The Supreme Court decision in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer changes 200 years of Establishment Clause precedent and puts churches at risk of regulation.
Supreme Court: State must include church in public funding scheme Read More »
There are several reasons why the Supreme Court may decide to hear this case when it declined to hear previous religious exception cases.
Court may hear same-sex wedding cake religious exception case Read More »
The pensions of employees of church-affiliated organizations are not subject to federal solvency requirements that apply to secular organizations
Court: Religious hospitals not subject to Federal pension protections Read More »
LOS ANGELES, CA – While most legal writing competitions ask participants to pick a side, Founders First Freedom is asking for much more in its inaugural law student writing competition. Participating students will review pleadings and amicus briefs in a
Donald Trump’s transition team is making plans to occupy the White House. What does this mean for religious liberty?
What does the Trump win mean for religious liberty? Read More »
In a stunning report, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Chairman Martin Castro attacked the Religious Freedom Restoration Act at both the state and federal level, challenged the terms “religious liberty” and “religious liberty” as code for intolerance, and argued that free exercise rights should yield to other civil rights if they come into conflict.
U.S. Civil Rights Commission report gives free exercise of religion second-tier status Read More »
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving a Washington state requirement that all pharmacies must fill contraceptives regardless of the religious objections of the owners.
Court avoids free exercise minefield of Washington pharmacy case Read More »
Constitutional rights, particularly those in the Bill of Rights are guarantees of personal freedoms and are expressed in terms of the government’s limited powers.
Evaluating Clinton’s claim to “reasonable regulation” of Constitutional rights Read More »
By Jason Hines, PhD, JD – Prior to 1990, the Supreme Court’s standard in determining whether a law violated a citizen’s free exercise of religion was intimately tied to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. An Adventist, Adele Sherbert, sued to receive unemployment benefits after she was fired from her job because she refused to work on the Sabbath. In the case that now bears her name, Sherbert v. Verner, the Court ruled in her favor, establishing the rule that the government could not substantially burden a citizen’s religious freedom unless the government had a compelling interest and had narrowly tailored the measure to minimize infringement.
Legal Analysis: Zubik petitioners may have pushed argument too far Read More »
This morning the eight-member United States Supreme Court heard the contraceptive mandate cases that were consolidated under the name Zubik v. Burwell (Docket Number 15-191). (See transcript.) They key issue in all the cases was religious employers who rejected the method of receiving the “religious employer exemption” to the Affordable Care Act (2010) which required group health plans and insurance issues to offer plans that provided “approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.”
Supreme Court hears oral arguments in key contraception mandate case Read More »
