Defenders of religious liberty join for the sixth annual Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit
Each year, Notre Dame Law School hosts the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit, bringing together scholars, advocates, and faith leaders for discussions on complex religious liberty issues and the future of religious freedom in the United States and around the world.
This year the sixth annual Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit featured over 20 speakers in 6 panel discussions on topics such as the religious foundations of the American Revolution, religious freedom and the making of free societies, and localism, state political experimentation, and religious freedom. Over 100 leading defenders of religious liberty gathered in Chicago, Illinois for the summit.
Dean G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law, introduced the theme in his opening remarks.
“The theme of this year’s summit is ‘We Hold These Truths…’ As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation – the first nation in the history of the world to be founded upon the core principle of religious freedom – it is appropriate that we do so here in Chicago, a city in which virtually every faith in the world is represented,” said Dean Cole.
“The purpose of the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit is to explore issues, ideas, and strategies toward the protection and promotion of religious liberty, here in the United States and around the world.”
The panel discussions were grounded in the broader context of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and reflected on the enduring principles of human dignity, freedom of conscience, and the God-given right of every person to live according to their beliefs.
In the first panel, “The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God: Natural Law and Rights,” Professor Melissa Moschella, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, spoke on the sacred importance of religious liberty in our nation.
“If in line with the natural law tradition and the view of religion dominant in our nation's founding, we can understand religion as something objectively and distinctively valuable for human beings, not only as one among many goods that contribute to human fulfillment, but as a good that plays an architectonic that is a governing and structuring role in the good life. Then justice, and by extension law, requires giving it its special treatment in accordance with its special role in good life.”
In a keynote address, Dr. Jacqueline Rivers, the executive director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, spoke about the importance of engaging the Black Church in the defense of religious freedom.
"For African Americans, the relationship to religious freedom is quite complicated. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and as we reflect on these truths that we hold to be self-evident, we need to recognize that for African Americans, for Black people, for enslaved Africans at the time of the founding, they were actually denied religious freedom.” said Rivers.
"We call on all the fighters for religious freedom to engage a powerful ally—the Black Church—by standing with us in the challenges we face."
Additional panels were held on the second day of the summit including, “The Religious Foundations of the American Revolution” with Mr. Mintae Cha, a third-year law student at Notre Dame Law School, Professor Daniel Slate (Notre Dame Law School), and Professor John Witte (Emory University School of Law). The session was chaired by Professor Nicole Garnett (Notre Dame Law School).
The third panel of the day featured a discussion on "Religious Freedom and the Making of Free Societies." Attendees heard from Professor Daniel Philpott (University of Notre Dame), Professor Allen Hertzke (University of Oklahoma), and Ms. Samah Norquist (Religious Freedom and Foreign Policy Expert). The session was chaired by Professor Rick Garnett (Notre Dame Law School).
The summit’s final day of academic programming featured a discussion on the “Localism, State Political Experimentation, and Religious Freedom” with insights from Professor Chris Lund (Wayne State University Law School), Professor Phillip Muñoz (University of Notre Dame), and Professor Mark Storslee (University of North Carolina School of Law). The session was chaired by Professor John Meiser (Notre Dame Law School).
“State religion isn't like zoning or tax policies. Experimentation sometimes teaches us something, but basic rights are not things we should experiment with. If religion is a fundamental right, if it's a universal right, then it should be enjoyed universally,” shared panelist Chris Lund.
"The heart of [the Declaration] was not simply protecting freedom in the abstract but indeed protecting the right of a people to independently govern themselves. It was a reaction against not just a political system that suppressed freedom but that violated the very idea that a community governs itself – and to resist a distant authority from outside," said Meiser.
Rabbi Meir Soloveichik of Congregation Shearith Israel delivered a keynote address on the final day of the summit. Rabbi Soloveichik serves as the rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States, and as the director of the Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University.
“America looked to the Jewish story as an indication of divine blessing and therefore as a source of inspiration for the sort of country America was called to be. The Jews were to be welcomed in America, Washington decided, not only because of the idea, but also because of the way in which the Jewish story inspired America itself,” said Soloveichik. "America's unity was never meant to come from sameness, but from a shared commitment to enduring principles."
“The warmth that Jews experienced in the nascent nation that was the United States can only be fully understood if we understand the way in which many founders and America in general saw the story of biblical Israel as a source of inspiration.”
Drawing on the ideas of the late Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Rabbi Soloveichik argued that American society, from the Pilgrim Fathers onward, was based on the concept of covenant as set out in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, particularly in Exodus and Deuteronomy. He then quoted Rabbi Sacks, describing the United States as "that rare phenomenon: a covenant society. Covenant societies represent conscious new beginnings. They are founded on an idea, dedicated to a proposition."
"The rights we enjoy as Americans are fragile. They must be cherished, protected, and taught from generation to generation, because what may appear ordinary to us is actually extraordinary," said Soloveichik.
During lunch on Wednesday, participants enjoyed a screening of the trailer for the film “American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story,”a feature-length documentary. The film tells the true story of Blessed Stanley Rother, an American priest from Oklahoma who was martyred after returning to Guatemala during the country's civil war, refusing to abandon the Indigenous people he served.
The trailer screening was followed by remarks from Michael Scaperlanda, chancellor for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The documentary is heavily rooted in the work of Scaperlanda and his wife, María Ruiz Scaperlanda, who has spent decades championing Blessed Stanley Rother's legacy. Her book, “The Shepherd Who Didn't Run: Blessed Stanley Rother, Martyr from Oklahoma,” serves as a foundational text on his life.
Additional panels were held during the day, including “Religious Freedom and Abundance” offering insights from Professor Angela Carmella (University of Seton Hall Law School), Professor John Infranca (Suffolk University), and Mr. Jim Towey (Aging with Dignity). The session was chaired by Fr. Patrick Reidy, C.S.C. (Notre Dame Law School).
Lastly, “Religious Freedom and the Catholic Mission in a Secular Age” featured insights into religious freedom from a Catholic perspective. Panelists included Sr. Marie Morgan (Franciscan Alliance Inc.), Sr. Petra Nielsen (Franciscan Alliance Inc.), Fr. Jordi Pujol (Pontifical University of Santa Croce), Bishop Robert McClory (Diocese of Gary), and was chaired by Msgr. John Paul Kimes (Notre Dame Law School).
The Summit’s culminating event was the Religious Liberty Gala and Awards Dinner held on Wednesday, July 8.
During the dinner, the 2026 Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty was presented to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C. with a mission to protect the free expression of all faiths.
Mark Rienzi, president and CEO, accepted the award on behalf of the Becket Fund.
"An award to the Becket Fund should be an award to the team at Becket,” said Rienzi. This is an ensemble effort. This is not any one person. The Becket Fund, from the start, has been a collection of highly talented people who decided to jump in and do a big thing together, and it really is a privilege and a blessing to be part of the team at Becket."
"Religious liberty helps real people, and it helps real people live out their faith... Religious liberty protects good things, and it makes those good things happen... It's a great joy and privilege for us to get to work on that."
The 2026 Religious Liberty Scholarship Award was presented to John Witte of Emory University School of Law. A leading specialist in legal history, human rights, religious freedom, marriage and family law, and law and religion, Witte has published over 300 articles, 18 journal symposia, and 45 books.
“Faith is the foundation of freedom, and religious freedom is the cornerstone of human rights. And orderly freedom, in turn, is the essential condition for the flourishing of both families and of faith in humanity. I am profoundly grateful for the 45 years of work that the good Lord has given me to do in this field,” said Witte.
The Summit also included cultural experiences for attendees, including a tour of the Field Museum, a natural history museum located in downtown Chicago, and a dinner cruise on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. These opportunities provided a chance for continued dialogue among participants.
"The purpose of the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit is to serve as a forum to exchange ideas and discuss issues and to develop strategies to advance the fight for religious freedom in the United States and around the world,” said Dean Cole. “The summit and the conversations that we're having are central to our mission, both our Catholic mission as a law school, but also our mission and our vocation with regard to religious liberty.”
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