Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. (THE CONVERSATION) The Supreme Court’s current term is winding down , but there are still several cases to be decided – and, as with most terms, a controversy over church-state matters…
How the Supreme Court found its faith and put ‘religious liberty’ on a winning streak
Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh have bolstered the conservative wing of the Supreme Court. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst-Pool/Getty Images) (The Conversation) — The Supreme Court’s current term is winding down , but there are still several cases to be decided – and, as with most terms,…
The Legal Oppression Of Nonbelievers Will Escalate The More Religion Declines
I should not have to care whether my religious beliefs conflict with the majority of those in any branch of our government. The Constitution — as enumerated in Article VI Section 3 and the First Amendment — is supposed to guarantee that government should not care that for the first…
How SCOTUS is selectively ‘restoring’ religious liberty
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen at sunset in Washington on Oct. 4, 2018. The Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t enforce coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings. The order from the court late Friday, April 9, 2021, is the…
Religious Liberty Law Firm Praises SCOTUS ‘Shadow Docket’ in Bid to Take Down California’s COVID Restrictions
Gov. Newsom A religious liberty public interest law firm heaped praise on the Supreme Court’s controversial use of the “ shadow docket ” in a Wednesday amicus brief. The brief asks the justices to grant emergency relief by stopping the state of California from enforcing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) COVID-19…
Supreme Court rules against California’s Covid-19 restrictions on grounds of religious liberty
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen from the Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Thursday, February 4, 2021. The Supreme Court blocked California’s Covid-19 restrictions on religious gatherings in private homes in a late-night order on Friday, saying that the law infringes on constitutionally-protected religious rights in a 5-4 vote. The…
EEOC Issues New Guidance on Religious Discrimination and Accommodation of Religious Beliefs
Whenever there is a change in federal administrations, employers must be aware of how various employment laws, rules and regulations will ​change. One hot topic in employment law, which has seen significant change in recent years, is religious discrimination and accommodation of religious beliefs in the workplace. This issue is…
UK court upholds Franklin Graham in Blackpool bus advertising case
Christian News The BGEA put adverts for the festival on local public buses. (Blackpool) Manchester County Court Judge Claire Evans ruled in favour of Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in the Lancashire Festival of Hope advertising campaign case. In 2018, the English city of Blackpool hosted…
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeals on Workplace Religious Bias
Sponsored by Carrier Management The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a chance to further expand religious rights, turning away two cases in which employees accused companies of violating federal anti-discrimination law by insufficiently accommodating requests for time off to meet religious obligations. The justices declined to hear appeals by…
U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs claims of workplace religious bias
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a chance to further expand religious rights, turning away two cases in which employees accused companies of violating federal anti-discrimination law by insufficiently accommodating requests for time off to meet religious obligations. FILE PHOTO: The Supreme Court is seen in Washington,…
U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs claims of workplace religious bias
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a chance to further expand religious rights, turning away two cases in which employees accused companies of violating federal anti-discrimination law by insufficiently accommodating requests for time off to meet religious obligations. FILE PHOTO: The Supreme Court is seen in Washington,…
U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs claims of workplace religious bias
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a chance to further expand religious rights, turning away two cases in which employees accused companies of violating federal anti-discrimination law by insufficiently accommodating requests for time off to meet religious obligations. FILE PHOTO: The Supreme Court is seen in Washington,…
Supreme Court Rebuffs Claims of Workplace Religious Bias
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a chance to further expand religious rights, turning away two cases in which employees accused companies of violating federal anti-discrimination law by insufficiently accommodating requests for time off to meet religious obligations. The justices declined to hear appeals by two men of different…
The Modern Free Exercise Doctrine Is Inconsistent And Dishonest
This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Jim Oleske , a Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark. Professor Oleske is an expert on the First Amendment’s free exercise clause. A couple years ago, he wrote a prescient law view article that has made him something of…
Satanic Temple lawyers try legal tactics from Christians
Across the country, the Satanic Temple, an IRS-recognized atheist church with some 300,000 devotees, is waging a legal battle it says is for religious liberty, using tactics that have proved effective for Christian groups. The church, which preaches both empathy and the "freedom to offend," has filed at least seven…
Defamation claims against churches and American Samoa’s Deeds of Cession
This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, when religious groups are subject to state-law tort claims and whether a federal agency that enacted a new fishing regulation should have taken into account a pair of early 20th century agreements that preserved…
Satanic Temple lawyers try legal tactics from Christians
Across the country, the Satanic Temple, an IRS-recognized atheist church with some 300,000 devotees, is waging a legal battle it says is for religious liberty, using tactics that have proved effective for Christian groups. The church, which preaches both empathy and the "freedom to offend," has filed at least seven…
ERLC, others urge court to correct school-choice ruling
In this Nov. 2, 2020, file photo the Supreme Court is seen at sundown in Washington. President Joe Biden has two seats to fill on the influential appeals court in the nation’s capital that regularly feeds judges to the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) WASHINGTON (BP) – The…
Covid blanket ban on church worship in Scotland ruled unlawful
The prohibition on worship has been overturned by Lord Braid in the Court of Session after a challenge was brought by a coalition of 28 faith leaders. Lord Braid said the regulations went further than the government was lawfully able to do, but this did not mean churches should “reopen…
Satanic Temple lawyers try legal tactics from Christians
Across the country, the Satanic Temple, an IRS-recognized atheist church with some 300,000 devotees, is waging a legal battle it says is for religious liberty, using tactics that have proved effective for Christian groups. The church, which preaches both empathy and the "freedom to offend," has filed at least seven…
COVID-19: B.C. Supreme Court upholds provincial ban on in-person religious services
WATCH: (March 1, 2021) A group of B.C. churches are challenging the B.C. Public Health Order prohibiting public gatherings, claiming those rules infringe on their Charter rights. Ted Chernecki reports – Mar 1, 2021 The B.C. Supreme Court has dismissed a legal challenge to the province’s restrictions on in-person religious…
Canadian pastor arrested for violating COVID-19 worship restrictions to be released from jail
Canadian Pastor James Coates with his family in this undated photo. A pastor in Canada who was arrested for refusing to adhere to COVID-19 worship restrictions will be released from jail after prosecutors dropped all but one of the charges against him. Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton,…
Alberta pastor jailed for holding services during COVID, expected to be released in days, lawyers say
Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church near Edmonton. Photo by Screenshot Article content EDMONTON — An Alberta pastor, who has spent weeks in jail after holding church services in violation of public health rules, is expected to be released in the coming days, his lawyers say. James Coates is expected…
SCOTUS 8-1: Student Has Standing in First Amendment Case Against College
In Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski , 592 U.S. ___ (2021), the United States Supreme Court held that plaintiffs asserting constitutional rights have standing to sue for past injuries, even if they only seek nominal damages. The decision is significant for public entities, but especially public schools, colleges and universities. In Uzuegbunam…
Virginia Becomes Second State To Adopt Comprehensive Privacy Law
[co-author: Gabriella Manduca] On March 2, 2021, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA), making Virginia the second state after California to enact comprehensive privacy legislation. The CDPA will become effective on January 1, 2023, the same day the California Privacy Rights Act…