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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The Supreme Court has blocked a California policy that requires public schools to facilitate students’ gender transitions and keep it secret from parents.
  • In Childs v. Webster, the 7th Circuit held that there was not a violation of a Muslim inmate’s free exercise rights under RLUIPA or the 1st Amendment when his prison refused to distribute corrected prayer-time schedules to Muslim inmates.
  • In State of Washington v. Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle, a Washington state appellate court allowed enforcement of a subpoena issued by the state Attorney General’s Office seeking from the Catholic Archdiocese evidence relating to clergy sexual abuse.
  • The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) declared that the State Department has failed to comply with the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
  • The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported that it has received numerous complaints from military personnel that their commanders are describing the military operations against Iran in Christian eschatological terms.
  • Indiana Governor Mike Bruan signed House Enrolled Act 1389 which prohibits governmental discrimination in adoption and foster care matters.
  • An investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, shows that an estimated 75 priests have abused more than 300 children since 1950.

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The U.S. and Israel carried out strikes on Iranian leadership and military targets, and Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. bases in the region. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial attack.
  • St. John’s University said it will withdraw recognition of its faculty unions, writing that it had become clear the school lacked “the flexibility required to fulfill its Catholic-centered mission” while core academic decisions were tied to collective bargaining. 
  • Two Jewish advocacy organizations filed suit Thursday against California, its Department of Education, and state officials, alleging that authorities failed to address widespread antisemitic harassment targeting Jewish and Israeli students on campus. 
  • Attorney General Pam Bondi announced federal civil rights charges against 30 additional individuals in connection with a January protest inside a Minnesota church where a pastor works for ICE, stating that 25 people are in custody and more arrests are expected. 
  • The New York City Council held its first hearing this week on a package of bills focused on protecting houses of worship and schools and addressing antisemitism and other religious hate. The proposals, part of Speaker Julie Menin’s action plan, would require the NYPD to create a response plan for credible threats that block access to religious institutions and schools. 
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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • Sitting en banc, the 5th Circuit overturned a panel decision declaring a Louisiana law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms of the state’s public schools and universities unconstitutional. The Court reasoned that the dispute was not yet ripe for review.
  • A Woman’s Concern, Inc. v. Healey, (D MA, Feb. 17, 2026) was an action brought by Your Options Medical Centers (YOM), a religiously affiliated pregnancy resource center, wherein they alleged that the state of Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health violated their free speech, free exercise and equal protection rights when it disseminated information critical of pregnancy resource centers. This week, the federal district court for the District of Massachusetts rejected this claim, primarily reasoning that YOM was not targeted for actual or threatened enforcement action.
  • President Trump posted a Presidential Message on Ash Wednesday, calling for all Americans to remember that the Lenten themes of the “prayer, fasting, and almsgiving have been foundational to our strength from the earliest days of our national story.”
  • The Department of Justice announced that it is opening Title IX investigations into three Michigan school districts “to determine whether they have included sexual orientation and gender ideology (SOGI) content in any class for grades pre-K-12.” If the districts are including such content, “the investigations will examine whether the schools have notified parents of their right to opt their children out of such instruction.”
  • The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released its “Annual Report on the State of Religious Liberty in the United States.” “The report summarizes developments on national questions and federal policies affecting religious liberty in the U.S., including the role of religion in American public life, and the challenges and opportunities of the present moment.”
  • Earlier this month, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas received a draft constitution “that aims to transition the PA to a full-fledged state”. The draft contains a number of provisions on religion and religious freedom.

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • In Illinois District Court, a Child Evangelism Fellowship sued a school district alleging violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments for several acts, like their exclusion from literature distribution forums.
  • This past December, an appeal was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Arroyo Castro v. Gasper, where a district court in Connecticut previously denied a teacher’s preliminary injunction after she was disciplined for displaying a crucifix in her classroom.  
  • In Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish, a district court refused to dismiss claims against the Defendant, which alleged that Plaintiff’s land use rights were violated by industrial pollution, going against the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. 
  • In Davenport v. Episcopal Health Services, Inc., a district court in New York held that the ministerial exception barred Title IX and Fair Labor Standard Acts claims by a student Chaplain. 
  • On Tuesday February 10th, the House Subcommittee on Early Education held a hearing to discuss Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case regarding parental opt-outs in the Maryland public school system. 

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil-rights investigation after vandals broke into and desecrated Holy Innocents Catholic School in Long Beach, California, destroying religious statues, damaging the tabernacle, and causing extensive property loss.
  • The Archdiocese of New York alleges in a state-court filing that its longtime insurer, Chubb, secretly operated a victims’ advocacy website called the “Church Accountability Project” as part of a “shadow campaign” to pressure the archdiocese and gain leverage in ongoing litigation over insurance coverage for clergy abuse claims.
  • A year after Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde publicly urged President Donald Trump to show mercy toward immigrants and other vulnerable groups during an inaugural prayer service, she joined hundreds of clergy in Minneapolis protesting the administration’s escalating immigration enforcement and mass-deportation efforts.
  • Italian church and government authorities launched investigations after a restored cherub in Rome’s Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina appeared to resemble Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, sparking controversy about politicizing sacred art and drawing crowds that disrupted Mass.
  • As the Vatican appeals court reviews the high-profile financial scandal known as the “trial of the century,” defense lawyers are scrutinizing Pope Francis’ role, focusing on secret decrees he issued in 2019-2020 that granted prosecutors sweeping investigatory powers, including warrantless wiretapping, raising concerns about fairness and transparency.
  • A federal indictment filed in Wisconsin accuses four individuals of participating in a years-long scheme to defraud Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by issuing fraudulent checks, fabricating work payments, and attempting to conceal the theft, with hundreds of thousands of dollars potentially subject to forfeiture.

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Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • A student pro-life group from Noblesville School District filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, after the Seventh Circuit upheld the school’s refusal to permit the group to post flyers because of the political content. The action, E.D. v. Noblesville School District followed after the school suspended the students for several months.
  •  In Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction sought by a substitute teacher who objected on free speech and free exercise grounds to the school district’s Guidelines for Student Gender Identity. The majority rejected plaintiff’s free exercise and free speech claims, concluding that the Guidelines are neutral and generally applicable and that they satisfy the rational basis standard.
  • Coastal Family Church filed an emergency motion seeking to stay a temporary injunction issued by a Florida state court which would bar the use of its strip mall unit for religious services.
  • The Third Circuit Court heard oral argument in Anash, Inc. v. Borough of Kingston. The lower court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to an Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva whose property was condemned, noting that plaintiff had not suffered irreparable harm, and that it was unlikely plaintiff would succeed on the merits of its challenge to zoning ordinances. Now, on appeal, the Yeshiva claims violations of RLUIPA and the due process clause.
  • A new report from Open Doors, a Christian advocacy organization, entitled World Watch List 2026, was released last week. The report assesses the persecution of Christians around the world, covering the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. Topping their list of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution are North Korea (#1), Somalia (#2), and Yemen (#3).
  • The NIH recently announced that it will no longer fund research involving human fetal tissue from elective abortions. Support for such research has declined steadily since 2019, while advances in breakthrough technologies “have created robust alternatives that can drive discovery while reducing ethical concerns.”
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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments in two cases challenging state laws that require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought by a Jewish group seeking to recover a collection of sacred manuscripts that were seized by the Nazis and are now being held in Russia.
  • A Ukrainian Catholic Church in Pennsylvania has sued Collier Township, alleging religious discrimination after the town rejected plans for a church bell tower.
  • The European Court of Human Rights is hearing a case that seeks to remove Christian icons and symbols from public buildings in Greece.
  • The Vatican is currently evaluating the Trump Administration’s invitation to join the Board of Peace, which was established with the goal of rebuilding Gaza. 

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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against the state’s Higher Education Board claiming that the state’s work-study program’s requirement that work be provided in ‘nonsectarian activities’, violates the Free Exercise clause. 
  • The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by a Christian school that argued that its free speech rights were violated when it was barred from playing a prayer over the loudspeaker at a football game. 
  • In Pritchard v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, the 9th Circuit remanded a suit alleging that Blue Cross is liable under the anti-discrimination portion of the Affordable Care Act for enforcing a religious-based exclusion regarding coverage of gender dysphoria. 
  • The New York Times reports on a surge of interest among younger Americans, especially young men, in Orthodox Christianity.  
  • In Jeanpierre v. Trump, a Utah district court dismissed a lawsuit by the founder of Black Flag, a religious organization, claiming that the President’s Executive order infringed his Free Exercise rights. 
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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to reconsider its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage. 
  • The Satanic Temple has been denied the opportunity to amend its Idaho abortion ban lawsuit.
  • The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement addressing their concern for the evolving situation impacting migrants in the United States.
  • The Supreme Court heard arguments in a religious rights case involving a Rastafarian man who is trying to sue Louisiana prison officials after they forcibly shaved his dreadlocks.
  • U.S. bishops announced this week that Catholic hospitals in the United States are expressly prohibited from performing transgender-related surgeries on individuals who identify as the opposite sex.
  • Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Elpidophoros became a naturalized U.S. citizen on November 10.
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Around the Web

Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:

  • The Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans secured near unanimous approval for a $230 million bankruptcy settlement. The settlement payout breaks down to $130 million in cash from the archdiocese and its affiliates, $20 million in promissory notes, $30 million from insurers, and up to $50 million from the sale of various property owned by the archdiocese.
  • A federal district court in California dismissed a Title VII religious discrimination claim by a DMV worker who objected to a Covid vaccine. The court held that the worker’s vague statements about bodily autonomy and God did not amount to a religious conviction.
  • A Texas state appeals court affirmed the dismissal of United Methodist Rio Conference Board of Trustees v. Alice First Methodist Church. This suit was brought by the United Methodist Church parent body in an effort to challenge attempts bylocal Texas congregations to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. The Court held that dismissal was proper under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, which precludes courts from interpreting religious documents that dictate church governance.
  • The Texas Supreme Court added a new Comment to Canon 4 of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct which would allow judges to abstain from performing same-sex marriages because of their sincerely held religious beliefs.
  • A new report from Barna Group shows that Gen Z and Millennial Christians are not only attending church more frequently than in previous years but are also attending more often than Christians of older generations.