Category: RFRA

“Churches’ Bill of Rights” from Ind. Att’y Gen. & Lt. Gov.

On May 14, 2025, Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita and its Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith jointly released a “Churches’ Bill of Rights: A Legal Guidebook.” The 30-page resource (available to download here) collects legal principles related to churches’ tax exemptions, speech protections, freedom to worship and live out religious principles, eligibility for government benefits, and governance. It also contains some guidance on public health and safety, some of which apply to religious individuals rather than churches. It explains Indiana and federal principles in a question-and-answer format. And it includes an appendix collecting Indiana and federal constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions.

This guidebook updates a letter Attorney General Rokita issued in 2024 ahead of that year’s election, which focused on tax exemption and advocacy. (Available here.)

The guidebook is a good resource for Indiana religious organizations as a starting point to understand their distinctive treatment under state and federal law. It is not a comprehensive collection of all legal principles that treat religious organizations or individuals distinctively, nor is it a replacement to professional legal or tax advice.

W.D. N.C.: Catholic high school liable for firing teacher in same-sex marriage

W.D. N.C.: Catholic high school liable for firing teacher in same-sex marriage. The court rejected defenses based on the First Amendment—including the Ministerial Exception— Title VII, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, among others. Religion Clause reports on the decision here. Read the decision here: Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School, (W.D. N.C., Sept. 3, 2021).

Josh on Theology Thursdays: Church, State, and COVID-19

Josh on Theology Thursdays: Church, State, and COVID-19 Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining Lutheran pastors James Smith (Trinity Episcopal and St. John’s Lutheran in Three Rivers, Michigan) and Chris Laughlin (Messiah Lutheran in Constantine, Michigan) for their “Theology Thursdays,” which they post to their congregations’ Facebook pages while we keep social distance due to COVID-19. We talked about Church and State issues during COVID-19. It was a fun conversation in a difficult time. Go here to watch the hour-long conversation.

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“Sex, Drugs, and Eagle Feathers: An Empirical Study of Federal Religious Freedom Cases”

“Sex, Drugs, and Eagle Feathers: An Empirical Study of Federal Religious Freedom Cases” Luke Goodrich and Rachel Busick have written this article in an upcoming issue of the Seton Hall Law Review. The authors summarize their findings: Continue reading ““Sex, Drugs, and Eagle Feathers: An Empirical Study of Federal Religious Freedom Cases”” →

Ind. Ct. App.: Ind. Code doesn’t prohibit sex offenders from attending church

Ind. Ct. App.: Ind. Code doesn’t prohibit sex offenders from attending church. The Indiana Lawyer reports here on Doe v. Boone County Prosecutor, No. 06A01-1612-PL-2741 (Ind. Ct. App. Oct. 24, 2017). The decision interprets a statute that prohibits sex offenders from entering a building that is “school property,” defined as any “nonprofit program or service operated to … benefit children who are at least three years of age and not yet enrolled in kindergarten.” The court decided this did not include churches. The court also mentioned that the state would not prevail under RFRA claims, though it did not analyze those claims.