Religious Freedom, LGBT Rights, and the Prospects for Common Ground

The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons (LGBT) are strongly contested by certain faith communities, and this confrontation has become increasingly pronounced following the adjudication of a number of legal cases. As the strident arguments of both sides enter a heated political arena, it brings forward the deeply contested question of whether there is any possibility of both communities' contested positions being reconciled under the same law. This volume assembles impactful voices from the faith, LGBT advocacy, legal, and academic communities - from the Human Rights Campaign and ACLU to the National Association of Evangelicals and Catholic and LDS churches. The contributors offer a 360-degree view of culture-war conflicts around faith and sexuality - from Obergefell to Masterpiece Cakeshop - and explore whether communities with such profound differences in belief are able to reach mutually acceptable solutions in order to both live with integrity.

William N. Eskridge, Jr, is the John A. Garver Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School, Connecticut. A renowned scholar of statutory interpretation and legislation, in 1990–95, Professor Eskridge represented a gay couple suing for recognition of their same-sex marriage. He has published a field-establishing casebook, three monographs, and dozens of articles articulating a legal and political framework for proper state treatment of sexual and gender minorities. Historical materials in Gaylaw formed the basis for an amicus brief filed by Cato Institute and much of the US Supreme Court's (and the dissenting opinion's) analysis in Lawrence v. Texas (2003), invalidating consensual sodomy laws.

Robin Fretwell Wilson is the Roger and Stephany Joslin Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, Chicago. Professor Wilson assisted the Utah legislature as it enacted landmark legislation balancing religious freedom and LGBT non-discrimination protections. She founded and directs the Fairness for All Initiative which provides tangible support to legislators seeking to enact laws protecting both communities. A member of the American Law Institute, she is the author, co-author, or editor of eleven books, including Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty (2008) and The Contested Place of Religion in Family Law (Cambridge, 2018). In 2018, she received the Thomas L. Kane Religious Freedom Award.