Hannah Kopec
Research Mentor: Andrew Murphy
Mentor Department: Political Science, LSA
Author(s): Andrew Murphy, Hannah Kopec
Session: Session 3 (11:00 AM – 11:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 97
Abstract
Religious freedom has been a guaranteed right for citizens of the United States since its founding. This study aims to further explore religious freedom in American history, specifically the intersection of religious civil liberties and wartime in the United States. Beginning in the Revolutionary era, this study analyzes conflict between religious minorities and government authority from the time of the Pennsylvania Quakers to the modern day. Through detailed analysis of primary and secondary sources from or about specific events included in this study, we were able to thematically understand and record each event to decipher why the conflict between religion and government was occurring, and what it meant for our broader understanding. Our research yields a complex understanding of the dynamic interplay between the rhetoric of national security and the rhetoric of religious exercise. We explored a number of different cases from the nation’s history beginning with the controversial exile of Quakers to Virginia beginning in 1777, debates over religious objections to flag salute in the 1940s (Barnette, Gobitis), through conscientious objection in war in the 1960s (Seeger, Welsh), the aftermath of the Patriot Act in the early 21st century, and recent immigration debates. While our conclusions are not quantitative, through this project we, and our audience, have arrived at an increasingly nuanced and complex understanding of the precarious nature of religious freedom for marginalized religious groups.
