Autonomy Conference 2004: “Church Autonomy and the Free Exercise of Religion”

BYU Law Review Volume 2004, No. 5

This is the second number of the 2004 Law Review to be devoted to contributions to the Church Autonomy Conference held 6-7 February 2004 at Brigham Young University. This number includes articles and commentaries upon the Free Exercise of Religion and Religious Group Liability, with some focus upon the 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision Employment Division v. Smith, in which the Court abandoned its previous balancing approach to judging whether individuals were entitled to exemptions from laws that substantially burdened religious conduct unless enforcement was justified by a compelling state interest, in favor of a new rule under which the Free Exercise Clause does not excuse individuals from compliance with neutral, generally applicable laws that are not intended to burden religious exercise.  Contributors to this volume, addressing this and other issues, include Kathleen A. Brady, Perry Dane, Laura S. Underkuffler, Ira C. Lupu, Robert W. Tuttle, William P. Marshall, Cheryl Preston, and James R. Dalton.