What Counts as Religion According to SCOTUS? Whose Religion is Protected? Whose Isn't?

Brad is joined by Dr. Charlie McCrary, postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University and author of the new book, Sincerely Held: American Secularism and Its Believers. They discuss how SCOTUS determines what counts as religion, and thus what is deserving of protection under the 1st Amendment. Their conversation focuses on the "sincerity test" of religious belief, which has become a cornerstone of US jurisprudence, framing what counts as legitimate grounds for First Amendment claims in the eyes of the law. McCrary provides an original account of how sincerely held religious belief became the primary standard for determining what legally counts as authentic religion.
Charles McCrary at the New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/article/165942/sincerely-held-religious-belief-law
Charles' Book - Sincerely Held: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo135951072.html
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Brad is joined by Dr. Charlie McCrary, postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University and author of the new book, Sincerely Held: American Secularism and Its Believers. They discuss how SCOTUS determines what counts as religion, and thus what is deserving of protection under the 1st Amendment. Their conversation focuses on the "sincerity test" of religious belief, which has become a cornerstone of US jurisprudence, framing what counts as legitimate grounds for First Amendment claims in the eyes of the law. McCrary provides an original account of how sincerely held religious belief became the primary standard for determining what legally counts as authentic religion.

Charles McCrary at the New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/article/165942/sincerely-held-religious-belief-law

Charles' Book - Sincerely Held: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo135951072.html

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Order Brad's new book, Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices