Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District . The case is about Joseph Kennedy, a Christian high school football coach in Washington state who regularly prayed before games. Eventually a majority of the players joined in as well, and one player’s parent…
General Counsel’s Corner: Student Social Media and Free Speech on Campus
Free speech on campus—and off—has become a flashpoint for U.S. colleges and universities. Students’ ability to post their comments and concerns online, to forward messages to others for whom they may not have been intended, and to record the speech of faculty and staff or other students and post what…
Opinion: Praying coach case suggests conservative justices want to rewrite the law on religion and schools
Joe Kennedy, a former football coach in Washington state, says his First Amendment rights were violated. Jeffrey Toobin is chief legal analyst for CNN and the author of "The Nine" and "The Oath." The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN)By now, it’s…
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…
Class-action lawsuit filed against Akron Children’s Hospital over vaccine mandate firings
AKRON, Ohio — Former workers from Akron Children’s Hospital who were fired after refusing to comply with the hospital’s vaccine mandate are now taking their battle to federal court. The 66 workers are represented in a class-action lawsuit that argues they were denied religious accommodations and that the hospital violated…
Does the Supreme Court Truly Respect Free Exercise of Religion? | Opinion
It was a remarkable demonstration that the American legal system respects the religious rights of all—rich or poor, virtuous or wicked. By an 8-to-1 vote, the Supreme Court agreed in Ramirez v. Collier that a convicted murderer was legally entitled to have his pastor pray in the death chamber and…
WILL Appeals Religious Liberty Case to U.S. Supreme Court
The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court in St. Augustine v. Underly , urging the high court to review whether the Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction violated the First Amendment when it withheld transportation…
Organization calls for removal of Elizabethton crosses
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. ( WJHL ) — A Wisconsin-based organization wants the City of Elizabethton to take down the three iconic crosses on Lynn Mountain that overlook the city. The crosses have been there for decades. The Freedom From Religion Foundation says it wants the crosses removed because they are located…
Justice Alito Makes Statement in Discrimination Case of Bisexual Lawyer, Suggests Attorneys Can Be Religious ‘Messengers’
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Samuel Alito A Seattle-based Christian group that refused to hire a bisexual attorney was denied a Supreme Court hearing on Monday, though two justices on the high court’s right flank were clearly receptive to the religious organization’s position. In a six-page statement , Justice…
Alito and Thomas eye bigger carveout for churches to discriminate in hiring
WASHINGTON (CN) — A church accused of discriminating against a bisexual lawyer lost its bid for a Supreme Court hearing but still caught the attention of two conservative justices Monday. “To force religious organizations to hire messengers and other personnel who do not share their religious views would undermine not…
Judge: Same-sex marriage license denials by former Kentucky clerk violated constitutional rights
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has ruled that a former Kentucky clerk violated the constitutional rights of two same-sex couples who were among those to whom she wouldn’t issue marriage licenses — a refusal that sparked international attention and briefly landed her in jail in 2015. U.S. District Judge…
Organization calls for removal of Elizabethton crosses
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Wisconsin-based organization wants the City of Elizabethton to take down the three iconic crosses on Lynn Mountain that overlook the city. The crosses have been there for decades. The Freedom From Religion Foundation says it wants the crosses removed because they are located on city…
Do Pastors Pay Income Tax In Australia?
A clergyman in Australia is required to pay superannuation withholdation for PAYG dues as soon as he or she reaches retirement age, beginning in July 2000. Those who work as religious practitioners who take PAYG, FBT, ABN and GST as their primary occupation are also considered employees. Payments for stipends…
How Much Is Religious Tax Exemption Worth In Australia?
Yes. Australian law treats religious entities as tax exempt. In addition to large and small denominations such as the Anglicans, Catholics and Seventh Day Angels, the Exclusive Bretherens are also included in this group. In the Charities Act 2013, this is expressly stated. Table of contents How Much Tax Does…
Discrimination or free speech? Supreme Court decides to weigh in
" Eliminating … ideas is CADA’s very purpose ." Those words from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals about Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act may be some of the most honest but chilling words ever uttered in a federal opinion. The court ruled that a state could not only compel an artist…
The Supreme Court will hear a big case about whether religion is a license to discriminate
Anti-abortion activists participate in the 49th annual March for Life as they march past the US Supreme Court on January 21 in Washington, DC. In the past few years, the Supreme Court danced around the question of whether religious conservatives have a constitutional right to violate anti-discrimination laws — and…
Diane Mufson: Religious revivals do not belong in public schools
Last week, Huntington High and three other area schools arranged assemblies during school time for an evangelical minister to present a religious program to recruit students. This was inappropriate and illegal and even more disturbing because it involved the coercion of students and the schools’ inability to respect their religious…
Columnist William Newman: Praying at the 50-yard line
In this Oct. 16, 2015 file photo, former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy, obscured at center, is surrounded by Centralia High School football players in Bremerton, Wash., after they took a knee with him and prayed following their game against Bremerton. Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun via AP…
Legal layer cake
serjopak/iStock image MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It : another do-over for Sweetcakes by Melissa. Last week, an appeals court in Oregon ordered the state to reconsider damages awarded in a discrimination case. It all arose nine years ago when two women sued…
Civilian-led peace-building: Both Catholic and Islamic communities through HWPL call for global peace law on annual peace day
Main speakers invited to “Law of Peace in Heaven and on Earth,” the 8th anniversary of the civilian-led peace agreement in Mindanao, Philippines, after 40 years of conflict between Catholic and Islam communities. Jan 24th was declared the HWPL Peace Day in 2014. National Leaders are urged to support a…
Supreme Court Appears Skeptical of Boston’s Refusal to Fly Christian Flag
City Hall in Boston. The city refused to fly the flag of Camp Constitution, a Christian organization, saying that it would amount to government endorsement of religion.Credit…Ted Shaffrey/Associated Press WASHINGTON — The City of Boston, which refused to let a private group raise a Christian flag in front of its…
Court denies Gresham baker, but orders new look at damages
PMG FILE PHOTO – Aaron and Melissa Klein behind a sign for their former bakery. The Portland Tribune is a KOIN 6 media partner PORTLAND, Ore. ( Portland Tribune ) — The Oregon Court of Appeals has added a twist in its latest decision in the long-running case of a…
Christian bakers who refused service for same-sex couple vow to appeal court’s split-decision
Colorado baker faces another lawsuit over LGBTQ wedding cakes 00:00 00:0002:54GO LIVE Facebook Twitter Email Embed SpeedNormal Autoplay Two Christian bakers in Oregon who faced a $135,000 fine for refusing to bake a cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding in 2011 received a partial victory in court Wednesday. While the…
OPINION: What is a chaplain?
Having talked a lot about being a Christian and church life, perhaps I also need to point out some salient issues involving chaplains. When I was a chaplain for the Bella Vista Police Department, I knocked on one door and introduced myself as a chaplain. The person at the door…
End of affirmative action? Justices to hear challenge to race-based college admissions
FILE – This June 8, 2021 photo shows the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) The conservative-dominated Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to the consideration of race in college admissions, adding another blockbuster case to a term with abortion, guns, religion and COVID-19…