Building Free Speech

My latest academic study is in the Free Speech Yearbook. Here is the citation:

Kaylor, B. T. (2011). Building free speech: A case of First Amendment rights versus church architecture. Free Speech Yearbook, 45, 47-55.

Here is an abstract for the piece:

In the heart of Washington, D.C., members of the Third Church of Christ, Scientist sued for the right to destroy their own church building. The congregation argued that the building--which the District designated as a protected historical site--was not only ugly and impractical but communicated messages contradictory to their theology. The congregation therefore argued that being forced to keep the building was an infringement on their First Amendment free speech rights. This study analyses the free speech arguments concerning the architecture of the Third Church of Christ, Scientist's building and the controversy surrounding it. Implications consider the relationship between free speech rights and architectural design.

The photo is one I took recently of the D.C. church building at the center of the controversy examined in the study.