How do you balance free exercise and non-establishment as a leader? / Crosspoint Highlights
Description
Guest: LTC Lee Robinson, USA
In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson explores the delicate balance military leaders must strike between free exercise of religion and non-establishment under the First Amendment.
He emphasizes that the amendment’s brevity—and its ambiguity—stem from the compromises between Federalists and Anti-Federalists at the time of America’s founding. Lee explains how the language evolved, rejecting broader proposals like prohibiting any laws “touching religion” to avoid overly limiting the federal government.
He encourages military leaders to wrestle with the historical context and constitutional principles behind the First Amendment to better understand their own oath to support and defend the Constitution, particularly in gray areas where religion intersects with public duty.
What do you think?
How does understanding the historical compromise behind the First Amendment help shape your approach to religious liberty in leadership?
What practical steps can you take as a military leader to uphold both the free exercise of religion and the principle of non-establishment?
United States
