Religion Clause

Blog Authors

Latest from Religion Clause

Transgender Health Care Mandate Violates RFRA Rights of Catholic Entities

January 21, 2021

In Religious Sisters of Mercy v. Azar, (D ND, Jan. 19, 2021), a North Dakota federal district court in a 57-page opinion, granted a number of Catholic-affiliated health care and health insurance entities, and several Catholic employers, an injunction barring enforcement against them of transgender anti-discrimination rules that require them to provide or provide insurance coverage for transgender transition procedures. The court concluded that the anti-discrimination rules violate plaintiffs free exercise rights under RFRA. Becket …

Religion Clause

Biden Ends Trump Administration’s "Muslim-Bans"

By Howard Friedman

January 21, 2021

President Joe Biden yesterday issued a Proclamation (full text) revoking the Trump administration’s controversial travel bans that mainly impacted Muslim countries. The Proclamation reads in part: The United States was built on a foundation of religious freedom and tolerance, a principle enshrined in the United States Constitution. Nevertheless, the previous administration enacted a number of Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations that prevented certain individuals from entering the United States — first from primarily…

Religion Clause

Suit Challenges Trump Administration’s Loosening of Limits On Faith-Based Federally Funded Programs

By Howard Friedman

January 21, 2021

Suit was filed this week in a New York federal district court by seven advocacy groups challenging the Trump Administration’s loosening of restrictions on faith-based organizations’ operation of programs and activities funded by federal grants. The complaint (full text) in MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger v. Azar, (SD NY, filed 1/19/2021) alleges in part: Because the Agencies provide no reasonable justification for the rule change, because they fail to account for the harms…

Religion Clause

Biden Attending Mass This Morning With Bipartisan Congressional Leadership

By Howard Friedman

January 20, 2021

According to The Hill, this morning President-Elect Joe Biden is attending Mass at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington, DC. At his invitation top leaders of both parties in the House and Senate– Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell– will attend with him.…

Religion Clause

Clergy Who Will Speak At Biden’s Inauguration Are Identified

By Howard Friedman

January 20, 2021

Vox reports that the clergy who will deliver the invocation and benediction at President Joe Biden’s inauguration today are men with whom Biden has close personal ties. Fr. Leo O’Donovan who will deliver the invocation was president of Georgetown University from 1980- 2001. Biden’s son Hunter was student at Georgetown during part of this period. Rev. Silvester Beaman who will deliver the closing benediction is pastor of the predominately African-American Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware.…

Religion Clause

Secretary of State Pompeo Declares Chinese Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Against Uyghurs

By Howard Friedman

January 20, 2021

Yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the State Department has concluded that since March 2017 China has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes remain ongoing. The State Department has also concluded that China has– and continues to– commit genocide against the Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China. …

Religion Clause

President Trump Declares Jan. 22 As National Sanctity of Human Life Day

By Howard Friedman

January 19, 2021

Yesterday, President Donald Trump issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring January 22, 2021 as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The Proclamation reads in part: Every human life is a gift to the world. Whether born or unborn, young or old, healthy or sick, every person is made in the holy image of God. The Almighty Creator gives unique talents, beautiful dreams, and a great purpose to every person. On National Sanctity of…

Religion Clause

Recent Articles of Interest

By Howard Friedman

January 18, 2021

From SSRN: Craig S. Wright, Establishing Meaning in the First Amendment, (October 25, 2020). Margo A. Bagley, Irene Calboli & Maria Lillà Montagnani, Exploring Intellectual Property Through the Lens of Religious Thought, (Handbook on Intellectual Property Research, Oxford University Press (2020, Forthcoming)). Mohammad Fadel, DNA Evidence and the Islamic Law of Paternity in Light of Maqāṣid Al-Sharīʿa, (December 31, 2020). Maximilian Lakitsch, Understanding Conflicts with Religious Dimensions in their Transnational Interrelations, (Graz…

Religion Clause

No Free Exercise Infringement When Court Allocates Vaccination Decision-Making Between Parents

By Howard Friedman

January 18, 2021

In In re Marriage of Crouch, (CO App., Jan. 14, 2021), a Colorado state appellate court remanded a trial court’s refusal to modify the allocation of medical decision-making by divorced parents for their children. Originally both parents had agreed, largely for religious reasons, that their children should not be vaccinated. Subsequently the father changed his mind and sought to have them vaccinated. The appeals court held that the trial court improperly imposed on the father…

Religion Clause

Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Proclamation Issued

By Howard Friedman

January 18, 2021

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and President Trump earlier this week issued the annual Proclamation (full text) declaring today a federal holiday. This year’s Proclamation reads in part: In the face of tumult and upheaval, Dr. King reminded us to always meet anger with compassion in order to truly “heal the hurts, right the wrongs and change society.” It is with this same spirit of forgiveness that we come together to…

Religion Clause

Blog Authors

Transgender Health Care Mandate Violates RFRA Rights of Catholic Entities

Biden Ends Trump Administration’s "Muslim-Bans"

Suit Challenges Trump Administration’s Loosening of Limits On Faith-Based Federally Funded Programs

Biden Attending Mass This Morning With Bipartisan Congressional Leadership

Clergy Who Will Speak At Biden’s Inauguration Are Identified

Secretary of State Pompeo Declares Chinese Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Against Uyghurs

President Trump Declares Jan. 22 As National Sanctity of Human Life Day

Recent Articles of Interest

No Free Exercise Infringement When Court Allocates Vaccination Decision-Making Between Parents

Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Proclamation Issued

Stay Connected

Company

Products

Support

New to the Network