Law Commons^™

The Dilemma Of Liberal Pluralism, Abner S. Greene

Buffalo Law Review

Supporters of reproductive rights and of queer rights may sometimes live in harmony with advocates for religious exemptions. But sometimes these goals conflict. This Article explores this tension as a matter of liberal democratic theory and U.S. constitutional law, offering a case for seeing a robust pluralism as contained within a proper understanding of the liberal democratic state. The state’s claimed authority may be the starting point, but just as the modern state was born in decentralized religious toleration, so should the modern state accommodate religious and other views of the good that compete with the state’s own views. The …

Preface, Rebecca Redwood French

Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

A Nun, A Synagogue Janitor, And A Social Work Professor Walk Up To The Bar: The Expanding Ministerial Exception, Patrick Hornbeck

Buffalo Law Review

Some employees who hold significant positions within some religious organizations fall outside the protections of certain laws, especially employment discrimination laws. But which employees, which organizations, and which laws? In its 2020 decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the “ministerial exception” doctrine, a constitutional immunity that is “extraordinarily potent” where applicable.1 The doctrine exempts religious employers from liability for nearly all forms of discrimination, some torts, and some breaches of contract, even when an employer does not act for religious reasons.

This Article argues that Our Lady of Guadalupe School marks a …