Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) agreed to add “religious observance” as a valid reason for missing games after two high school tennis players, who are Seventh-day Adventists, sued the WIAA for penalizing them for observing Sabbath on Saturdays.
- A New York state court judge upheld a new state law which eliminates a religious exemption from mandatory vaccines for children attending schools or daycare.
- Carroll County’s (MD) Board of Commissioners agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging that “sectarian” prayers at the start of the board’s meetings are unconstitutional; as part of the settlement, the commissioners agreed to not have any commissioner-led prayers at future board meetings.
- Universal Life Church Ministries (ULC), which ordains individuals online, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the refusal by a North Carolina marriage official to issue marriage licenses to couples married by ULC ministers.
- Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter released a draft of proposed religious freedom laws that are designed to protect individuals from discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or activity.
