A Threat to the Separation of Church & State

This open event is hosted by Southeast Michigan Mensa. It is listed as a courtesy by the Humanists of Southeast Michigan, but is not necessarily endorsed by the HSEM. It is being held in-person, with a minimal admission charge, and via Zoom, where pre-registry is requested by way of: https://tinyurl.com/SEMM-0623-Gathering

Recent New York Times articles have stated that, since John Roberts became Chief Justice in 2005, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of religious organizations in orally argued cases 83% of the time. That is far more than any court in the past seven decades. And that a recent series of decisions have allowed for a larger role of religion in public life, such as school prayer and funding for religious education. The ACLU claims that the Supreme Court has recently adopted an approach which would see the lines between church and State hopelessly blurred, if not eliminated altogether. Further, that the court has increasingly treated the Establishment Clause, the First Amendment's guarantee of protection against governmental endorsement and imposition of religion almost as if they were historical footnotes, thus threatening the religious neutrality of the State. This, according to Pew Research Center, even though declaring the United States to be a Christian nation, and ending federal enforcement of the separation of church and State, are minority views among American adults.

Co-presenters Mike Whitty and Robert Sedler, will attempt to help deconstruct all this, and offer some possible positive ways to reduce the rising tide of divisiveness, hate, extremism and violence.

Professor Mike Whitty has taught at the University Detroit-Mercy, Wayne State and Oakland Universities, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and at several universities in California, Minnesota & Canada. Dr. Whitty has researched and published extensively on American political extremism and the world's human rights struggles.

Robert A. Sedler is a distinguished professor at Wayne State University Law School, where he teaches courses in Constitutional Law. He is a published author on the topic of Constitutional Law and has litigated a large number of civil rights and civil liberties cases, often as a volunteer for the American Civil Liberties Union. In April 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel appointed him to be a Special Assistant Attorney General.

Facility doors, and an online Zoom room, both open at 6:30 pm for general mingling. The program will start at 7:00 pm. Please consider joining and participating with your comments and/or questions...