark Navin11. R v NS: The Niqab in Court and Lessons in Religious Exemptions Naama Ofrath12. Religious Conscience and the Private Market Ted Poston 13. In Defense of the Sincerity Tes Elizabeth Platt and Kara Loewentheil14. Insubstantial Burdens Chad Flanders
