News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
July 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday took up a challenge by two families with children attending Christian schools to a Maine tuition assistance program that bars taxpayer money from being used to pay for religious educational institutions in a case that could further narrow the separation…
The Maine Chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation is appalled by the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fulton v. Philadelphia that grants religious privilege to Catholic Social Services at the expense of the LGBTQ community. Philadelphia did not renew its contract with CSS because it violated the city’s anti-discrimination…
The District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser have agreed to pay $220,000 as part of a legal settlement with a local Baptist church that sued the city over in-person worship restrictions during the pandemic. Last September, Capitol Hill Baptist Church sued the district over the government’s ban on outdoor…
Can Barronelle Stutzman, a Christian, run her flower shop in keeping with her faith? The Supreme Court — with determinative votes cast by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh — has effectively decided she cannot. “My faith is a part of every aspect of…
Concurrences and dissents leave clues on where a decision might fall if the Wisconsin Supreme Court was deciding the merits of the case. July 7, 2021 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to clarify what information can be used to determine…
Can Barronelle Stutzman , a Christian, run her flower shop in keeping with her faith? The Supreme Cour t—with determinative votes cast by Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Amy Coney Barrett , and Justice Brett Kavanaugh —has effectively decided she cannot. “My faith is a part of every aspect of…
Whether a Loudoun Circuit Court judge was correct in ordering the reinstatement of a Leesburg Elementary School physical education teacher is now before the state Supreme Court. The school division has appealed Judge James Plowman’s decision to reinstate Tanner Cross to his teaching position after Cross was placed on administrative…
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a challenge to a Maine law that bars students from using public funding for tuition at religious schools. Local school administrative units that do not have their own secondary schools can pay a certain amount in tuition for students to attend outside public…
The U.S. Supreme Court ‘s decision Friday not to hear floral artist Barronelle Stutzman’s case leaves freedom of religion and expression in an uncertain state. But one thing is perfectly clear: activists and their powerful legal and corporate allies were ready and able to take down a humble Christian grandmother…
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is among three justices who turned their backs on a Christian flower shop owner. (Photo by GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Can Barronelle Stutzman, a Christian, run her flower shop in keeping with her faith? The Supreme Court — with determinative votes cast by…
In April 23, 2021, photo, Supreme Court members pose for a group photo. Seated from left: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Standing from left: Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett. WASHINGTON – If there were any doubts that the U.S. Supreme…
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether Maine may exclude religious schools that offer sectarian education from a state tuition program. The case, Carson v. Makin, No. 20-1088, is broadly similar to one from Montana decided by the court last year. In that case, the court…
Barronelle Stutzman, surrounded by supporters, speaks with the media after appearing for the Washington Supreme Court at Bellevue College on Nov. 15, 2016. | Screenshot: Facebook/Alliance Defending Freedom The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Christian florist from Washington state fined refusing to make a floral arrangement…
The Supreme Court on Friday turned down a petition from a Christian florist who refused to create flower arrangements for a same-sex couple, refusing for now to take another case asking when anti-discrimination laws must give way to religious convictions. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M.…
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would not hear an appeal from a florist in Washington State who said she had a constitutional right to refuse to create a floral arrangement for a same-sex wedding. The move left open a question the court last considered in…
The major U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Fulton v. Philadelphia ( .pdf here ) allows a Catholic agency to avoid placing foster-care children with same-sex couples. Importantly, the Catholics will place gay children and will place children with gay singles since there’s no conscience crisis over defying the church’s doctrines…
The Supreme Court The narrow U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia contributes further to the perceived legal entitlement of faith-based organizations to discriminate while utilizing taxpayer’s money, argues Sruti Swaminathan, staff attorney for Lambda Legal. She contends the recent string of SCOTUS religious liberty holdings shows…
David and Amy Carson of Maine, pictured here with their daughter, Olivia, are challenging a 41-year-old policy that that limits to secular schools a state program offering financial assistance to families seeking education choice for their children. David and Amy Carson both graduated from Bangor Christian School s, housed in…
A new historical marker unveiled June 23, 2021, at Tunnels Park in Gallitzin commemorates an 1893 court case that gave Catholic nuns the right to wear religious clothing while teaching in public schools. Sister Mary Parks addresses the crowd at dedication ceremonies for new historical marker unveiled June 23, 2021,…
Americans need to live and let live. Let the LGBTQ activists practice their preferences, and let Christians live the Gospel. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that a Catholic Social Services adoption agency in Philadelphia could continue to place children only with heterosexual couples, consistent with the Gospel’s…
Americans need to live and let live. Let the LGBTQ activists practice their preferences, and let Christians live the Gospel. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that a Catholic Social Services adoption agency in Philadelphia could continue to place children only with heterosexual couples, consistent with the Gospel’s…
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. In 2018, the city of Philadelphia barred Catholic Social Services (CSS) from placing foster children, as it had been doing for over 200 years, unless it changed its policy on same-sex households. Rather than compromise…
The Supreme Court this week took one small step for religious freedom. Unfortunately, it failed to take the giant leap needed to fully protect religious practice. In Fulton v. City of Philadelphia , the court considered the plight of the Catholic church, which has served Philadelphia’s needy children in various…
This article is part of a symposium on the court’s decision in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia . Thomas C. Berg is the James L. Oberstar professor of law and public policy at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota). Douglas Laycock is the Robert E. Scott distinguished professor of law…
The 2015 Supreme Court decision extending the right to marry to same-sex adult couples contained a ticking time bomb. Six years later, the noise is getting loud. The explosive material has to do with religious freedom. While polls clearly show that a growing majority of Americans support marriage equality, a…