Justice 101: Religious Freedom and the Justice System
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
5:30 - 7:30pm EST
Explore the complex legal story of religious freedom and the justice system, and unpack how it continues to unfold in courtrooms, prisons, and jails across the country today. Delve into notable rulings that protected the rights of incarcerated people to practice their faiths behind bars—from the very beginning of our nation’s justice system through the current term of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Examine the impact of the longstanding “hands-off” doctrine and how this 1800s legal principle weakened during the height of the prisoners’ rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, as cases like Cooper v. Pate (1964) and Cruz v. Beto (1972) enshrined the right of prisoners to address grievances and push for equal treatment across faiths. Reflect on more recent cases like Holt v. Hobbs (2015), which held that a grooming policy violated a Muslim prisoner’s right to religious exercise. Consider the impact of faith on incarcerated people, what the next chapter in this story might look like, and what we can do to continue to foster religious freedom in carceral institutions now and in the decades to come.
Speakers include Michael Moreland, J.D., Ph.D. (Professor of Law and Religion & Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Villanova University) and others to be announced.
About the Panelists:
Michael Moreland, J.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Law and Religion & Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Villanova University
Michael Moreland was appointed University Professor of Law and Religion and director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy in 2017. Moreland joined the Villanova faculty in 2006 and served as Vice Dean from 2012 to 2015. At Villanova, he has taught Torts, Evidence, Bioethics and the Law, Advanced Torts, Constitutional Law II (First Amendment and Equal Protection), Justice and Rights (1L elective), and seminars in law and religion.
A renowned scholar of constitutional law, torts, bioethics and religious freedom, Moreland has published articles in leading legal, public policy and medical journals, including Notre Dame Law Review, Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy and Law and Contemporary Problems. His chapters on law, ethics and religion have been featured in numerous books, including titles published by Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press.
Moreland received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, his M.A. and Ph.D. in theological ethics from Boston College, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Following law school, Professor Moreland clerked for the Honorable Paul J. Kelly Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and was an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC, where he represented clients in First Amendment, professional liability, and products liability matters. Before coming to Villanova, he served as Associate Director for Domestic Policy at the White House under President George W. Bush, where he worked on a range of legal policy issues, including criminal justice, immigration, civil rights, and liability reform.
We strive to make the penitentiary and our site, programs, and exhibits accessible to all visitors. Click here to learn more about accessibility and accommodations at ESPHS.
This event is part of The Aaron Reichlin Restorative Justice and Faith Conversations, which bring together scholarship, performance, and dialogue to examine how faith traditions foster community, sustain people through and after incarceration, and inform conversations about reentry and justice reform.
This program is part of A Time for Liberty: Our Shared History, Our Shared Future, a yearlong slate of free, inclusive programs exploring the evolving meanings of liberty and justice in America. A Time for Liberty is made possible with support from civic and cultural partners including the City of Philadelphia, America250PA, Campus250, the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, the Philadelphia City Fund’s 2026 Milestone Grant Fund, supported by PECO, the National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program series, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of Justice 101, a discussion series that dives into some of the most pressing issues in criminal justice today, through a historical lens and with a focus on civic education. Each program includes interactive elements, expert voices, and opportunities for community dialogue.
