GBH OCT. TALK: Tiptoeing Toward Theocracy, The Thomas Court w/Prof. Jay Wexler

Greater Boston Humanists and the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard and MIT invite you to the GBH October 2023 Talk. Our speaker will be Prof. Jay Wexler, at Phillips Brooks House at Harvard University for SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15 at 1:30 pm. speaking on "Tiptoeing Toward Theocracy: Religion and The Thomas Court".

The Supreme Court has not taken the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment particularly seriously for over two decades. Prior to the recent ascendancy of the Thomas Court, however, it had at least allowed all religions, as well as non-religion, equal access to public life in the form of government funding, property, and institutions.

In the past two terms, however, even this concession to equality has come under threat. In this talk, Jay Wexler of Boston University School of Law will explain how recent developments in the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have brought us closer to Christian Nationalism than any other time in our recent history.

Jay Wexler is professor at Boston University School of Law and author of seven books, including "Our Non-Christian Nation". His work focuses on church-state issues, constitutional law, and environmental law. Before coming to BU Law, Professor Wexler worked as a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court. He is also known for being the first to study laughter at the Supreme Court. He has written for secular rights and other issues in media as diverse as Newsweek, Vox, Salon, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Georgetown Law Journal, and Freedom From Religion podcasts.

We look forward to seeing you for a discussion of important issues and convivial community building! Join us for discussion and snacks for this live event.

PRACTICAL INFO:
Parking in Cambridge is free on Sundays in metered and some non-metered spots, and there several garages for a fee near Harvard Square. MBTA red line Harvard Square station (though there will be Red Line shuttle buses between Ashmont and JFK/Umass this weekend) and associated bus stops are also within the block.

If you cannot attend in person but wish to join our hybrid Zoom attempt, please request the Zoom link by sending a message on the MeetUp page here and provide your email address.

This GBHumanists event is co-sponsored by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard and MIT.