Agency updates religious discrimination for first time in over a decade The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated the section of its Compliance Manual on religious discrimination in the workplace. The updated section on religious discrimination was published in January 2021 after a short review period and a 3-2…
Archdiocese of Chicago to court: Let parishes choose their staff
Washington D.C., Feb 10, 2021 / 04:00 am MT ( CNA ).- Attorneys for the Archdiocese of Chicago argued before the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday that parishes should be free to choose church leaders without government interference. In the case of Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish , the…
Chula Vista Church Wins Right To Worship Indoors Amid Pandemic
Above: South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista, May 20, 2020. A Chula Vista church was celebrating a legal victory Saturday after the U.S. Supreme Court granted a partial injunction against California’s prohibition against indoor worship services to help limit the spread of coronavirus. On a 6-3 vote late…
U.S. Supreme Court lifts California’s ban on indoor church services, keeps 25% capacity limit
A Peroni float rides by St.Peter and Paul Church during the Italian Heritage parade, in San Francisco, California, on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. But by a 6-3 vote , the court ordered California to lift the prohibition on indoor worship that Newsom imposed on nearly all counties in the state.…
Chula Vista Church To Resume Indoor Worship Amid Pandemic
A Chula Vista church announced plans to resume indoor worship Sunday after winning a legal victory from the U.S. Supreme Court. On a 6-3 vote late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court cited the Constitution’s protection of the free exercise of religion. (Renee Schiavone/Patch) SAN DIEGO, CA — A Chula Vista…
Judge dismisses Virginia church’s lawsuit against governor over COVID-19 restrictions
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam speaks during an unveiling ceremony for Rumors of War, a statue by artist Kehinde Wiley, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on December 10, 2019, in Richmond, Virginia. A judge has dismissed a lawsuit leveled by a church against Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam over previous…
Experts say decision on Rice Memorial High School student’s lawsuit shows federal courts’ favor of religious rights
Rice Memorial High School is seen at night. A recent federal appeals court decision regarding a case in Vermont shows the United States Supreme Court is shifting the goalposts of what the Constitution originally deemed precedent, law experts say. Former President Donald Trump appointed a record number of federal judges…
Courts still issuing pandemic rulings on abortion, religious liberty
In this May 3, 2020, file photo, the setting sun shines on the Supreme Court building in Washington. As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide, the Supreme Court late Wednesday, Nov. 25, temporarily barred New York from enforcing certain attendance limits at houses of worship in areas designated as hard hit…
Judge rejects Tony Spell’s request to quash criminal charges for defying COVID restrictions
Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A judge in Louisiana has rejected a motion filed by controversial Pastor Tony Spell to quash six misdemeanor charges filed against him for holding church services in violation of the state’s pandemic restrictions. Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose of Louisiana’s 19th…
Judge lets criminal counts stand against Central pastor Tony Spell; rejects 1st Amendment challenge
Controversial Life Tabernacle Church pastor Tony Spell talks Wednesday, May 13, 2020, just outside the front door of his residence behind the church. Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose rejected Central pastor Tony Spell’s attempt to throw out on 1st Amendment grounds Monday criminal charges that he violated Gov. John Bel Edwards’ emergency…
small business
Washington D.C., Jan 21, 2021 / 02:34 pm ( CNA ).- A proposal made on the last day of the Trump administration would make religious businesses eligible to receive loans from the Small Business Administration, removing previous restrictions. The U.S. Small Business Administration published a proposal Jan 19. that would…
small businesses
Washington D.C., Jan 21, 2021 / 02:34 pm ( CNA ).- A proposal made on the last day of the Trump administration would make religious businesses eligible to receive loans from the Small Business Administration, removing previous restrictions. The U.S. Small Business Administration published a proposal Jan 19. that would…
Madhya Pradesh Governor Promulgates The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2020
Anandiben Patel The Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Anandiben Patel has promulgated The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2020. The ordinance has been published in the gazette notification (dated 09th January 2021). It may be noted that the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet on 26 th December gave its nod to the…
Judge grants church’s plea to bolster COVID lawsuit, notes changing mood of courts
Pastor Rob McCoy and the Newbury Park church he leads will be allowed to bolster their lawsuit filed against the county over coronavirus restrictions, a Ventura County judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh said the courts freely allow parties in litigation to amend their lawsuits and that the…
Judge grants church’s plea to bolster COVID lawsuit, notes changing mood of courts
Pastor Rob McCoy and the Newbury Park church he leads will be allowed to bolster their lawsuit filed against the county over coronavirus restrictions, a Ventura County judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh said the courts freely allow parties in litigation to amend their lawsuits and that the…
‘Love Jihad’ Laws : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Pleas Challenging UP, Uttarakhand Laws Against Religious Conversion For Marriage
Love Jihad Laws : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Pleas Challenging UP, Uttarakhand Laws Against Religious Conversion For Marriage "The challenge is already pending in High Courts. Why don’t you go there? We are not saying you have a bad case. But you must approach the High Courts in the…
Judge grants church’s plea to bolster COVID lawsuit, notes changing mood of courts
Pastor Rob McCoy and the Newbury Park church he leads will be allowed to bolster their lawsuit filed against the county over coronavirus restrictions, a Ventura County judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Henry Walsh said the courts freely allow parties in litigation to amend their lawsuits and that the…
Love Jihad Row: SC Refuses to Stay UP, Uttarakhand Laws Against Inter-faith Marriages, Issues Notice to States
(Video by News 18 ) The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to put a stay on the controversial new laws enacted by Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand regulating religious conversions due to inter-faith marriages. Hearing pleas against the love jihad law, the Supreme Court, however, issued notices to the two state…
Illinois can’t force kids ministry to pay unemployment taxes, court rules
A Christian afterschool ministry tied to The Moody Church in Chicago is sufficiently religious enough to qualify for an exemption from having to pay into a state insurance program, an appeals court ruled last week. A three-judge panel of the Appellate Court of Illinois on Wednesday upheld a lower court…
Appeals Court Rules for Religious Schools in Latest Challenge to Pandemic Restrictions
A federal appeals court has granted an injunction to nine religious schools in Ohio that blocks application to them of a recent county order shutting down public and private schools amid a COVID-19 surge. A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati,…
A Deeper Look at the Law: Federal Courts Reconsider Previous Rulings On Attendance At Houses Of Worship Based On SCOTUS Decision
The United States Supreme Court, in two cases it ruled on together, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo and Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo, last month issued an order temporarily barring Governor Cuomo from enforcing strict restrictions on the number of people allowed at houses of worship. In…
Should Employment Matters with Religious Connotations be Dealt with in Court or by Mediations?
This article focuses on a specialized class of employment law and human rights issues where there an overlap exists between matters of creed or religion and the legal relationship. In heterogeneous societies, people will disagree, sometimes passionately and fundamentally, over socio-politics, economics, spirituality and other beliefs and conduct. Our societal…
Americana Corner: The Bill of Rights: The 1st Amendment, religion
The First Amendment: 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. This amendment…
‘Love jihad’: UP’s law has many defects, cannot be sustained, says ex-SC judge Madan Lokur
Justice Madan B Lokur | HT Photo Former Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur on Tuesday criticised Uttar Pradesh’s new anti-conversion law, suggesting that it has many defects, PTI reported. Lokur said that a judge does not need to get into politics, but has to check the constitutional validity of a…
On the Supreme Court’s shadow docket, the steady volume of pandemic cases continues
As the Supreme Court winds down for the holiday break, one thing that has not slowed is the flow of litigation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In November and December, the court handled seven emergency requests for relief related to COVID-19, six involving challenges by religious institutions to state crowd-restriction…