Exemptions

Greenawalt, in this readable, informative, in-depth study, probes the under-researched area of government exemptions. The author’s primary focus is the basic underlying reasons for deciding to grant exemptions and determining their scope. Greenawalt persuasively illustrates, beyond recent controversial headlines, how to weigh
competing values favoring or opposing exemptions from historical, comparative, and critical perspectives. Readers of Greenawalt’s work will have the tools necessary to analyze today’s controversies resulting from Obergefell v. Hodges and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The connecting thread between granting or opposing an exemption is Greenawalt’s contention that serious reflection on what should be done requires recognition of actual competing considerations and genuine concern for fellow citizens who differ from others in significant ways.