William Barr has arrived in the courtroom at Notre Dame Law School. 
Barr is now speaking. You can watch his remarks on Notre Dame’s live stream.
He says religious liberty is important to his @TheJusticeDept and there is a task force set up to make sure states don’t violate those freedoms.
Talking now about the origins of the constitution and the freedoms it offers. Says the central question was whether “we, the people could handle freedom.”
A lot here about Barr’s interpretation of the founding fathers’ intentions with the constitution.
He says, founding fathers wrote the constitution only with the intention of governing “a moral and religious people.”
He says Judeo-Christian rules and values are “the best” guide for morality. “They are like God’s instruction manual,” he says.
He says over the past 50 years, religion has been under attack. He says, as a result, bad things are happening. He references the illegitimacy rate and record levels of depression and mental illness. Increasing suicide rates, senseless violence, and drug abuse.
“The secular project has become, of itself, a religion,” he says, bemoaning an increasingly secular culture that he says is impeding the human ability to self-correct after crisis.
Recounts an experience at a DC mass where he was dismayed that the social justice director talked about asking govt for help rather than asking for help from parishioners.
He is now going after the Obama administration attempt to make churches include contraceptives in health plans.
Ground zero for the “attacks on religion are the schools,” Barr says.
Says govt is wrong to interfere with religion in schools by forcing content and curriculum that are “inconsistent with traditional religious teaching.” References a NJ law that requires LGBT curriculum in public schools.
He says second axis of attack on religion via education are “state policies that starve religious schools” of state funds. References Montana Supreme Court ruling on disallowing govt scholarships to be used for religious schools.
Third kind of assault he says are in forcing religious schools to follow secular values. References the Indiana instance of a gay catholic school teacher who was fired and has prompted response from the state.
Press has now been told to leave the building as a Q and A session starts with attendees.
