In addition, he said, religion has historically reduced social conflict, and it is a protection for dissent and diversity, important elements of American society.
"Religious freedom is a source of protection for all of our other rights, because religious freedom starts from the premise that there's an authority higher than the government, and the government can't take that away," he said.
"This recognition of some source of rights outside of and above the government is a foundational protection of all other rights – free speech, free assembly, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizure, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment."
But perhaps the most important reason to care about religious freedom, Goodrich said, is that it is a fundamental right, rooted in our nature as human beings.
Every person is born with a longing for truth, beauty, and goodness – ultimately a longing for God, he said.
"We all have this religious impulse and it can't be directed by coercion, it can only be directed voluntarily by conscience," he said. "So when the government tries to coerce us in matters of transcendent truth and our relationship with God, it's going against human nature and violating a fundamental human right. Everyone should care about religious freedom, because you cannot fully respect human beings unless you respect their religious freedom."
Still, religious freedom cannot be invoked to justify every type of behavior, Goodrich acknowledged.
"Like any right, religious freedom has limits, and they generally come from the government's duty to protect other people's rights – the right to life, the right to property etc.," he said. Freedom of religion cannot be used to protect acts of terrorism or child sacrifice, for example.
Finding the correct balance of religious freedom claims against government interests can be tricky, but the legal system has worked out tools to help find this balance, he explained.
"I think in general, it's essential to identify precisely what is the religious practice at issue and precisely what is the government's interest at issue, and is the government consistent in the way that it pursues that interest."
For example, difficult cases arise in a prison context, where prisoners are deprived of many liberties, but do not lose all of their freedoms, including religious freedom. Inmates motivated by religious conviction may seek to maintain a certain religious diet in prison, or groom their hair and beard in a certain way, or access religious literature. Meanwhile, the government has valid and weighty interests in restricting the liberty of prisoners.
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Balancing these two sides requires asking the questions: "What is the religious practice at issue? What is the government trying to accomplish? Is there any way it can accomplish its goal while still allowing religious freedom?" Goodrich said.
Another key test is that of sincerity, he continued.
"Religious freedom ultimately flows out of the human thirst for transcendent truth and obedience to conscience," he said. "And so because of that, religious freedom only protects sincere religious beliefs and practices."
Determining the sincerity of one's stated religious beliefs is similar to other questions of truth-telling in the law, Goodrich said. Courts look at consistency, how long views have been held, and sometimes basic knowledge of a belief system.
"That becomes relevant in prison, when a prisoner fakes a religious belief in order to get, for example, a diet that he thinks is better. It's relevant in a military context, where someone says they are conscientiously opposed to war – you have to make sure that's a genuine belief and not a convenient way to get out of military service. It comes up with parody religions like pastafarians, where they absolutely have free speech rights, but when they're trying to parody religion and protest religion without sincere religious beliefs themselves, they don't get religious freedom protection."
Goodrich also discussed the questions behind conflicts of religious liberty and LGBT claims, among the most contentious religious freedom debates in the U.S. today.