The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a briefing on March 22 to discuss the interaction between religious freedom and non-discrimination requirements.

One panel features speakers from the Christian Legal Society, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the ACLU, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State who were involved in the Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC case or the CLS v. Martinez Supreme Court cases. The former case vindicated the freedom of religious organizations to select ministerial leaders; the latter case denied under certain circumstances the freedom of religious student clubs to limit leadership to those faithful in creed and conduct.

The second panel “will discuss the broader conflict between anti-discrimination norms and civil liberties.” Speakers come from a range of institutions and philosophical and religious standpoints.

More details on the Commission’s website.

The Commission is accepting public comments on the topics of the briefing until April 21.

Further reading:

Greg Baylor and Timothy Tracey, “Nondiscrimination Rules and Religious Associational Freedom,” Engage, 8/3 (June, 2007).

Rick Garnett, “Religious Freedom and the Nondiscrimination Norm,” in Austin Sarat, ed.,Matters of Faith (Cambridge Univ. Press, forthcoming).