Supreme Court Affirms Religious Liberty in 2 Cases
Austin, Texas – The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 today that Constitutional religious freedom protections allow religious schools and organizations to choose who has a “religious mission” within their organization. On the same day, the court also ruled 7-2 in favor of the Trump administration’s Health and Human Services rules that allow religious employers to opt-out of providing contraceptive coverage which goes against their religious views, in their health plans.
Jonathan Saenz, President and Attorney for Texas Values said “The government should not control how a church decides to communicate or exercise their sincerely held religious beliefs. These cases provide a glimmer of hope in what has been a very near-disastrous time period for the U.S. Supreme Court and Constitutional liberty.”
It is believed the religious liberty principles protected in these judicial outcomes will not only protect existing religious freedom rights but will make it difficult for radical LGBT activists to expand the interpretation of the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision released last month on LGBT employment discrimination.
In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, the court affirmed the “ministerial exception” protects more than just ministers to include employees within the core mission of the organization, like teachers. This exception protects religious freedom and religious organizations from persecution for their beliefs. Justice Alito, the author of the majority 7-2 opinion, wrote, “The religious education and formation of students is the very reason for the existence of most private religious schools, and therefore the selection and supervision of the teachers upon whom the schools rely to do this work lie at the core of their mission.”
In Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania, the court said the Trump administration had “the authority to provide exemptions from regulatory contraceptive requirements for employers with religious and conscientious objections.” The 7-2 decision also dissolved a nationwide preliminary injunction put in place by the District Court against the group of nuns who have been fighting these types of unconstitutional penalties for many years.
###
About Texas Values
Texas Values is the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org.