But some of the panelists were concerned that citizens were not coerced to enter the public square.

"Government should not get deeply involved with deciding religious truths," Hehir said. "The right of religious liberty is also the right of the non-believer to be free of religious belief."

A majority of the panelists recognized the need for governmental policy aiming at absolute religious equality.

"The government can in no way favor any one religion over another. It must be completely neutral in the way it faces religious institutions," Roberts said.

While the other panelists agreed with Roberts, Sandel critiqued Robert's statement and questioned what constitutes "completely neutral."

Sandel specifically discussed the role of governmental funding in parochial schools, and how judicial rulings have resulted in "an incoherent mishmosh of decisions."

He referred to a case where parochial schools can receive funding for maps, but not for textbooks. He humorously cited a source that asked, 'What about atlases?'