Straight White American Jesus

A podcast on religion and politics hosted by Daniel Miller and Bradley Onishi, ex-ministers who are now scholars of religion.

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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