Quid Pro Quo

[Michael McConnell]

Sandy Levinson asks:

> Michael, do you see a similar contradiction--and I agree with you that it
> exists in cases like Sherbert--in the "no religious
> monuments"position+strong FE rights for believers?

No, I doubt. I don't think there is a plausible free ex claim to
display a monument on public property. The monument raises a
"government speech" issue-which is difficult principally because
there is no objective baseline for evaluating when government speech
(taken as a whole--not on a monument by monument basis) favors or
disfavors religion.


-- Michael McConnell (U of Utah)