Religious Liberty and the Department of Defense [Executive Branch Review]

Religious Liberty and the Department of Defense

The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the nation, and its policies significantly affect the daily lives of over one million service members. Many of these service members are religious, holding a variety of religious beliefs from different denominations. All are guaranteed the freedom to do so, and they do not leave this freedom behind when then they join the military. But the military has a particular interest in uniform rules and regulations, so perhaps has less latitude for exemption-making than other organizations. The proper relationship between the DOD and religious liberty, as well as recent conflicts including the vaccine-mandate lawsuit on behalf of Navy SEALs, will be discussed in this program.

Featured:

- Address: Hon. James Lankford, United States Senator, Oklahoma
- Mr. Eric Baxter, VP & Senior Counsel, Becket
- Mr. Michael D. Berry, Vice President, External Affairs, First Liberty Institute
- Prof. Eugene R. Fidell, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; Of Counsel, Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP
- Moderator: Hon. Justin Walker, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.