These are complex cases, and the IGC debate will help the public to understand them. Once again, religious liberty is before the United States Supreme Court. To make sense of upcoming cases and the issues they involve, the Institute for Governance and Civics at FSU will host a debate on April 16. Denise Harle , an attorney who specializes in religious liberty law, will take the stage with Marci Hamilton from the University of Pennsylvania to discuss the Court’s upcoming cases in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond. Both cases may be landmark decisions. Catholic Charities examines whether the government can define the type of “religious behavior” sufficient to make an organization tax-exempt. Catholic Charities performed charity work in northern Wisconsin. Consistent with Catholic teaching, those charities did not proselytize. They focused solely on providing charity for those in need. But when Catholic Charities sought tax-exempt status from the state, Wisconsin rejected the request. State tax law exempted those “[i]n the employ of an organization operated primarily for religious purposes.” In denying Catholic Charities’ request, the state Supreme Court held that because Catholic Charities did […]

By : Markus McDowell