Mar. 10, 2026 at 6:45 pm
Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center Room: Ubuntu Room/202
Throughout American legal history, biblical texts and themes have populated the nation’s legal and political discourse. Many of the country’s most divisive issues - such as gender, sexuality, and race - are deeply intertwined with people’s religious beliefs. As a result, the moral reasoning embedded in certain legal discussions often reflects the intersection of biblically based ideas and public policy.
In this lecture, Dr. Joel Kemp examines how the 2023 SFFA decision continues this trend of drawing on biblical concepts to articulate legal conclusions. He focuses particularly on the majority and concurring opinions’ invocation of Ezekiel 18 and their treatment of vicarious punishment. Dr. Kemp highlights how both the biblical text and the Supreme Court’s decision engage with questions of intergenerational punishment within broader debates about national identity and history.
This event is Co-sponsored by the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, the Department of Political Science, the Forsythe Family Program on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, and the Institute for Ethnic Studies.
More details at: https://events.unl.edu/cjs/2026/03/10/198046/