Beyond Labels

Although we had considered a topic relating to nursing (and other health care professional) shortages, I’m sure we won’t be able to avoid discussing the implications of the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion reversing Roe v. Wade.

So let’s make that the topic of the day, and we can turn to staff shortages next week.

We’ll discuss the relationship between religion and government in the U.S.

With voters perceived to be aligned (in substantial numbers) around religion and religious principles, legislators reacting to those voter blocs, and a Supreme Court populated, at least in part, with justices who are characterized, and categorized, by their professed religious beliefs, we’ll examine how the “separation of church and state” works and how we think it should work.

Here are some readings assembled by Hugh:

• Heather Cox Richardson blog post–April 17
• Why the decline in church attendance won’t end here, WaPo Opinion
• Moscow patriarch stokes Orthodox tensions with war remarks, AP Article
• The Growing Religious Fervor in the American Right, NYT Article