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Archive for the ‘Separation of church and state’ Category.

 

Louisiana School Officials Overlook Concerns about Religious Field Trip

Thousands of public school students in Baton Rouge, LA were taken on a religious field trip that may have violated multiple federal laws.

December 6th, 2022

School workers are overlooking arguments raised by students who participated in a “Day of Hope” religious field trip. The students and their parents are arguing that the event was more a religious activity than either a career or a college event, which is how the event was billed. According to the school employees, the “Day Read More


Case About Judge’s Courtroom Prayers Leads to Fifth Circuit Split

Defining reasonable accommodation and undue hardship are necessary prerequisites to understanding religious accommodation laws.

November 30th, 2022

In a split decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of a Texas judge who begins his court sessions with courtroom prayers. The court in this case, Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Mack, held that the judge did not violate the Constitution by performing these ceremonies. The appellate panel noted that the courtroom Read More


Governor of West Virginia Signs Abortion Restriction Into Law

When religious beliefs conflict with medical science, courts may need to step in. Blood transfusions for Jehovah's Witnesses are one example.

November 11th, 2022

The Governor of West Virginia recently announced he had signed an abortion restriction into law which prohibits almost all abortions in the state, with exceptions for some medical emergencies, incest and rape. The legislature passed the measure, House Bill 302, during a special legislative session that made West Virginia the second state to pass a restrictive abortion Read More


Supreme Court Decides Maine Must Fund Religious Instruction

Muslim and Christian parents filed suit against their kids' school for not allowing them to opt out of lessons on gender and sexuality.

October 28th, 2022

This past June, the U.S. Supreme Court further eroded the separation between church and state by ruling that the state of Maine must fund private religious instruction if it also funds private secular instruction. In the case of Carson v. Makin, all six conservatives on the Supreme Court decided denying public funds to private religious Read More


Investigation Considers Whether Vermont School Discriminated Against LGBTQ+ Students

A Christian adoption agency in New York won a lawsuit against the state over its refusal to serve same-sex and unmarried couples.

October 13th, 2022

Vermont’s Department for Children and Families began investigating a Christian school in Bennington last year over potential discrimination against LGBTQ+ students. After a former Vermont state secretary of education tweeted a screenshot of a page from a handbook published by the school which labeled homosexuality as “sinful and offensive to God,” the state began its investigation. The Read More


Virginia Passes Law Guarding Outward Religious Faith Expressions

Religious tattoos are in the news due to a Jerusalem cross on Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

October 7th, 2022

Virginia’s Governor recently signed a law supporting the Commonwealth’s guards for the exercise of religious freedom. The law explains that freedom of religion encompasses any faith expressions displayed outwardly. The measure, House Bill 1063, revises Virginia law in various realms, including employment, housing, and public accommodation. Virginia had previously not defined religion, and with this new bill Read More


Allegheny County, PA Settles Lawsuit With Universal Life Church

The Universal Life Church recently won its lawsuit against Tennessee over a law barring its ministers from officiating weddings.

July 27th, 2022

The Universal Life Church is pleased to announce the positive resolution of another recent court case in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. In 2021, the Universal Life Church (ULC) filed a federal lawsuit against Allegheny County, PA, after learning that the county had repeatedly denied its ministers the right to solemnize marriages by refusing to recognize the Read More


Clark County Settles Lawsuit With Universal Life Church

The Clark County lawsuit was recently settled in the Universal Life Church's favor, so now ULC ministers can operate fully in the area.

June 30th, 2022

This past February, Clark County, Nevada finally agreed to settle a lawsuit that the Universal Life Church brought against it back in 2016 over discriminatory treatment of its ministers in the area. As Universal Life Church (ULC) ministers in the area were likely aware, Clark County and County Clerk Lynn Goya instituted a series of Read More


Supreme Court to Reconsider Issue of School Prayer

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a Florida town of a lower court's ruling allowing a lawsuit to move forward over a prayer vigil.

June 10th, 2022

After Joe Kennedy was offered a job as a high school football coach in Washington state, he started praying after games. Kennedy was curious whether God agreed with his career change and accepted the position that would impact his faith. Kennedy claims that he left this prayer with confidence that God wanted him to coach Read More


New Tennessee Law Challenges Same-Sex Unions

Tennessee recently debated a measure that would have challenged same-sex unions in the state by creating heterosexual-only marriage.

June 7th, 2022

The Tennessee legislature recently debated a measure that would have established a new type of marriage reserved for heterosexual couples in the state of Tennessee, thereby challenging same-sex unions in the state. Some people claimed that this new measure would have resulted in financial uncertainty for families while also erasing same-sex marriage and letting older Read More