The relationship between politics and religion is inevitably fraught. In the American context, various confessions have evaluated America’s political arrangement differently over time, but some themes of the debate remain the same. Does America’s constitutional character favor religious belief? Or does it imply an anthropology of autonomous individualism and tacitly encourage secularism? Should laws move beyond mere proceduralism towards soulcraft, and if so, how can they do so while respecting America’s cultural and religious diversity? In our current moment, is big tech a threat to the First Amendment’s free speech and free exercise guarantees?

Ryan Anderson, President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and author of When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment and Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, joins Adam to discuss how to think about the competing priorities of religion, law, technology, and speech. Ryan’s Public Discourse essay, “America, Liberalism, and Catholicism” and the University of Dallas’ recent JPII Conference also explore the themes discussed in this episode.