In his new book The Child Cases: How America’s Religious Exemption Laws Harm Children (University of Massachusetts Press, 2014), Boston College History Professor Alan Rogers looks at several high-profile cases in the 1980s and ’90s involving parents who refused to seek medical treatment for their children due to their religious beliefs. The oft-contentious conversation on government’s role in society takes on more layers when elements of religion, privacy and family, says Rogers. “Our constitution offers legal protection to believe in whatever you want – but our legal history has held that you can’t always act on your belief, especially if it’s potentially harmful to others, and especially if they are children.” Read more in a Boston College Chronicle interview with Rogers.