In September, Kim Colby from CLS’ Center for Law & Religious Freedom was invited to testify before the presidentially appointed Religious Liberty Commission. Kim used her time to press the case for legislation that would further cement religious freedoms for religious student groups on university campuses. Despite the protections rooted in the First Amendment, religious […]
U.S. Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Tim Scott (R-SC), along with Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI), today introduced the Equal Campus Access Act, which is aimed at making university campuses a place where all religious student groups are treated fairly. The bill would prevent universities from discriminating against religious student groups, including those that require their […]
The legal battles involving the use of discrimination as a tool to confine or restrict certain speech or behavior is now several decades long. In 2023, Maryland added another twist when it reinterpreted the Maryland Fair Employment Act through an anti-discrimination lens to significantly limit the law’s religious exemption. In short, the state now reads […]
Gabriel Olivier likes to share his Christian faith and was doing so near an amphitheater in Brandon, Mississippi, when the local chief of police confronted him with a newly enacted ordinance forbidding “protests” outside designated zones. After being shown the approved location, Gabriel realized it was a remote and isolated space. He returned to his […]
A federal judge found that the state of California failed to offer the plaintiff a religious accommodation in an unusual but important dispute. Bolden-Hardge, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, was offered a job by the California State Comptroller’s office, which requires the job holder to take an oath before starting. Bolden-Hardge asked to substitute her own […]
Not since the 1990s has CLS’s Center for Law & Religious Freedom united diverse organizations including the ACLU, Alliance Defending Freedom, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the Religious Freedom Institute, the Coalition of Virtue, Prison Fellowship, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Center for Public Justice, and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. […]
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on whether crisis pregnancy centers can be free from state harassment. The New Jersey Attorney General (Platkin) served First Choice Women’s Resources Center with a subpoena demanding it identify—by name—the donors behind nearly 5,000 donations and produce more than 10 years’ worth of documents containing information about […]
Biblical manhood curricula can be found just about anywhere—churches, small groups, and even prisons. For years, Anthony Schmitt taught a Quest course to inmates within the Minnesota Department of Corrections, until an MDOC official “objected to Schmitt’s religious viewpoint” and banned any further teaching. As the Eighth Circuit opinion noted, the MDOC did not oppose […]
In a decisive opinion, a panel of three Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals justices—all Democrat-appointed—overturned a lower court’s ruling, thereby restoring World Vision’s right to control the conduct of its employees. Center Director Steve McFarland noted for the San Francisco Chronicle that the result confirms “the commonsense idea that religious ministries can expect their staff […]
While protections for religious conscience related to participating in same-sex “marriages” have held firm in the non-commercial space (churches, religious institutions), the matter has continued to be contested for those in public spaces—like government employees. Judge Umphress’ case is now heading to the Texas Supreme Court after he refused to officiate such ceremonies for reasons […]
Christian Legal Society offers legal assistance for those in need through CLS’ network of Christian Legal Aid clinics and Christian Attorneys’ directory. CLS’ Center for Law & Religious Freedom is also available to address issues related to the infringement of religious freedom.