Amanda Harmon Cooley (South Texas College of Law Houston) has posted Quiet Encroachments on School Prayer Jurisprudence on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Over the last decade, there have been multiple occurrences of religious indoctrination and teacher-led prayer in public schools, despite 75 years of consistent Supreme Court precedent that…
Stevens: When it comes to separation of church and state, it’s complicated
Solomon D. Stevens A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute of the Brookings Institution on the religious beliefs of Americans has highlighted once again our deep disagreements about the relationship of religion and politics in America. Most people who call themselves liberals believe that our Constitution establishes a…
Deion Sanders at the center of religion controversy months before Colorado starts 2023 season
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has yet to officially appear on the sidelines for the Buffaloes after taking the job in December, but he’s already at the center of controversy over his religion. Sanders was known for expressing his strong belief in God when it came to his coaching style…
New Oklahoma Legal Opinion Leaves Vote on Catholic Charter School in Limbo
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he “100%” supports the state approving a Catholic virtual charter school and disagrees with the attorney general, who says it would violate state law. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) Oklahoma was poised next month to be the first state to allow a religious charter…
FFRF continues to keep religion out of schools in Chino Valley
The Freedom From Religion Foundation commends the Chino Valley school district in California for acknowledging a recent First Amendment violation by a board member — and working to correct it. Two concerned Chino Valley USD employees reported to FFRF that school board member James Na distributed Christmas cards with a…
Former Chelan County deputy alleges religious discrimination forced him to resign
SPOKANE — A one-time deputy in the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office is suing his former employer in federal court, alleging that he was harassed and discriminated because he no longer attended the same church as several top officers. Aaron Shepard Former Chelan County Sheriff’s Office deputy Aaron Shepard alleges the…
Tom Waddell: Lovers of religious freedom fight back
Freedom-loving liberals are pushing back against the Christian nationalist’s stranglehold on our judicial system. Since the Supreme Court made it clear the basis for their edicts on religious questions is their personal beliefs, protecting the nation from the Supreme Court has become essential to defending democracy. Recent Supreme Court edicts…
Israel: A Jewish democracy or religious state? – opinion
The Israeli government should strike a balance between the demands made by the ultra-Orthodox sectors and the needs of Israeli citizens in general. BNEI BRAK: The combination of ultra-Orthodox large families who are unemployed, lack a regular income and the basic education required for knowledge and occupation, has led to…
Case Weighs Religious Accommodation for Sunday Sabbath
The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted a case that will shed light on what types of religious accommodations would be considered an excessive burden on employers. The court will hear the case during this term, but a date for oral arguments hasn’t been set yet. Background Under federal law, employers…
Colorado Courts Still Don’t Understand Religious Freedom
COMMENTARY BY Baker Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, manages his shop in Lakewood, Colo. August 15, 2018. Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post / Getty Images Key Takeaways The Colorado Court of Appeals decided that Jack Phillips violated state law by declining to create a custom cake to celebrate…
Title VII Protects Requests for Religious Exemption From Vaccines
Siri & Glimstad’s Allison Lucas and Aaron Siri analyze the role Title VII should play when employers review requests for religious exemption from vaccine boosters. They say employees who demonstrate sincerely held religious beliefs are entitled to accommodation. Employers that mandate a Covid-19 vaccine booster may be hasty to deny…
U.S. Supreme Court to hear religious bias claim against Postal Service
The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo Jan 13 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal by an evangelical Christian former mail carrier in Pennsylvania who accused the U.S. Postal Service of religious bias after…
State appeals court rules against Masterpiece Cakeshop in yet another Colorado anti-discrimination case
masterpiece cakeshop antidiscrimination act Colorado’s Masterpiece Cakeshop and its owner, Jack Phillips, continue to be the subject of litigation over whether the First Amendment protects their right to refuse certain custom cake requests by LGBTQ customers even though the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) bars such discrimination. Last week, a Colorado…
Gateway school district sued; group asks judge to stop board from hiring superintendent
A citizens committee has filed a lawsuit in Shasta County Superior Court against the Gateway Unified School, asking a judge to force the district’s board of trustees to follow its own policies in hiring a new superintendent. The board voted Jan. 18 to bypass the procedure, known as board policy…
SCOTUS Will Decide Whether Federal Law Shields a Religious Postal Employee Who Refuses To Work on Sundays
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination "because of…religion." The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a case that asks whether that law requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to accommodate a religious postal employee who refuses to work on Sundays. The case is…
FFRF demands Calif. school district board end prayer at meetings
Immediately cease the practice of prayer to open school board meetings, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Gateway Unified School District Board of Trustees. On Jan. 18, the board made a motion to open meetings with prayer, which passed after a 3-2 vote. The national state/church watchdog, however,…
Colorado baker loses appeal over his refusal to make a cake for trans woman
Colorado baker Jack Phillips refused to make a cake to celebrate a customer’s gender transition. DENVER — The Colorado baker who won a partial Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight,…
State appeals court rules against Masterpiece Cakeshop in yet another Colorado anti-discrimination case
masterpiece cakeshop antidiscrimination act Colorado’s Masterpiece Cakeshop and its owner, Jack Phillips, continue to be the subject of litigation over whether the First Amendment protects their right to refuse certain custom cake requests by LGBTQ customers even though the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) bars such discrimination. Last week, a Colorado…
Supreme Court grants review in case on employees’ religious rights
New poll finds overturning Roe won’t have significant impact on midterms. In what is certain to be another high-profile addition to its docket this term, the Supreme Court has granted review in Groff v. DeJoy — a case in which the religious rights of employees will take center stage. The…
FFRF demands Calif. school district board end prayer at meetings
Immediately cease the practice of prayer to open school board meetings, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is urging the Gateway Unified School District Board of Trustees. On Jan. 18, the board made a motion to open meetings with prayer, which passed after a 3-2 vote. The national state/church watchdog, however,…
Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake
The Colorado baker who won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight, involving his rejection of a request for a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition. The Colorado…
Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake – Associated Press
The Colorado baker who won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight, involving his rejection of a request for a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition. The Colorado…
BREAKING! FFRF wins its lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
The Freedom From Religion Foundation today won its case before an appeals court against the Texas governor’s censorship of its Capitol display. After Gov. Greg Abbott and the State Preservation Board blatantly and illegally censored FFRF’s display in the Texas Capitol in 2015, Abbott and the board have fought every…
Colorado baker loses appeal over transgender birthday cake
The Colorado baker who won a partial U.S. Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight, involving his rejection of a request for a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition. The Colorado…
Colorado baker loses appeal over his refusal to make a cake for trans woman
The Colorado baker who won a partial Supreme Court victory after refusing to make a gay couple’s wedding cake because of his Christian faith lost an appeal Thursday in his latest legal fight, which involved his rejection of a request for a birthday cake celebrating a gender transition. The Colorado…