26 Jun 2022
On May 20, 2022 Professor Brian Lepard participated, as one of two invited expert speakers, in a panel discussion hosted online by Fordham Law School on “The Future of Freedom of Religion.” The panel was sponsored by Fordham’s Institute on Religion, Law and Lawyer’s Work (“IRLLW”), and it was the last in a year-long seminar series on the broader theme of “New Frontiers of Human Rights.” The program was presented in partnership with the Center for Research in Politics and Human Rights at Sophia University in Florence, Italy, and the Observatorio de Derechos Humanos at Universidad de Valladolid in Spain.
The other expert participating in the panel was Jessica Giles, Director of the Project on Interdisciplinary Law and Religion Studies and lecturer at The Open University in the United Kingdom. Professor Lepard and Professor Giles were interviewed by the Director of IRLLW, Endy Moraes, who served as moderator of the panel.
Professor Lepard and Professor Giles discussed what freedom of religion means today in the global community. Professor Lepard explored the role of international courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights, in protecting freedom of religion or belief, as well as recent developments in the U.S. Supreme Court’s First Amendment jurisprudence on freedom of religion.
More information about Professor Lepard’s remarks and the panel can be found in the press release issued by Fordham Law School, available here.
Professor Lepard is the Harold W. Conroy Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska College of Law and a recognized expert on international human rights law, including freedom of religion or belief.