The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Burtonsville landowners who claim Montgomery County illegally enforced a zoning requirement that prevented a Christian group from building a church on their land. Without comment, the justices let stand a lower court ruling that the county did not…
Vermont to Reimburse Families For Tuition To Private Religious Schools
Unsplash photo by Element5 Digital. Vermont will now apply its tuition benefit program to families who choose to send their children to religious schools. In 1869, Vermont established its Town Tuition Program to provide vouchers to families so they could attend the school of their choice when living in a…
Montgomery County urges justices to deny religious burden claim
Montgomery County validly enforced a zoning requirement that two Burtonsville landowners claim prevented a Christian group from building a church on their land, the county stated Monday in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny the owners’ request that it hear their appeal. Burtonsville Associates and Burtonsville Crossing LLC allege…
We tracked religious freedom in states. Bright-red Texas didn’t rank as high as you’d think
Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters. A federal judge in Texas has ruled that a group of Christian business owners and employees need not pay for a medication prescribed to prevent HIV infection…
Shuttered cannabis church takes fight to reopen to California Supreme Court
Cannabis plants. Photo by Crystalweed Cannabis/Unsplash/Creative Commons (RNS) — A cannabis church in Southern California — which was shut down by the county of San Bernardino over accusations it was illegally functioning as a dispensary — is taking its fight to reopen to the state Supreme Court, arguing that it…
Old Firm: The match verdict on philosophical belief
Some say football is a religion, but does fervent support for Rangers FC amount to “philosophical belief”? Durham University final year student Beatrice Hale looks into an unusual employment tribunal case Rangers FC — image via Wiki Commons/Archibald99 The Employment Tribunal in Glasgow recently handed down its judgment in the…
S.C. religious school funding unconstitutional, charges new FFRF lawsuit
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is filing a major lawsuit today against South Carolina officials on behalf of four Palmetto State citizens challenging the unconstitutional funding of a private religious school. “An upstate Christian organization that’s raising money to build a $14 million residential school for disadvantaged and at-risk youth…
Citing state’s RFRA and Free Speech principles, federal court sides with wedding photographer in dispute over same-sex wedding objection
Kentucky wedding photography A federal judge in Kentucky enjoined enforcement of Louisville’s nondiscrimination law (the “Fairness Ordinance”), which bars businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, against a wedding photographer who objects to same-sex marriage on religious grounds. The city, the court ruled, “cannot compel [plaintiff Chelsey] Nelson…
Yeshiva University asks Supreme Court to block forced recognition of LGBTQ club
The school says that officially recognizing the club goes against its religious beliefs and violates its First Amendment rights. WASHINGTON (CN) — An Orthodox Jewish university asked the Supreme Court on Monday to block a ruling that would force it to officially recognize an LGBTQ club on campus. Yeshiva University…
Religion in the public square
Notre Dame Law School via AP In the image from video provided by Notre Dame Law School, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Altio speaks at the Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Summit in Rome, on July 21, 2022. Conservative defenders of religious liberty are pushing a new version of an…
Colorado tells SCOTUS its anti-discrimination law does not ‘prohibit or compel’ a business’s speech
Christian business owner continues to challenge law to deny websites to same-sex couples FILE – In this Sept. 1, 2021 file photo Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser talks about a grand jury investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was put in a chokehold by police…
SCOTUS rulings due on abortion, religion, guns and border
This photo shows the U.S. Supreme Court Building, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 in Washington. A draft opinion circulated among Supreme Court justices suggests that a majority of high court has thrown support behind overturning the 1973 case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a report published Monday…
When it comes to religion and work, company policy a factor
The Law at Work The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard argument on the case of a public high school football coach who lost his job for refusing to discontinue his practice of silently praying with willing members of his team and others on the 50-yard line after games, win or…
Sikhs sue US Marines over beard, turban restrictions on religious liberty grounds
Captain Sukhbir Toor, who with three other Sikhs sued the U.S. Marine Corps April 11, 2022. | Sikh Coalition A group of four Sikh men are seeking a religious exemption from the Marine Corps allowing them to keep the beards and turbans that they say are essential to the practice…
Taking Away Foster Parenting License Based on Religious Views About Homosexuality May Violate First Amendment
From Lasche v. N.J. , decided yesterday by the Third Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Peter Phipps, joined by Judges Thomas Hardiman and Robert Cowen: Two foster parents with religious views against same-sex marriage and homosexual conduct had their foster child removed and their foster license suspended. The foster…
Tom Waddell: Supreme Court could put Maine in a bind over school funding
Three families are suing Maine to require the state to pay tuition to the religious school of their choice. These families and the First Liberty Institute, the Christian Nationalist quasi-law firm defending them, believe freedom of religion includes forcing the state to finance religious education. However, freedom of religion also…
Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From Pentagon Vaccine Mandate
COMMENTARY BY Mineman 3rd Class Daniel Kern stands topside rover watch on the flight deck aboard the USS Charleston during a visit to Apra Harbor, Guam, on December 16, 2021. Key Takeaways While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a…
Federal Judge Dismisses Case of Christian Photographer Who Refuses to Take Pictures of Same-Sex Weddings
Emilee Carpenter is seen in a Fox News Channel screengrab. An Upstate New York wedding photographer has lost her bid to refuse service to same-sex couples after a federal judge dismissed with prejudice her lawsuit against the state. Emilee Carpenter , a photographer and blogger based in the Southern Tier,…
The Supreme Court Is Dead-Set on Recasting Religious Neutrality as Religious Discrimination
The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a case that’s going to put the Catholic-heavy roster of justices under a spotlight the size of one of those that they used to roll in for the opening of a new used-car lot. At issue was Carson v. Makin, a case out of…
Landmark Religious Freedom Case in Maine Reaches Supreme Court
Photo by Joel Muniz via Unsplash Landmark Religious Freedom Case in Maine Reaches Supreme Court By Movieguide® Staff The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear arguments against a Maine law that bars parents from using state student-aid programs if their children attend faith-based schools. Carson v. Makin will take…
Court temporarily blocks San Diego schools’ vaccine mandate after suit filed by 16-year-old
Photo by Ed Us/Unsplash/Creative Commons (RNS) — The Ninth District Court of Appeals on Sunday (Nov. 28) temporarily blocked San Diego Unified School District’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate from taking effect, one day before students were required to have their first dose. This move comes after a 16-year-old high school student…
We are experiencing ‘the greatest assault on religious freedom’
My Faith Votes recently sat down with Brad Dacus to discuss his views on the troubles we currently face in America. Brad is the Founder and President of the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), a legal defense organization providing representation in matters involving the exercise of religion and other civil liberties.…
Fittingly, liberals see Satanic Temple as ‘last, best hope to save abortion rights in Texas’
Texas’ recent bill banning most abortions after six weeks may be upended by perhaps the most unexpected group of all, religious zealots who worship Satan. The Satanic Temple has established a “religious abortion ritual” that they claim will be trampled on given the Texas law enacted in May that bans…
Christ and Common Sense: Standing firm in the face of opposition
Earlier this year I wrote an article arguing that the local church is essential. No matter what the government says, God’s word makes it clear that believers are called to continue gathering together for fellowship (Hebrews 10:24-25). The government can tell Christians to stop stepping over the entrance of the…
Tom Waddell: Subsidizing religion costs US taxpayers
Churches want to turn American democracy upside down by advocating for representation without taxation. To meet the requirements of tax-exempt nonprofits, churches and secular 501(c)(3) charitable organizations “may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate at all in campaign activity…