Frederick Mark Gedicks 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

J. Reuben Clark Law School

The J. Reuben Clark Law School is a professional graduate school located in Provo, Utah at Brigham Young University. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, Jr.—former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and LDS Church General Authority—and its charter dean was former...

 at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 (BYU).

Biography

Gedicks received his bachelors degree in economics from BYU. He then earned his JD

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

.

Gedicks is a full-fledged supporter of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Religious Freedom Restoration Act

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 , codified at through , is a 1993 United States federal law aimed at preventing laws that substantially burden a person's free exercise of their religion. The bill was introduced by Howard McKeon of California and...

, and has condemned the Rehnquist Court 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, however he rejects the use of the government to promote religion.

Gedicks currently holds the Guy Anderson Chair at the J. Reuben Clark Law School.

Sources

• "Public Life and Hostility to Religion" by Frederick Mark Gedicks in Virginia Law Review
  Virginia Law Review
  The Virginia Law Review is a law review edited and published entirely by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was founded on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year...
  
  , Vol. 78, No. 3 (Apr., 1992), pp. 671-696, author intro.