Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- The man who injured himself and three others in an attempted terrorist attack in New York City was motivated by Islamic State propaganda videos. He now faces federal and state charges.
- After receiving a complaint from a secular advocacy organization, a South Carolina school district has suspended a mentoring program led by a Christian mentor.
- A federal court in Missouri has dismissed an Establishment Clause challenge to the tax code; the plaintiff had contended that the code established a religion of “taxism.”
- A federal court in California held oral arguments in a case in which the state is challenging changes to the birth control mandate made by the Trump Administration.
- The government of Arkansas will move forward with plans to install a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the state capitol after a previous monument was destroyed only 24 hours after it was installed.
- The University of Iowa is facing a legal challenge after it suspended a Christian group which required those in leadership positions to sign a statement endorsing traditional Christian sexual moral norms.
- A newly-released report shows that the Catholic Archdiocese of New York paid $40 million to settle almost 200 clergy abuse claims.
- The Supreme Court has declined to review a case that could have allowed it to decide whether federal civil rights legislation bans workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, although another case may allow the Court to rule on the issue in the 2019 term.