Current AMAA cemetery on Brooke Road The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit alleging that Stafford County violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by enacting overly restrictive zoning regulations prohibiting an Islamic organization from developing a religious cemetery on land it had purchased for that purpose. “Honoring…
On religion: ‘Utah compromise’ on religious liberty, gay rights?
Mattingly_Terry_2006 (SHNS photo) No doubt about it: Someone will have to negotiate a ceasefire someday between the Sexual Revolution and traditional religious believers, said Justice Anthony Kennedy, just before he left the U.S. Supreme Court. America now recognizes that “gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts…
MATTINGLY: ‘Utah Compromise’ on religious liberty, gay rights?
No doubt about it: Someone will have to negotiate a ceasefire someday between the Sexual Revolution and traditional religious believers, said Justice Anthony Kennedy, just before he left the U.S. Supreme Court. America now recognizes that “gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior…
Religious liberty, gay rights still at odds with ruling
No doubt about it: Someone will have to negotiate a ceasefire someday between the sexual revolution and traditional religious believers, said Justice Anthony Kennedy just before he left the U.S. Supreme Court. America now recognizes that "gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior…
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Stafford County, Virginia, Over Blocking of Islamic Cemetery
The Justice Department today announced that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that Stafford County, Virginia, violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by enacting overly restrictive zoning regulations prohibiting an Islamic organization from developing a religious cemetery on land it had purchased for that purpose. That…
National Labor Relations Board Reverses Obama-Era Decision Regarding Standard for Asserting Jurisdiction Over Faculty Members at Religious Institutions
On June 10, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB or the Board) issued a decision that reversed a 2014 Board decision regarding the test for exercising jurisdiction over faculty members at religious institutions. In Bethany College , the Board held that the test for exercising such jurisdiction that…
NLRB Severely Limits Jurisdiction Over Religious Schools
On June 10, 2020, a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision limiting its own jurisdiction over the faculty of self-identified religious educational institutions. The Board’s decision in Bethany College is the latest in a long line of cases reviewing the threshold of when the Board…
USCCB, Other Catholic Groups Urge Court to Protect Faith-Based Foster Care
Sharonell Fulton, a foster parent in Philadelphia, is pictured with a young woman and children in a May 23, 2018 photo. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other Catholic entities have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Philadelphia’s faith-based foster care in a decision expected this June. The…
Symposium: LGBT rights and religious freedom—finding a better way
Alexander Dushku and Shawn Gunnarson are shareholders at Kirton McConkie, where they represent an array of religious institutions on various matters. They were counsel of record on amicus briefs on behalf of religious organizations and religious colleges and universities in support of the employers in Bostock v. Clayton County and…
Lawsuit Charges Illinois With Violating Religious-liberty Rights
A lawsuit filed last week by the Thomas Moore Society, a non-profit public interest law firm, charged that the state of Illinois is violating its own laws by requiring all insurance policies offered for sale in the state to pay for abortion services. There is no exemption allowed even by…
Nevada church renewing challenge of virus attendance cap
RENO — A rural Nevada church is trying to renew its unsuccessful bid to strike down the state’s cap on the size of religious gatherings, arguing failure to enforce social-distancing guidelines in voter lines during Tuesday’s primary election was further proof churches are being singled out in violation of the…
ADF International CEO Reflects on Religious Freedom in Europe Today
Executive Director Paul Coleman oversees the advocacy and operations of the global alliance-building legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom International. (ADF International) ‘We see more cases year on year, and this is, in part, because Christians are becoming more aware of what’s happening.’ One of the major challenges all governments face…
NLRB Declines Jurisdiction Over Faculty at Religious Educational Institutions
Roundtable Expert Witnesses Services for Litigators & Legal Professionals – Click her for more info. In a major decision for religious institutions of higher education, the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) recently ruled in Bethany College, 369 NLRB No. 98 (June 10, 2020) that it has no jurisdiction over…
The NLRB Rethinks Its Position on When It May Assert Jurisdiction Over Religious Schools in Labor Matters Involving Faculty Members
Roundtable Expert Witnesses Services for Litigators & Legal Professionals – Click her for more info. On June 10, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued Bethany College , 369 NLRB No. 98, in which it held that it does not have jurisdiction over matters concerning teachers or faculty…
Nevada church renewing challenge of virus attendance cap
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A rural Nevada church is trying to renew its unsuccessful bid to strike down the state’s cap on the size of religious gatherings, arguing failure to enforce social-distancing guidelines in voter lines during Tuesday’s primary election was further proof churches are being singled out in violation…
Governments can’t use COVID-19 as an excuse for arbitrary and unconstitutional policies
This week, Pacific Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit in Connecticut challenging unconstitutional policies enacted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Until today, PLF has not filed lawsuits challenging shutdown and other emergency orders. As the country has struggled to flatten the curve of infections, our primary strategy has been…
Satanist Loses Challenge to Missouri Abortion Consent Law
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ST. LOUIS (CN) — Missouri’s law requiring physicians to give women a pro-life booklet and perform an ultrasound before an abortion does not infringe on a Satanist’s religious freedom, the Eighth Circuit ruled Tuesday. Judy Doe, a member of the Satanic Temple, filed a lawsuit in February…
Satanist Loses Challenge to Missouri Abortion Consent Law
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) ST. LOUIS (CN) — Missouri’s law requiring physicians to give women a pro-life booklet and perform an ultrasound before an abortion does not infringe on a Satanist’s religious freedom, the Eighth Circuit ruled Tuesday. Judy Doe, a member of the Satanic Temple, filed a lawsuit in February…
Court mostly affirms NY law forcing pro-life orgs to accept pro-abortion employees
New Africa / Shutterstock.com PETITION: Demand Planned Parenthood return $80M improperly taken from coronavirus emergency fund! Sign the petition here. June 8, 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York has upheld most of a law allowing the Empire State to force…
GOVERNMENT Unclear message regarding religion
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” — the First Amendment to…
Did the Supreme Court Forget How It Curtailed Religious Freedom 30 Years Ago? | Opinion
In a seemingly inconsequential unanimous decision issued on May 7, the Supreme Court rapped the knuckles of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A pithy nine-page opinion authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg harshly condemned the appellate judges because they had abandoned the "principle of party presentation"…
Nevada defends church services cap; Lyon County sheriff won’t enforce
FILE – In this April 12, 2020, file photo, Norma Urrabazo prays while wearing a face mask before speaking at an Easter drive-in service at the International Church of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings…
Nevada defends cap on church services; sheriff won’t enforce
Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a legal battle with leaders of a rural church. (File: KRNV) RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a…
Delaware Governor to Back Off Religious Worship Restrictions
Gov. John Carney gives a briefing. Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that…
Nevada defends cap on church services
FILE – In this April 12, 2020, file photo, Norma Urrabazo prays while wearing a face mask before speaking at an Easter drive-in service at the International Church of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings…