{"id":5720,"date":"2015-01-22T18:22:02","date_gmt":"2015-01-23T02:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720"},"modified":"2018-03-06T13:06:12","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T21:06:12","slug":"why-i-support-some-religious-exemptions-though-i-myself-am-not-religious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720","title":{"rendered":"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Washington Post<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">Eugene Volokh<\/p>\n<p>Should the law sometimes exempt religious objectors from generally applicable laws? And, if so, should it be done (1) only on a statute-by-statute basis \u2014 where the legislature decides, when it passes or revises a statute, whether there ought to be an exemption from that statute \u2014 (2) through a broad exemption law, which calls on courts to decide when to carve out religious exemptions from a statute and when not to, or (3) as a matter of constitutional command, interpreting the Free Exercise Clause as presumptively (but not categorically) mandating religious exemptions?<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m inclined to conclude that the best solution is a mix of (1) and (2) \u2014 legislatures create exemptions when they think of them, but also authorize courts to do the same \u2014 but generally without the constitutional model (3). I discuss this in much more detail in my &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.ucla.edu\/volokh\/relfree.pdf\">A Common Law Model for Religious Exemptions<\/a>&#8221; article, but here I just want to focus on part of that: why I think religious exemptions are often a good idea, even though I myself am not religious. . . .[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/volokh-conspiracy\/wp\/2015\/01\/22\/why-i-support-some-religious-exemptions-though-i-myself-am-not-religious\/\" target=\"_blank\">Full text<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington Post Eugene Volokh Should the law sometimes exempt religious objectors from generally applicable laws? And, if so, should it be done (1) only on a statute-by-statute basis \u2014 where the legislature decides, when it passes or revises a statute, whether there ought to be an exemption from that statute \u2014 (2) through a broad &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5432,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,295,28],"tags":[1598],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-5720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-commentary","category-religious-freedom","category-usa","tag-eugene-volokh"],"yoast_head":"\r\n<title>Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious) - Protection of Conscience Project News<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious) - Protection of Conscience Project News\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington Post Eugene Volokh Should the law sometimes exempt religious objectors from generally applicable laws? And, if so, should it be done (1) only on a statute-by-statute basis \u2014 where the legislature decides, when it passes or revises a statute, whether there ought to be an exemption from that statute \u2014 (2) through a broad &hellip; Continue reading &quot;Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)&quot;\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Protection of Conscience Project News\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ConscienceProject\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-23T02:22:02+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-06T21:06:12+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@consciencepro\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@consciencepro\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-23T02:22:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-06T21:06:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720\"},\"wordCount\":188,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Eugene Volokh\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Legal Commentary\",\"Religious Freedom\",\"United States\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720\",\"name\":\"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious) - Protection of Conscience Project News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-23T02:22:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-06T21:06:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=5720#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Protection of Conscience Project News\",\"description\":\"Service, not Servitude\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Protection of Conscience Project\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"Protection of Conscience Project\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/ConscienceProject\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/consciencepro\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/consciencepro\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\r\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious) - Protection of Conscience Project News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious) - Protection of Conscience Project News","og_description":"Washington Post Eugene Volokh Should the law sometimes exempt religious objectors from generally applicable laws? And, if so, should it be done (1) only on a statute-by-statute basis \u2014 where the legislature decides, when it passes or revises a statute, whether there ought to be an exemption from that statute \u2014 (2) through a broad &hellip; Continue reading \"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)\"","og_url":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720","og_site_name":"Protection of Conscience Project News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ConscienceProject","article_published_time":"2015-01-23T02:22:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-06T21:06:12+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@consciencepro","twitter_site":"@consciencepro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)","datePublished":"2015-01-23T02:22:02+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-06T21:06:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720"},"wordCount":188,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Eugene Volokh"],"articleSection":["Legal Commentary","Religious Freedom","United States"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720","url":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720","name":"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious) - Protection of Conscience Project News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-01-23T02:22:02+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-06T21:06:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?p=5720#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why I support some religious exemptions (though I myself am not religious)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/","name":"Protection of Conscience Project News","description":"Service, not Servitude","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/#organization","name":"Protection of Conscience Project","url":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"Protection of Conscience Project"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ConscienceProject","https:\/\/x.com\/consciencepro","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/consciencepro"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5432"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5721,"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5720\/revisions\/5721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5720"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=5720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}