The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Washington. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for private education, a decision that could ease religious organizations’ access to taxpayer money. The 6-3 outcome could…
Court: Maine religious schools to get tuition aid
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, June 21 that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for private education. (Photo by kallerna, cc-by-sa-4.0, https://bit.ly/39ykpqc) WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for…
Personhood and the great American rift
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Blight recently warned that “with very different circumstances it may indeed be the mid or late 1850s again.” What could possibly justify such a grim comparison to the division and simmering, intermittent violence that culminated in America’s bloody Civil War? Then it hit me: personhood .…
Carson v. Makin is a victory for freedom
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court decided Carson v. Makin. In its compelling decision , the court struck another significant blow for equal government treatment of religion. The case concerned a Maine program that provides education to students in (mostly rural) areas that don’t have secondary schools. Among the educational options,…
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…
Religious Freedom and School Choice Advocates Celebrate ‘Momentous Victory’ in Carson v. Makin Ruling
Members of the U.S. Supreme Court, 2021-22. (Getty Images) (CNS News) — In response to the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling that Maine’s tuition assistance program cannot exclude schools on the basis of religious affiliation, Maureen Ferguson, a senior fellow at The Catholic Association , said, “Today’s decision is a momentous…
Why Eisenhower Added ‘Under God’ to the Pledge of Allegiance During the Cold War
On June 14, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill to insert the phrase “under God” into the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance that children recited every morning in school. Previously, the pledge—originally written in 1892—had contained no reference to religion. The push to add “under God” to the pledge gained…
High court rules religious schools must get Maine tuition aid
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition aid for private education, a decision that could ease religious organizations’ access to taxpayer money. The…
Maine restrictions on religious school funding overturned by Supreme Court, big decisions to come
Fencing blocks off the area around the U.S. Supreme Court, Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. Whatever the outcome,…
SCOTUS overturns Maine law barring religious schools from tuition aid
The Supreme Court struck down a Maine law that excluded religious schools from being eligible for a state tuition program. The Supreme Court overturned a Maine law Tuesday that blocks religious schools from receiving state tuition assistance allocated for private institutions, claiming it “penalizes the free exercise” of religion in…
Court strikes down Maine’s ban on using public funds at religious schools
The Supreme Court remains surrounded by a security barrier as the court nears the end of its term. (Katie Barlow) The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Maine violated the Constitution when it refused to make public funding available for students to attend schools that provide religious instruction. The opinion…
Court Addresses the Duty to Accommodate Employee’s Religion
Takeaway: An employer is generally advised to try to make an accommodation that would wholly eliminate the conflict between its requirement and an employee’s religious belief. If there are no reasonable means to do so, the employer should document why. If there are reasonable means to eliminate the conflict, but…
Court strikes down Maine law barring state funds for religious education
The U.S. Supreme Court building is shown on Capitol Hill. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo By Josh Gerstein 06/21/2022 11:15 AM EDT Updated: 06/21/2022 11:46 AM EDT The Supreme Court has broadened the rights of parents and students to use government subsidies to attend religious schools, striking down a Maine program…
Abortion rights should be considered a key plank of religious freedom | Opinion
Commentary If the Supreme Court, pictured here, decides to overturn Roe v. Wade, they could be violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment, the author argues. Photo by Phil Roeder/Getty Images. Our Constitution guarantees all of us the right to free exercise of our personal religious and moral beliefs,…
Kiffmeyer: First Amendment to the United States Constitution
Friends and neighbors, The United States Constitution spells out Americans’ fundamental rights in relation to their government. While this document may have been written nearly 235 years ago, it still stands as a unique, exceptional beacon of freedom and is used every day in our lives. This week, I will…
Cruz, Lee lead over 50 lawmakers urging Supreme Court to reaffirm religious liberty in artistic freedom case
New concerns for Supreme Court Justice safety after Wisconsin murder 00:00 00:0002:13GO LIVE Facebook Twitter Email Embed SpeedNormal Autoplay EXCLUSIVE: Over 50 Republicans in Congress are filing an amicus brief at the Supreme Court calling on the high court to reaffirm constitutionally protected free speech and religious liberty in a…
Foundation for Moral Law wins religious freedom victory in Louisiana
Holy Bible_Church The Foundation for Moral Law , an Alabama-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the defense of religious liberty, claimed victory in a Louisiana case involving Pastor Aaron Spell of Life Tabernacle in Central, Louisiana. Spell was cited for six misdemeanor violations of the Governor’s church closing order in 2020.…
BOBBY HARRISON: Another ‘trigger law’ to keep an eye on as Supreme Court deliberates: gay marriage
The 2007 law that would ban abortions in Mississippi if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade isn’t the only so-called “trigger law” language the state has. If the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns its 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriages, Mississippi has an existing law — even a provision in…
Harrison: Another Mississippi ‘trigger law’ to keep an eye on as Supreme Court deliberates: gay marriage
Below is a political analysis column by Bobby Harrison: The 2007 law that would ban abortions in Mississippi if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade isn’t the only so-called “trigger law” language the state has. If the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns its 2015 ruling legalizing gay marriages, Mississippi…
Besides abortion ruling, Supreme Court taking on many high-profile cases
With legal observers focused on a Supreme Court draft ruling showing the justices are poised to overturn Roe v. Wade , the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed abortion rights nationwide, the high court is also planning to issue decisions this term on several additional high-profile cases. Here’s a quick primer…
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…
Opinion Why the Supreme Court told Boston its ‘Christian’ flag ban won’t fly
The idea, the city said cheerily, was to “ foster diversity ,” “create an environment in the City where everyone feels included,” and promote harmony “among Boston’s many communities.” What could possibly go wrong? In today’s prickly America, enough to require the Supreme Court to referee the dispute. It did…
Justices Struggle to Replace Oft-Criticized Religion Lemon Test
Lemon test intended to determine when government violates First Amendment Test for determining preference one religion over another remains on the books Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has twice chided government entities in the span of a week for following an oft-criticized ruling intended to ferret out excessive entanglement with…
The Macro And Micro-Politics Of Religion On 2022 Philippine Election – Analysis
File photo of Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte with Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) leader Eduardo Manalo during the President’s visit at the INC Central Temple in Commonwealth, Quezon City on December 14, 2018. Photo Credit: Presidential Communications Operations Office, Wikipedia Commons People say that that there are two sides of…
Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Death Penalty Cases that Could Limit Access to Federal Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court has heard argument in two death penalty cases that present highly technical legal issues that could profoundly affect the extent to which prisoners convicted in state courts will have meaningful access to federal review of their cases. In two of the last cases to be argued…