Frederick Mark Gedicks (born May 17, 1953) is an expert on religion and law, especially the role of religion in public life. He is a professor of law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU).

Biography

Gedicks received his bachelor's degree in economics from BYU. He then earned his JD from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. Gedicks is a full-fledged supporter of the

Religious Freedom Restoration Act The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 (November 16, 1993), codified at through (also known as RFRA, pronounced "rifra"), is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religiou ...

, and has condemned the

Rehnquist Court The Rehnquist Court was the period in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States during which William Rehnquist served as Chief Justice. Rehnquist succeeded Warren Burger as Chief Justice after the latter's retirement, and Rehnquist ...

for not placing any limits on government power. Gedicks has written two books. One is ''The Rhetoric of Church and State: A Critical Analysis of Religious Law Jurisprudence''. (Durham: Duke University Press, 1995). The other is ''Choosing the Dream: The future of Religion in American Public Life'' written with Roger Hendrix. Gedicks is an active

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

. Gedicks rejects the use of the government to promote religion. Gedicks currently holds the Guy Anderson Chair at the J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Notes

Sources

* * "Public Life and Hostility to Religion" by Frederick Mark Gedicks in ''

Virginia Law Review The ''Virginia Law Review'' is a law review edited and published by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was established on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year. The stated objective of the ''Virginia Law Revi ...

'', Vol. 78, No. 3 (Apr., 1992), pp. 671–696, author intro. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gedicks, Frederick 1953 births Latter Day Saints from Utah Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Living people USC Gould School of Law alumni Latter Day Saints from California