Michael Avi Helfand on Religious Freedom, Education, and the Supreme Court

The Tikvah Podcast

Tikvah

Judaism, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.6 • 620 Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2020

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kendra Espinoza is a low-income single mother from Montana who applied for a tax-credit scholarship program—created by the state legislature in 2015—that would allow her to keep her daughters enrolled in a private Christian school. But soon after implementing the program, the state banned any of the scholarship funds from going to religious schools, thus excluding Espinoza and her family from receiving support.

The ensuing legal battle made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue last month. The case implicates the religion clauses of the First Amendment, the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, and the notorious “Blaine Amendments” adopted by many states during the heyday of anti-Catholic bigotry in America.

In this episode, Professor Michael Avi Helfand of Pepperdine University joins special guest host and Tikvah Senior Director Harry Ballan for a discussion of this important religious-liberty case. You’ll hear these two brilliant lawyers examine the knotty legal doctrines at issue, how the current’s justices are likely to rule, and why Espinoza should matter to every American citizen.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble as well as "Ulterior" by Swan Production.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 2015, the state of Montana created a tax credit scholarship program for parents who want to send their children to private schools.
0:17.3	Kendra Espinoza is a single mother who applied in order to keep her daughters enrolled in a private Christian school.
0:23.9	But soon after Montana created the program, and in light of the fact that so many of the state's private schools are religious,
0:30.5	the state decided to discontinue the scholarship program altogether.
0:34.7	These events sparked a legal battle that has now made its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
0:40.4	Last month, the court heard oral arguments in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.
0:46.0	The case implicates the religion clauses of the First Amendment, the 14th Amendment's equal
0:51.2	protection clause, and the notorious Blaine amendments adopted by many
0:55.5	states during the heyday of anti-Catholic bigotry in America.
0:59.7	Welcome to the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver.
1:04.0	Today, Harry Ballin, my colleague at the Tikva Fund, sits down with Pepperdine University
1:09.1	Professor Michael Avi Hellfan to discuss one of the most
1:12.5	complicated and significant religious liberty cases. You'll hear these two distinguished lawyers
1:19.1	review the legal doctrines at issue, the relevant precedents, how the current justices are likely
1:25.2	to rule, and why Espinoza should matter to every American citizen,
1:29.8	especially religious Americans.
1:32.3	If you enjoy this conversation,
1:34.1	you can subscribe to the Tikva podcast on iTunes,
1:37.0	Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
1:39.0	I hope you leave us a five-star review
1:40.6	to help us grow this community of ideas.
1:44.0	I welcome your feedback on this or any of our
	...

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