A federal judge recently ruled that North Carolina religious leaders should be able to open their doors to their congregations, overruling religious service restrictions instituted by the state’s Governor to contain further spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper has since stated that he does not plan to appeal the Read More

Several prayer videos created by two military chaplains offering Christian messaging during the coronavirus pandemic were recently removed from Facebook following complaints that this content constituted “illicit proselytizing” of Christianity. This situation serves as an interesting example of how interested parties view the role of the establishment clause during the pandemic. How Debate Over the Read More

A current rumor persists that the Ohio legislature is considering a bill that will allow students to give wrong answers due to their religious beliefs. In reality, on November 13, 2019, the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 164, the “Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2019,” which prompted numerous headlines that described the Read More

A New York federal judge recently vacated a “conscience rule” created by the Trump administration that allows health care workers to refuse to participate or refer in procedures with which they have religious objections. This religious objection is most commonly raised in abortion or gender reassignment surgeries. The decision marks an advancement in women’s and Read More

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) put forward a new proposal to rescind nondiscrimination protections that had been put into place by the Obama Administration. The protections that were added by Obama included discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Now, President Trump wants to remove Read More

Sandeep Dhaliwal was the first Sikh sheriff’s deputy in Harris County, Texas history, and at his memorial service last month he generated much praise for not only his service on the force but his advancement of religious freedom. Indeed, Dhaliwal was one of the first law enforcement officers in the country, and the first in Read More

A federal appeals court in Minnesota recently revived a lawsuit initiated by a Minnesota couple that challenges a Minnesota state law requiring equal protection of the law for LGBT people in regards to services rendered. This law meant the couple might have to film same-sex weddings since they own a video production company. As a Read More

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced the issuance of a new final conscience rule, which is designed to protect individuals and health care entities from discrimination claims on the basis of their exercise of conscience in HHS funded programs. The conscience rule implements full enforcement of 25 provisions passed Read More

After the San Antonio City Council voted to prohibit the Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant at the city’s airport due to anti-LGBTQ statements and actions made by the company, a number of Texas legislators responded to this decision and claimed that it violated the First Amendment. Response by Texas Legislature In response to the San Antonio Read More

What happened when one of the most influential judicial individuals in the country started discussing his position on a topic that was not currently in front of his court? Aside from making several reporters very happy to have a good headline, much speculation began to circulate about the state of the law surrounding that topic. Read More