Prof. Mark Noll and Judge Michael McConnell to co-lead DC seminar on religion and the Constitution June 8-14, 2008

Two distinguished scholars, Prof. Mark Noll of Notre Dame and Judge Michael McConnell of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, are to co-lead a seminar, The Influence of Religion on Constitutional Thought, to be held in Washington, DC at the George Washington University from June 8-14, 2008. The deadline to apply was April 21, 2008; however, applications are still being accepted.

Readers may be interested in Judge McConnell's most recent scholarly writing: Justice Brennan's Accommodating Approach Toward Religion, 95 Cal. L. Rev. 2187 (2007), from a symposium on the legacy of Justice Brennan. Here is an excerpt from p. 2189:

Justice Brennan defended interpretations of the Constitution that were as favorable toward religion--and in most cases, more favorable--than the interpretations of his more conservative colleagues. This should give pause to those conservatives who think that progressive jurisprudence is necessarily a threat to religious freedom or religious values, and it should also give pause to those progressives who now advocate a jurisprudence more hostile to religion.