Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a restructuring of its Office for Civil Rights that will create separate divisions focused on religious liberty and conscience protections, civil rights enforcement, and health privacy and cybersecurity. HHS said the changes are intended to combat anti-Christian bias and race-based discrimination while strengthening enforcement efficiency.
  • A Virginia appeals court revived a lawsuit against McLean Bible Church over claims that church leaders improperly handled a 2021 elder election and disenfranchised members. The court ruled that limited judicial review of the dispute is not automatically barred by the First Amendment.
  • A new lawsuit in Utah, backed by pro-life advocates with religious and fetal personhood arguments, claims that disposing of unused IVF embryos violates wrongful death laws. The case has raised concerns that similar religion-influenced legal challenges to IVF practices could spread to other states.
  • A Texas jury ordered an insurer to pay more than $7 million to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after the insurer denied coverage for legal costs related to lawsuits involving former seminary president Paige Patterson and the school’s handling of sexual assault allegations. The case arose from broader controversy within the Southern Baptist Convention over abuse and institutional accountability.
  • Two senators introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at combating antisemitism and increasing security protections for Jewish institutions, including a proposal to expand federal nonprofit security grants to $1 billion annually. The legislation would also address antisemitism on college campuses and require greater transparency from social media companies on moderating antisemitic content.
  • The Vatican’s Synod office released a new document outlining the path toward a global ecclesial assembly in 2028, continuing the Catholic Church’s “Synod on Synodality” process launched under Pope Francis. The plan establishes stages for dioceses, bishops’ conferences, and continental church bodies to evaluate how “synodality” is being implemented in local churches over the next several years.
  • A Catholic nun in Los Angeles runs Francisco Homes, a housing program for formerly incarcerated men, including immigrants facing deportation. Her ministry sits in the context of ongoing debates over immigration enforcement and deportation policy.
  • Archbishop John Ricard, the former archbishop of Baltimore and first leader of the National Black Catholic Congress, has died at age 86. Ricard was a prominent Black Catholic leader known for advancing Black Catholic ministry and advocacy within the Church for decades.

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • The Supreme Court revived a lawsuit by a Mississippi street preacher who claims that his arrest for demonstrating near an amphitheater violated his free speech and religious liberty rights. 
  • A federal judge ordered immigration officials to allow clergy and religious workers access to detained migrants in Minneapolis, ruling that denying pastoral visits likely violated religious liberty protections. 
  • The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court arguing that turning away migrants at the border is unlawful and inconsistent with the nation’s moral obligations. 
  • Members of Congress introduced legislation that would protect the tax-exempt status of churches and religious organizations from being revoked based on their views or speech. 
  • India’s Maharashtra legislature passed a new anti-conversion law this week requiring advance notice before religious conversions and imposing criminal penalties for conversions obtained through coercion, fraud, or marriage. The law has drawn criticism from religious minority groups.
Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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.

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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.

Posted on by L&R Forum

Legal Spirits 073: A Short Take on the Minnesota Church Protest

Cities Church (MPR News)

In this episode—the first in a new series of Legal Spirits law-and-religion short takes—Mattone Center Director Mark Movsesian offers an initial assessment of the recent anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in Minnesota. He explains what is known so far, the legal issues the episode raises, and why those issues matter beyond this particular controversy. Whatever the merits of the underlying cause, he argues, intruding into a private worship service infringes a core understanding of the free exercise of religion. Listen in!

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Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • The Supreme Court of the United States is set to consider a petition in Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections regarding a Rastafarian inmate’s religious liberty claims after prison officials forcibly shaved his dreadlocks.  
  • The Supreme Court is reviewing a petition by former Kentucky government official Kim Davis, who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds, seeking to overturn or limit Obergefell v. Hodges and assert free-exercise protections for public officials. 
  • In January, the 5th Circuit is set to hear arguments about state laws in Texas and Louisiana requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms.  
  • A federal district court in Connecticut has ruled against a public school teacher who requested a preliminary injunction from the court after she was barred from displaying a crucifix on her classroom wall.  
  • The United States has designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern,” citing severe violations of religious freedom in the nation.  
  • Pope Leo stated that the United States must respect the “spiritual rights” of detained migrants, suggesting that authorities allow pastoral workers to attend to their needs.  

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • Texas House Bill 7 allows private citizens to sue anyone involved in the manufacture, distribution, or mailing of abortion pills into or out of the state, with a minimum of $100,000 in damages per violation. The law is intended to enforce the state’s abortion restrictions.
  • Mid Vermont Christian School successfully challenged the state’s exclusion of the school from state sports and tuition programs. The school argued that the state had targeted the school because of its religious beliefs about gender identity.
  • A pastor and deacon are suing a Tennessee sheriff and deputies for attempting to force their removal during a church service, claiming the actions violated the church’s autonomy.
  • A federal court dismissed a lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, reaffirming that courts cannot intervene in internal church governance matters. The case involved disputes over missionary selection, funding, and associational decisions protected by the First Amendment.
  • The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has left the Evangelical Immigration Table to pursue an independent approach to immigration-related work, while the coalition continues its advocacy.
  • Easton, Pennsylvania, and Rock Church reached a settlement in an eminent domain dispute, with the city paying $350,000 to acquire and restore the historic Hooper House.
  • Christians in Gaza are refusing to evacuate their churches despite Israeli orders and growing fears of further attacks.

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • The West Virginia Board of Education has taken its challenge to the state Supreme Court after a lower court upheld a religious exemption to mandatory school immunizations. The outcome could shape how courts balance public health mandates against religious objections.
  • A federal district judge has issued a preliminary injunction stopping a new Texas law that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, citing concerns over religious coercion and constitutional violations.
  • The Ninth Circuit has paused the sale of the Oak Flat sacred site in Arizona, a location of religious significance to Indigenous groups. The court’s emergency action underscores the tension between cultural heritage and resource development.
  • A Connecticut public school teacher remains barred from the classroom after refusing to remove a crucifix. She argues that her First Amendment rights are being violated, particularly in light of recent favorable rulings regarding religious expression by educators.
  • A proposed Texas Senate bill aims to restrict access to abortion pills and amend the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Critics argue the changes could undermine religious protections, especially for groups that advocate for reproductive rights.
  • A compelling study by Mariam Wahba at The Free Press details how Egypt is imposing strict controls on what is widely considered the world’s oldest Christian monastery. The author explores legal and political maneuvers that threaten the monastery’s autonomy and deeply rooted religious heritage.
Posted on by Mark Movsesian

Wilsey on Religious Freedom

A great benefit of my sabbatical several years ago at Princeton’s James Madison Program was having an office next door to Professor John Wilsey. I always enjoyed and learned a great deal from our hallway conversations. Now lots of other people can benefit, too, since John, a church historian at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is out with a new book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer (Eerdmans). Looks very interesting. Here’s the publisher’s description:

In this timely book, historian John D. Wilsey addresses urgent questions about religious freedom in America. How have conservatives historically understood the meaning of religious freedom? How do Americans who identify as conservative now think about religious freedom in this era? What are the differences between the historical and contemporary views, and how do those differences shape fights about religious freedom today?
 
Writing for fellow Americans concerned about threats to religious liberty, Wilsey draws on US history to explain why rather than weaponizing religious freedom in the context of the culture wars, today’s conservatives need to rally around religious freedom to promote peace between church and state. With wisdom and acuity, Wilsey charts a path forward for thinking about and maintaining a uniquely American tradition: the harmony between liberty and religion that each generation has received as an inheritance from the generations preceding theirs.

Posted on by L&R Forum

Around the Web

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

  • Yeshiva University recently settled a protracted lawsuit with a student-led LGBT group by granting it formal recognition as a student organization, allowing it access to campus facilities and university funding. The lawsuit arose from the school’s refusal to recognize the group on religious grounds, whereas the group claimed such a refusal violated New York antidiscrimination statutes.
  • The state legislature of Kentucky recently passed a joint resolution directing the return of a monument displaying the Ten Commandments to the state’s Capitol Grounds. Temporarily removed during the 1980s due to construction, its return was enjoined by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, citing the now-defunct Lemon test as rendering the monument violative of the Establishment Clause. In light of recent Supreme Court jurisprudence declaring the Lemon test overruled, the state legislature voted to reinstate the monument.
  • A Catholic diocese and a Christian pregnancy center filed suit against the State of Illinois, challenging recent amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act that prevents discrimination against employees based on their reproductive health choices. The plaintiffs allege that the amendments burden their Free Exercise rights by preventing them from making faith-based employment decisions, and coercing them to associate with individuals whose actions undermine their staunchly pro-life mission.
  • The Kansas state House of Representatives issued a condemnation against a “Black Mass” to take place on the state capitol grounds, citing its clear anti-Catholic animus and blatant disrespect to Christianity. The procession involves the use of a consecrated Catholic host, viewed as a clear mockery and distortion of the Catholic Eucharist, and an alleged affront against the religious sensibilities of “all people of good will.”
  • A New York federal district court ruled that a gender support plan that involved hiding a students social gender transition from her parents did not violate the Free Exercise or Due Process rights of her parents. The Court held that the plaintiff was free to exercise her religious and parental rights over her daughter in the household, and that a school policy that existed for the voluntary benefit of students does not endorse a religious message.