2024 Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit hosts Gala and Awards Dinner and Dedication of the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic

The Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative’s fourth annual Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit culminated on Wednesday, July 10 with its Religious Liberty Gala and Awards Dinner and Dedication of the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic in Notre Dame’s Dahnke Ballroom.

At the gala, the 2024 Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty was awarded to Nazila Ghanea, and the 2024 Religious Liberty Initiative Scholarship Award was presented to Thomas C. Berg. Lindsay and Matt Moroun and family, generous benefactors of the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic, were also recognized with a special dedication.

Professor Stephanie Barclay, director of the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative, offered remarks at the gala, during which she highlighted the unique work of the Religious Liberty Initiative and its important role at Notre Dame and within the international religious freedom community at large.

“Something that is unique about Notre Dame, and the reason why we want to bring the summit back to this campus regularly, is the special and unique spirit that you find at Notre Dame. It's that spirit that first drew me to accept Marcus's offer to join the faculty here at Notre Dame Law School,” said Barclay. “This week, we hope that as you have discussed difficult and timely issues, you have felt that spirit. You have certainly added to it with your courage and your vulnerability in pursuit of truth.”

Notre Dame Law School Dean G. Marcus Cole, founder of Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative, also spoke at the event, where he shared the story of the initiative's inception, its personal importance to him, and the significance it plays in the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School communities.

“If we are to win the case for religious freedom, we must prove to the secular world that the world is a better place with freedom of religion or belief, even if they do not believe. We cannot win hearts with reason; we must win hearts with love,” said Dean Cole. “Don’t get me wrong; law is important. But for America, and the world, we must restore faith in faith. While we are fighting the battles over the separation of church and state, we must win the battle for separation of church and hate. We will win both battles with our most powerful weapon — love.”

2024 Religious Liberty Initiative Scholarship Award

Thomas C. Berg, the James L. Oberstar Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, was the recipient of the 2024 Religious Liberty Initiative Scholarship Award.

The award is given annually to a legal scholar in recognition of their accomplishments in the field of law and religion and for contributions to the understanding of protecting the freedom of religion or belief through law.

“For religious freedom to remain vital, we must make it strong for all faiths, and also think carefully about the boundaries of religious freedom that do need to take into account other important interests while still protecting religious liberty, and that's where intellectual work and careful thinking comes in,” said Berg. “The long-term health of religious liberty requires defending it with arguments that can cross ideological lines, that can persuade people who are not already predisposed to accepting religious liberty or the particular claim in question.”

At the University of St. Thomas School of Law, Berg teaches constitutional law, religious liberty, and intellectual property courses, and oversees the Religious Liberty Appellate Clinic. As supervising attorney of the clinic, Berg offers guidance to students writing amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and other appellate courts, having drafted nearly 60 briefs on issues of religious liberty and free speech in the Supreme Court and lower courts himself.

One of the nation's leading experts on religious liberty and law and religion, Berg is the author of six books, has written approximately 75 book chapters and journal articles and dozens of op-eds and shorter pieces on religious freedom, constitutional law, and the role of religion in law, politics, and society. His work has been cited multiple times by the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals. His most recent book, “Religious Liberty in a Polarized Age,” examines the importance of balancing religious freedom against other essential values.

In addition to religious freedom, Berg’s other scholarly interests include the relationship between intellectual property rights, social justice, and human development. He is the co-author of a book on the subject, and he has been a leader in writing and encouraging others' writing on the matter.

2024 Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty

The 2024 Notre Dame Prize for Religious Liberty was presented to Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Director of International Human Rights Law Programmes at the University of Oxford.

The prize is awarded once each year to an individual in recognition of their achievement and support in preserving religious liberty.

“This summit provides such a wonderful opportunity for those who cherish freedom of religion or belief for all, for all who seek to advance it both at home and around the world. We can share experiences, consider challenges, regain strength, and seek the opportunities together,” said Ghanea. “By seeking to advance this freedom for others, we too are enriched. Our understanding of what others hold dearly as matters of conscience grow; our efforts to appreciate that diversity expand our horizons and our empathy. As we consult those who are impacted and seek to support them, we learn together how to uphold respect for everyone in the process.”

The issue of religious liberty is especially important to Ghanea, as her own family faced religious persecution in their home country of Iran and then again in their new home of Qatar 25 years later.

“As a child, my maternal grandfather was forcibly separated from his father until they were reunited in another city in Iran, 300 miles away from his hometown. His great grandfather was pursued and beaten up for being Baha’i with tremendous regularity. Harassment, displacement, and persecution were so regular that they were just normalized for generations,” said Ghanea in her remarks. “Religious restrictions followed our family around through generations and two countries. Even the whole family history fades in the world of grievous violations of freedom of religion or belief.”

Ghanea has decades of higher education teaching experience at the University of Oxford, University of London, and Keele University, and her research focuses on a vast scope of issues, including freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, women’s rights, minority rights, and human rights in the Middle East.

During her nearly 30 year career, Ghanea has supervised more than 100 master’s dissertations and doctorates and served on doctoral panels internationally, and she has also co-authored a 700-page publication by Oxford University Press that addresses freedom of religion or belief and is focused on the UN record.

Her publications additionally include nine books and five UN publications, as well as a number of journal articles and reports. She was the founding editor of the Journal of Religion and Human Rights and now serves on its editorial board as well as the advisory board of the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion.

“It is truly humbling to accept this year’s award for religious liberty, and I do so in deep acknowledgment of all who have made advancing this freedom their passion and their calling,” said Ghanea.

The Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic

The gala also featured a special dedication to the Moroun family, whose transformational gift led to the establishment of the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic in 2020. In recognition of their generous contribution, it was announced at the gala that the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic will now be known as the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic.

“I cannot thank you enough for believing in me, believing in my vision. We would not be here today if you had not taken a leap of faith and saw what we were capable of doing and entrusted us with the gifts and the resources that you have,” said Dean Cole to the Morouns. “We were able to literally change the world — or, to start to change the world — and we're going to continue to do that.”

Within the Law School's Catholic tradition, the Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic will continue to prepare the rising generation of religious liberty advocates by training students in the practice of the law as they defend the freedom of religion or belief for all people.

“Protecting religious freedom doesn't mean just your religion. All beliefs and lives carried out according to those beliefs must be protected…We are blessed and honored to be a part of the Law School's Clinic as it leverages the talents and zeal of its leaders and law students to protect this foundational freedom,” said Matt Moroun on behalf of the couple. 

University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. in closing remarks said, "...We're so grateful for your support of Notre Dame's mission and for your support of the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic. I'm excited about the future and what we're going to be able to do on behalf of religious liberty and in defense of the dignity of the human person."

Visit religiousliberty.nd.edu to learn more about the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative and the Lindsay and Matt Religious Liberty Clinic.