Diversity and Inclusion as Served by Federalism and the First Amendment

Almost every day we hear something about the law college’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Is D & I mostly about policies that progressives desire? Or do conservatives seek D & I at least as much—if not more—than progressives?

Conservatives usually support federalism and progressives usually oppose federalism. But what is federalism if not about 50 different ways of doing things, or as I like to put it, 50 shades of federalism, different strokes for different folks. Federalism is literally the pursuit of D & I, it is a celebration of pluralism in our diverse nation.

Religious liberty is also about diversity and inclusion, about recognizing that America is a religiously diverse nation and seeking to protect that diversity. Trinity Lutheran protected D & I by insuring that children attending religious day care centers are not deprived of their fair share of playground safety subsidies. Espinoza protected D & I by insuring that states may not exclude religious families, such as the Espinoza family, from equitable participation in public support for k-12 education. The purpose of school choice is to protect D & I from one-size-fits-all approaches to education by empowering parents with the right to choose an appropriate education for their children.

Hobby Lobby respected the diversity and religious liberty of the owners of family businesses. And Holt v. Hobbs protected religious pluralism and diversity for Muslim prisoners and their religious obligation to grow a beard.  

Free Speech promotes D & I by ensuring that all viewpoints and all perspectives are welcome and must be included in the marketplace of ideas. Always remember that D & I is about inclusion not exclusion.

In other words, the entire First Amendment course is about protecting diversity, inclusion, and pluralism from laws and policies that seek to silence unpopular voices, punish unpopular religiously-motivated conduct, or exclude religious persons from public culture and the general benefits of the Welfare State.

What are your thoughts?