In these consolidated cases, a coalition of entities affiliated with the Catholic Church and the State of North Dakota challenge the implementation of Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), a statute that prohibits certain forms of discrimination . . . Continue reading →
Religious Freedom Watch
A Little Wisdom Might Help Us Love Our Neighbor
Two Albuquerque, NM megachurches are being fined by the governor for disobeying regulations on gathering for worship. Both held Christmas Eve services with crowded auditoriums. In one video there are few masks evident. KOAT has the story. One congregation claims to have . . . Continue reading →
SCOTUS Applies Brooklyn Diocese v. Cuomo: Strikes Down Limit On Number Of Worshipers In Church
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a northern Colorado church that sued Gov. Jared Polis over capacity limits on religious gatherings, reiterating a stance the highest court took in a similar case last month. High Plains Harvest Church . . . Continue reading →
Judge Pulskamp: If People Can Gather In Costco, They Can Gather In Church
Defendants’ efforts to distinguish the permitted secular activity from the prohibited religious activity are not persuasive. For example, Defendants contend that the congregations of shoppers in big-box stores, grocery stores, etc., are not comparable to religious services in terms of crowd size, proximity, and length of stay. To the contrary, based on the evidence presented (or lack thereof) and common knowledge, it appears that shoppers at a Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. may —and frequently do—congregate in numbers, proximity, and duration that is very comparable to worshippers in houses of worship. Continue reading →
11th Circuit: A Ban On Therapy For An Unwanted Sexual Attraction Is Unconstitutional
We understand and appreciate that therapy is highly controversial. But the First Amendment has no carveout for controversial speech. We hold that the challenged ordinances violate the First Amendment because they are content-based regulations of speech that cannot survive strict scrutiny. …In . . . Continue reading →
What Christ Expects Of His Church During Times Of Opposition (Updated)
This morning I am thinking of younger American Christians, especially of those who have come of age during the Trump administration. A young person who was 16 when the Trump administration began is now approaching 20 and is perhaps becoming more politically . . . Continue reading →
SCOTUS: Exactly The Kind Of Discrimination Forbidden By The First Amendment
…The applicants have clearly established their entitlement to relief pending appellate review. They have shown that their First Amendment claims are likely to prevail, that denying them relief would lead to irreparable injury, and that granting relief would not harm the public . . . Continue reading →
Federal District Court Strikes Down KY Pandemic Restrictions On Private Religious Schools (Updated)
If social distancing is good enough for offices, colleges, and universities within the Commonwealth, it is good enough for religious private K–12 schools that benefit from constitutional protection. Continue reading
Biden Administration To Restore “Dear Colleague Letter” Versus Christian Schools And Colleges?
Traditional Christian Ethics To Be Punished?
Language regarding accreditation of religious insti- tutions of higher education in the Higher Education Opportunity Act could be interpreted to require accrediting bodies to accredit religious institutions that discriminate or that do not meet science based curricula standards. Continue reading →
Get A Lawyer (UDATED)
If your congregation does not have a lawyer, it should. Continue reading
This Remarkable Address By Justice Alito Is True And Well Worth 30 Minutes Of Your Time
“The Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It says nothing about the freedom to play craps or blackjack, to feed tokens into a slot machine, or to engage in any other game of chance. But the Governor of Nevada apparently has different priorities. Claiming virtually unbounded power to restrict constitutional rights during the COVID–19 pandemic, he has issued a directive that severely limits attendance at religious services. A church, synagogue, or mosque, regardless of its size, may not admit more than 50 persons, but casinos and certain other favored facilities may admit 50% of their maximum occupancy—and in the case of gigantic Las Vegas casinos, this means that thousands of patrons are allowed.” Continue reading →
Christian School In Oregon Sues Governor Over Unequal Treatment
After nearly two months of advising that Hermiston Christian School could provide in-person instruction to the 51 students enrolled in its K-12 program, Brown reversed course and, on July 29, ordered private schools in Umatilla County and elsewhere to remain closed while . . . Continue reading →
Weiss: American Tolerant Pluralism Under Siege
The liberal worldview was one that recognized that there were things—indeed, the most important things—in life that were located outside of the realm of politics: friendships, art, music, family, love. This was a world in which Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg . . . Continue reading →
The Equality Act Is Back In Play: What It Means For Religious Liberty
The Equality Act adds the phrase “sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity)” to our nation’s civil rights laws that ban discrimination on the basis of race. This means the law would suddenly treat people as racists if they dare to dissent . . . Continue reading →
Federal Court Upholds The Right Of Religious Schools To Adhere To Their Stated Convictions Regarding Sex
Or Grace Does Not Obliterate Nature
…This action concerns the expulsion of two students from a seminary school for violating school policies against same-sex marriage and extramarital sexual activity. Plaintiffs claim violations of: (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681, et seq. . . . Continue reading →
New Resource Page: On Religious Liberty
The first war fought in the name of the new American Republic was the “War for Independence” (1775–83). In the Declaration of Independence (1776), the American founders declared, in the preamble, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men . . . Continue reading →
Kirk Pulls Publicity Stunt. Social Media Falls For It: No Religious Liberties Were Harmed During The Filming Of This Commercial
There are places where religious liberties are being trampled, where Christians (and members of other religions) are not free to gather and to worship God according to Scripture or conscience. In such places people face arrest or worse simply for gathering to . . . Continue reading →
Church Services, Covid-19, Civil Liberties, And The Culture War
Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA has been at the center of a heated theological and cultural controversy over whether churches should abide by public health orders (ostensibly) intended to curb the Coronavirus and if so, how. As previously chronicled in this . . . Continue reading →
Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, And Kavanaugh On The Erosion Of Religious Liberty Under The Covid Regime
The Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It says nothing about the freedom to play craps or blackjack, to feed tokens into a slot machine, or to engage in any other game of chance. But the Governor of Nevada apparently has . . . Continue reading →
NYT Blames Churches For Spreading Coronavirus, Ignores Protests And Riots
In this morning’s New York Times three staff reporters filed a story datelined “Pendleton, Ore” (odd question—why not use the standard postal abbreviation for Oregon, which has been in use for decades?) and it begins ominously: “Weeks after President Trump demanded that . . . Continue reading →