“Nuns Lose Challenge To Pipeline” Religion Clause reports here on Adorers of the Blood of Christ v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, (E.D. Pa. Sept. 28, 2017). Lancaster Online reported on it here.
Category: RFRA
“Conservative foes of [Ind.] RFRA ‘fix’ ask Supreme Court to overturn LGBT ordinances”
“Conservative foes of [Ind.] RFRA ‘fix’ ask Supreme Court to overturn LGBT ordinances.” The Indianapolis Star has this report about Indiana group’s amicus in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n.
Ind. Trial Ct.: Christian camp’s challenge to dairy denied for failing to show burden on religious practice
An Indiana trial court recently denied a church camp’s challenge to a nearby dairy farm’s operations (download order here). In one of the first lawsuits filed under Indiana’s relatively new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Ind. Code §§ 34-13-9-1 to -11), the Hoosier Environmental Council filed a complaint (download here) on behalf of a children’s church camp in eastern Indiana. The complaint alleged that the Rush County Board of Zoning Appeals substantially burdened the House of Prayer Ministries’ exercise of religion by granting a special exception to local zoning ordinances allowing Milco Dairy to construct and operate a concentrated animal feeding operation, known as a CAFO. After the trial court ruled in the dairy’s favor, the Hoosier Environmental Council filed the necessary documents to initiate an appeal. Its first brief will be due in about thirty days. Continue reading “Ind. Trial Ct.: Christian camp’s challenge to dairy denied for failing to show burden on religious practice”
1714 Religious Exemptions to Legal Requirements
[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5210018/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/c30000/” height=”90″ width=”450″]American law has many protections of religious freedom. Among these are various means by which religious people and organizations can seek exemptions from otherwise-applicable legal requirements when those rules would burden their religious beliefs. This episode discusses the development of those exemptions under the First Amendment, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and state versions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Continue reading “1714 Religious Exemptions to Legal Requirements”
Ind. Ct. App: Indiana RFRA doesn’t exempt taxpayers
The Indiana Court of Appeals has held that Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not provide a conscientious exemption to paying taxes. The court reasoned that the state has a compelling interest in a uniform taxation system. The case is Tyms-Bey v. State, No. 49A05-1603-CR-439 (Ind. Ct. App. Jan. 13, 2017). Continue reading “Ind. Ct. App: Indiana RFRA doesn’t exempt taxpayers”
5 Developments in Religion and Law since Law Meets Gospel started
Five years ago, I set out to try my hand at blogging about legal and related issues that religious groups face. I sought to help faith communities improve their grasp of the rules that govern them, organize themselves, and feel comfortable contacting a lawyer for help. The last five years have brought some very interesting developments at the intersection of law and religion, and the next five promise even more. I’ve enjoyed blogging, though I have not been as regular as I would like to be. I aim to change that in the coming months. I’ve also created some graphics to help you know right away that what you’re seeing is Law Meets Gospel. To mark the fifth birthday of this effort, below are five important developments in the law that affect faith communities. And then some other big news … .
Continue reading “5 Developments in Religion and Law since Law Meets Gospel started”
7th Cir: Notre Dame must submit form to avoid paying for contraceptives
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Notre Dame’s request for court-ordered exception to the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act. The case had returned from the Supreme Court after the high court decided Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius. Find the decision here.
Judge Richard Posner wrote the forty-page majority opinion, with Judge David Hamilton writing a concurrence. Judge Joel Flaum dissented. Continue reading “7th Cir: Notre Dame must submit form to avoid paying for contraceptives”
7th Circuit: Milwaukee Archdiocese’s cemetery trust fund not off limits from sex-abuse victims in bankruptcy court
In the
latest opinion interpreting the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act
(RFRA), the Seventh Circuit concluded that the 1993 law does not require the
court to exclude a $55 million cemetery trust fund from the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee’s bankruptcy estate. The case, Listecki v. Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors,
involves the question of whether a 2008 transfer of the money from the
archdiocese’s general fund to a newly created trust.
latest opinion interpreting the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act
(RFRA), the Seventh Circuit concluded that the 1993 law does not require the
court to exclude a $55 million cemetery trust fund from the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee’s bankruptcy estate. The case, Listecki v. Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors,
involves the question of whether a 2008 transfer of the money from the
archdiocese’s general fund to a newly created trust.
What Hobby Lobby Says and What That Means for Religious Organizations
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| © Wikimedia Commons user CyberXRef |
Today the United States Supreme Court held on a 5–4 vote that the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (RFRA) prohibits the federal government from forcing a closely
held corporation to provide contraception to which the company’s owners object
based on their sincerely held religious beliefs. This will likely mean that the Obama administration will extend the accommodations made to religious nonprofits under the Affordable Care Act (A.C.A.) will also apply to closely held corporations that have religious objections to some or all types of contraception. While the decision did not involve religious organizations, they can take this decision as providing more room to use nontraditional structures for purposes churches don’t typically pursue. Continue reading “What Hobby Lobby Says and What That Means for Religious Organizations”
Sotomayor Rings in New Year with Obamacare Stay: What Religious Groups Should Know
Justice Sonia Sotomayor made sure she was part of the number one story to start off
2014. In case anyone doubted leading New York City’s countdown to 2014 in Times
Square would put Sotomayor on the front page, a few hours before midnight she
temporarily blocked the federal government from requiring certain religiously
affiliated organizations to provide insurance coverage that includes birth
control. Continue reading “Sotomayor Rings in New Year with Obamacare Stay: What Religious Groups Should Know”