American doctors often find themselves at the forefront of religious lawsuits – and for obvious reasons. The freedom to refuse or provide treatment based on religious belief is one of those legal “grey areas” that has confounded the highest courts for decades. What is more important? The right of the patient to healthcare or the Read More

After the Tennessee state legislature passed a law explicitly barring ministers who were ordained online from solemnizing legal marriages in 2019, the Universal Life Church (ULC) immediately filed suit and were successful in obtaining a restraining order blocking the law from taking effect. In August of 2023, the ULC began the trial against the Tennessee Read More

The intersection of medical care and religious care has always been somewhat contentious. However, the medical world has a long history of involvement with various religions. The Knights Hospitallers gained fame during the medieval period for building hospitals throughout the known world while also participating in religious and military crusades. Nuns and other religious organizations Read More

Pronoun usage is an issue that has only come to the forefront within the last decade in the United States, but it is already proving to be a controversial subject. There are many debates wrapped up in this issue, including those surrounding free speech, religious expression, and more. Although atheist and agnostic people have voiced Read More

One particular baker has once again become intertwined with legal questions about religious rights and the First Amendment. In 2012, a same-sex couple tried to have this baker make them a cake for their upcoming wedding. The baker refused, and ever since then, this individual has been fighting numerous lawsuits against LGBTQ folks who want Read More

In response to House Bill 1084, California’s government has prohibited all state-funded travel to Georgia. 1084, which was recently passed in Georgia, bans transgender women from playing on athletic teams that match the gender with which they identify. In addition to prohibiting travel to Georgia, California has similarly prohibited state-funded travel to several other states, including Read More

A dispute regarding an LGBTQ training session in which Michigan teachers were taught how to help LGBTQ students has led to requests that Michigan’s superintendent resign. Training from Michigan’s Department of Education instructed teachers how to discuss a student’s suicidal thoughts with parents without potentially outing the student, and having the student guide that process. Republicans Read More

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued the landmark decision of Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country. Despite this Supreme Court decision, discrimination against same-sex couples remains in countless state constitutions, in the form of bans on same-sex marriage.  Virginia’s state constitution is one of the harshest when it comes Read More

A recent lawsuit claims that the “medical conscience clause” in an over $70 billion budget bill goes against the terms of the single-subject requirement found in Ohio’s Constitution. This clause lets medical professionals decline to provide services to individuals based on their religious, ethical, or moral beliefs. Ohio’s single-subject regulations prohibit legislatures from placing policies in bills Read More

A Virginia House subcommittee recently struck down legislation that would have given voters in the state the chance to update the constitution. The legislation in question would have potentially removed a now defunct same-sex marriage prohibition in the Virginia state constitution.  The Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition in the State Constitution In 2006, Virginia passed the Marshall-Newman Read More