Legal and Legislative Update
An update on the status of Patterson v. Walgreen, New York expands statute of limitations on child sexual abuses case, ministerial exception in disability claims, and Sabbath accommodation
FFRF decides not to appeal 7th Circuit opinion upholding parsonage allowance
The Freedom from Religion Foundation has decided not to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 7th Circuit decision in Gaylor v. Mnuchin (7th Cir., March 15, 2019) upholding a clergy-specific tax-free housing allowance provision in the IRS code. The secular organization has consistently argued that Internal Revenue Code Sec. 107(2) violates the Establishment Clause.
High Court reverses Oregon finding against bakers and sends case back to lower court for further review
The Supreme Court appears reluctant to squarely address the balance between the free exercise of religion and anti-discrimination statutes, or to discuss a claim for hybrid-rights combining “rational basis” free exercise rights with “strict scrutiny” free speech rights.
In Congress, Federal Equality Act as drafted faces feminist opposition
Legislation that would add sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 threatens women’s bodily privacy says feminist organization
Podcast highlights religious liberty and social justice through Adventist lens
Peter Chung, a history teacher at San Gabriel Academy in Southern California, hosts a religious liberty and social justice podcast series, “Healing the Nations,” that addresses current issues “through the lens of the historical religious liberty view of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Vatican calls for religious freedom amidst competing strains of secularism and fundamentalism
The Vatican has released a document, “Religious Liberty for the Good of All,” calling for an expansion of religious liberty in the face of competing strains of religious fundamentalism and secular intolerance. While not addressing each and every conflict, the document is intended to express the relationship between civil law and religious law in the context of theology, anthropology, and political science.
Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom of 1786 reminds us of the mutual benefits of church-state separation
The Virginia legislators who approved the religious freedom statute in 1786, separating church and state, recognized the potential for change, and call the Americans of 2019 and beyond to a greater truth and a higher reality.
Supreme Court to decide whether Excessive Fines Clause applies to states
The Supreme Court is likely to decide that the 14th Amendment applies the Excessive Fines Clause of the 8th Amendment of the Bill of Rights to the states in Indiana civil forfeiture case.
Idaho Jury Finds HOA Discriminated Against Religion in Christmas House Case
A camel, goats, 200,000 lights, and hundreds of people being Shuttled into your neighborhood to meet Santa Claus? HOA says, “No Thanks” and gets slapped with a religious discrimination lawsuit, and the jury rules against the HOA.
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear WWI Memorial Cross Case
[dc]T[/dc]he Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a 4th Circuit decision involving a Maryland cross-shaped WWI memorial. In 2017, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals held 2-1 that the structure, erected in 1925, “has the primary effect of excessively endorsing religion and excessively entangles the government in religion.”