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Richard W. Garnett

Richard W. Garnett is the Paul J. Schierl / Fort Howard Corporation Professor of Law, Concurrent Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Program on Church, State, and Society at the University of Notre Dame. He lives in South Bend, Indiana with his wife, Professor Nicole Stelle Garnett, and their four children.

How the Government Is Buying Our Submission

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Our Constitution’s carefully designed processes for democratic self-governance, and the means and mechanisms for ensuring accountability, are evaded and eroded. In his 2021 book “Purchasing Submission,” Philip Hamburger reveals the many hidden ways this evasion occurs—through spending conditions and contractual terms, yes; but also through “dangerously benevolent” nudges, incentives, intermediaries, accreditation, licensing, permits, and permissions.
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Abortion Laws across the Globe and at Home

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Given the ongoing evolution of abortion law in the United States, it makes sense to engage and evaluate the constitutions and laws of other jurisdictions. Although these sources and materials do not determine the meaning of our Constitution, they can illuminate our scientific, medical, and ethical debates. A particularly valuable resource, which explores abortion jurisprudence across a variety of legal contexts, is Unborn Human Life and Fundamental Rights: Leading Constitutional Cases under Scrutiny, edited by William L. Saunders and Pilar Zambrano.

Some Thoughts for New Law Students

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Law students shouldn’t be content with shallow conceptions of law. Instead, they should look deeper, asking questions about the nature and destiny of the human person, and the connection between our human nature and the legal enterprise.
Public Discourse

Moral Anthropology, Social Ontology, and Authentic Human Freedom

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The late Jean Bethke Elshtain understood that human beings are inherently relational, arguing that families are essential for human flourishing.
Public Discourse

Mary Ann Glendon and the Structure of Religious Freedom

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For its protection and flourishing, religious freedom needs not only limited government but also a social order that gives plenty of room to civic institutions and associations.
Public Discourse

Simple Justice: Kids Deserve School Choice

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Rather than cave to self-interested protests against school choice from teachers unions, we should do what we can to make Catholic schools a viable school option for low-income children.
Public Discourse

Confusion About Discrimination

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Not all discrimination is wrong. While the government should regulate some forms of wrongful discrimination, other forms of discrimination lie beyond the purview of the state.
Public Discourse

How the No-Establishment Rule Does (and Does Not) Protect the Freedom of Conscience

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The Constitution’s no-establishment rule does protect the liberty of religious conscience, but not in the way, or ways, that we usually think.
Public Discourse

Positive Secularism and the American Model of Religious Liberty

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At its fullest, the American model of religious liberty is not a freedom from religion or a freedom of religion; it is a freedom for religion.
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