State Office Violated Title VII by Refusing to Allow Jehovah's Witness to Attach Addendum to Required Employment Oath

In Bolden-Hardge v. Office of the California State Controller, (ED CA, Aug. 29, 2025), a California federal district court, in a case on remand from the 9th Circuit (see prior posting), granted summary judgment to plaintiff on her Title VII failure to accommodate claim.  Plaintiff, a Jehovah's Witness, insisted on attaching an Addendum to the oath she was required to take as an employee of the State Controller's Office.  She contended that the required Oath violated her religious beliefs in four ways, one of which was the Oath’s language that she "will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California."  She contended that this conflicted with her religious belief that "her allegiance is first and foremost to God."

The court said in part:

The Court finds that there is no genuine dispute that Plaintiff’s religious beliefs conflict with the “true faith and allegiance” provision.  Plaintiff’s expert Dr. Schmalz opined that “the requirement to ‘bear true faith and allegiance’ presents a conflict with a typical Jehovah’s Witness’ most basic loyalty to Jehovah God — a fundamental precept guiding Watchtower belief and practice.” 

Plaintiff's proposed Addendum read:

I, [Plaintiff], vow to uphold the Constitutions of the United States and that of the State of California while working in my role as an employee of the [SCO].  I will be honest and fair in my dealings and neither dishonor the Office by word nor deed.  By signing this oath, I understand that I shall not be required to bear arms, engage in violence, nor participate in political or military affairs.  Additionally, I understand that I am not giving up my right to freely exercise my religion, nor am I denouncing my religion by accepting this position.

The court concluded:

... [T]he undisputed evidence shows that Defendants would not have experienced an undue hardship if Plaintiff had been allowed to attach the Proposed Addendum and sign the Oath, as she requested.

The court dismissed several of plaintiff's other claims.

Pharmacists Sue for Religious Accommodation to Avoid Dispensing Gender-Affirming Drugs

Two Walgreens pharmacists filed suit last week in a Minnesota federal district court challenging the drug chain's refusal to accommodate their religious objections to dispensing drugs that facilitate gender transitions. Walgreens took the position that plaintiffs' long-standing arrangement to refer such prescriptions to other pharmacists to fill was now illegal under Minnesota law as administered by the state Board of Pharmacy.

The complaint (full text) (exhibits to complaint) in Scott v. Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, (D MN, filed 8/22/2025), alleges in part:

3. Walgreens was wrong about the law. Minnesota administrative rules require pharmacists to dispense or compound only those drugs that “may reasonably be expected to be compounded or dispensed in pharmacies by pharmacists.” Reasonable people understand that not every pharmacist or pharmacy sells every drug, for various reasons including supply shortages, insurance reimbursement rates, lack of demand in the community—or a pharmacist’s conscientious objections. 

4. Plaintiffs asked the State Board of Pharmacy to clarify that this is the correct interpretation of the Board’s rules. The Board refused, leaving Plaintiffs and other pharmacists like them in legal limbo and subject to adverse actions from employers like Walgreens. 

5. To any extent that Minnesota law does purport to require Plaintiffs to violate their religious convictions by dispensing or compounding certain drugs, it violates the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the free exercise protections of Minnesota’s Constitution. Forcing individual pharmacists to violate their religious beliefs by dispensing drugs that are readily available from many other pharmacists is not narrowly tailored to advance any compelling government interest. Moreover, Minnesota permits many non-religious exceptions to any “must dispense” requirement, including for economic reasons and based on a pharmacist’s professional judgment about the risks and efficacy of a prescription. Refusing to allow religious accommodations therefore is neither neutral nor generally applicable.

KSTP News reports on the decision. [Thanks to Thomas Rutledge for the lead.]

Supreme Court Review Sought by California Baker

A petition for certiorari (full text) was filed this week in Miller v. Civil Rights Division, (Sup. Ct., certiorari filed 8/26/2025). In the case, a California state appellate court held that a bakery, Cathy's Creations, and its owner violated the anti-discrimination provisions of California law when they refused to sell a predesigned cake to a customer because the cake would be used at a same-sex wedding reception. The California court rejected defendant's free exercise and free speech defenses. (See prior posting.) The California Supreme Court denied review. Washington Times reports on the petition seeking U.S. Supreme Court review.

Leaders of Purported Church Indicted for Violating Forced Labor Ban

The Department of Justice announced yesterday that a federal grand jury in Michigan has handed down a 10-count, 21-page, indictment (full text) charging the leader and the executive director of the Kingdom of God Global Church (KOGGC) with violations of statutes outlawing forced labor, as well as with money laundering. The indictment charges that defendant David Taylor has established call centers around the country to raise funds purportedly to support the operations of KOGGC. He recruits individuals to work as unpaid phone solicitors. They have raised millions of dollars which have been used by Taylor to support his extravagant lifestyle. He also recruits individuals to work as his unpaid "armor bearers". They function as his personal servants. Executive director Michelle Brannon enforces Taylor's rules. Victims were required to cut off family or friends that questioned the arrangements. According to the indictment:

13. If a call center worker or armor bearer does not fulfill TAYLOR's goals, or disobeys an order, that person is punished.

14. Punishment includes humiliation, sleep deprivation, forced "repentance," additional work, food restrictions, physical assaults, and threats of divine judgment in the form of sickness, accidents, death, and eternal damnation.

15. TAYLOR regularly claims that if an individual fails to obey his orders and commands, they are defying God and will suffer in Hell.

HHS Pressures West Virginia To Implement Religious Exemptions from Compulsory School Vaccination Law

 As reported by Med Page Today, the Department of Health and Human Services is pressuring the state of West Virginia to recognize religious exemptions from the state's compulsory public school vaccination requirements. In January of this year, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey issued an Executive Order (full text) instructing state officials to create a procedure for parents to obtain religious or conscience exemptions, taking the position that this is required by West Virginia's Equal Protection for Religion Act. The compulsory immunization law only provides for medical exemptions, and legislative attempts to amend it have failed. Last week, the federal Health and Human Services Department took steps to support the Governor's position. In a letter dated Aug. 21, 2025 (full text) directed to West Virginia Health Departments participating in the federal Vaccines for Children Program (VCP), the HHS Office of Civil Rights said in part:

Providers participating in the VCP must comply “with applicable State law, including any such law relating to any religious or other exemption.” By specifically mandating that a State’s plan for administering Medicaid must respect State laws regarding religious exemptions, Congress recognized the importance of Americans’ religious convictions regarding vaccines and laws protecting such....

On January 14, 2025, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey issued Executive Order 7-25.... The Governor’s interpretation of EPRA was recently affirmed by Judge Froble of the Circuit Court of Raleigh County...

West Virginia is a participant in the VCP6 and receives $1.37 billion from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services each year as the federal Medicaid contribution. Therefore, West Virginia is obligated to ensure that its VCP providers comply with applicable state laws like EPRA, which requires recognition of religious exemptions from West Virginia’s Compulsory Vaccination Law. 

On Aug. 25, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posted a message on X urging the state legislature to support the Governor's position, and saying in part:

...  At @HHSgov, we will enforce conscience protections and defend every family’s right to make informed health decisions.

10th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Fraud Claims Against LDS Church

In Gaddy v. The Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (10th Cir., Aug. 26, 2025), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a RICO suit against the Latter-Day Saints Church. Plaintiffs, who for many years had made tithing payments to the Church, contended that the Church had made misrepresentations about the Church's history and origins. The court said in part:

On their fraudulent misrepresentations RICO theory, Plaintiffs make several attacks on the factual accuracy of what the Church teaches its members.  Plaintiffs claim that key historical events for the religion occurred differently than how the Church describes them canonically.  Allegedly, by preaching false statements about its own history, the Church engaged in a “pattern of racketeering.”  ... Had Plaintiffs known of these alleged misrepresentations, they say, they would not have committed to the Church....

We conclude that the church autonomy doctrine applies to Plaintiffs’ allegations about the Church’s alleged misrepresentations and omissions about its history, because the dispute about the accuracy of the Church’s representations is ecclesiastical, not “purely secular.” ... Plaintiffs’ allegations require a court to dive into deeply religious waters to assess whether foundational events for a religion occurred the way the religion teaches....

Plaintiffs’ second RICO theory [is] ... fraudulent misuse of tithing funds....  We conclude that Plaintiffs have failed to plead sufficient facts to support a reasonable inference of causation between any of the challenged misrepresentations or omissions by the Church about how it would use tithing payments and the alleged harm Plaintiffs suffered....  As a result, we need not decide whether the church autonomy doctrine precludes the adjudication of this theory....

Judge Phillips filed a concurring opinion, saying in part:

I write separately because I would also decide that the church autonomy doctrine does not apply to Plaintiffs’ second civil RICO theory—that the Church fraudulently used tithing payments for commercial purposes....  [I]t “does not apply to purely secular decisions, even when made by churches.”

Deseret News reports on the decision.

LA Sued Over Its handling of Permit Application for Christian Revival Event

Suit was filed last week in a California federal district court by leaders of May Day USA, a nationwide Christian revival event, contending that the manner in which Los Angeles officials handed their application for a permit to hold a revival on Hollywood Boulevard violated their 1st and 14th Amendment rights. The 54-page complaint (full text) in Donnelly v. City of Los Angeles, California, (CD CA, filed 8/21/2025), alleges in part:

15. LAPD wielded the unconstitutionally unbridled discretion afforded it under the City’s permitting scheme to subject MayDay to lengthy and pretextual administrative hurdles....

16. Among the LAPD’s many demands was a requirement that MayDay conduct a petition of Hollywood Boulevard’s business owners and vendors to ensure at least 51% approved of MayDay’s expressive activity and speech....

19. The City’s permitting scheme thus enshrined an unconstitutional heckler’s veto upon MayDay and its expressive activities....

21. The City refused to provide MayDay with any concrete answer on its permit application until the last minute, prohibiting MayDay from finalizing their planned event, advertising it, or otherwise adequately preparing to engage in the event....

23. Three days prior to its requested event, the City denied the permit actually requested by MayDay ...and “granted” the application to host the event at a location ... it never requested and out of the site of the hecklers who Defendants believed would veto MayDay’s speech. In essence, the City tried to put MayDay unconstitutionally out of sight, and out of mind....

25. Simply put, the City said MayDay could speak, but only if it did it quietly, quickly, and where no one who might object would be forced to hear it. Defendants denied MayDay’s permit application on the basis of the views it planned to espouse and out of concern that Hollywood Boulevard was not an appropriate place for their religious speech, exercise, and expression.

Liberty Counsel issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Texas AG Tells School Districts That Were Not Enjoined to Comply with Statute Ordering Posting of 10 Commandments In Classrooms

As previously reported, on August 20 a Texas federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring 11 Texas school districts from complying with Texas SB 10 that requires posting of a particular version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Yesterday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a press release (full text) directed the school districts that were not defendants in the litigation to comply with SB 10. He said in part:

From the beginning, the Ten Commandments have been irrevocably intertwined with America’s legal, moral, and historical heritage. Schools not enjoined by ongoing litigation must abide by S.B. 10 and display the Ten Commandments. The woke radicals seeking to erase our nation’s history will be defeated. I will not back down from defending the virtues and values that built this country.

As reported by the Houston Chronicle, there is some confusion as to whether the Attorney General's instructions to comply include two major school districts-- Houston and Austin. On Aug. 19, the Austin District was dismissed as a defendant on the condition that it would be bound by any injunction issued in the case against the remaining defendants. (Full text of Order.) The Houston District, on its motion, was excused from participating in the hearing on the preliminary injunction. In a version of the Attorney General's press release posted on X and on Facebook, neither Austin nor Houston was listed among the districts that Paxton said were excused from complying with SB 10. However, in the version posted on the Attorney General's website, both Austin and Houston were listed as districts affected by the injunction and thus excused from compliance.

The Attorney General's instructions follow an Aug. 21 letter (full text) from the ACLU, Americans United and FFRF sent to superintendents in Texas districts that were not defendants in the lawsuit, saying in part:

Even though your district is not a party to the ongoing lawsuit, all school districts have an independent obligation to respect students’ and families’ constitutional rights. Because the U.S. Constitution supersedes state law, public-school officials may not comply with S.B. 10. 

The organizations threaten possible litigation against districts that comply with S.B. 10.

Ban on Faith Statements by Colleges Participating in Program for High Schoolers Violates Free Exercise Clause

Loe v. Jett, (D MN, Aug. 22, 2025), is a challenge to a 2023 Amendment to Minnesota's Post Secondary Education Option (PSEO) statute. The statute allows high school students to enroll in nonsectarian college courses in colleges in the state. The state reimburses colleges for the credits earned by high schoolers. The challenged amendment disqualifies colleges that require faith statements from PSEO students, or which discriminate in admission of PSEO students on the basis of race, creed, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual orientation or religious beliefs or affiliations. The court held that the Faith Statement ban violates the 1st Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, saying in part:

[University of] Northwestern requires PSEO applicants to agree to a Declaration of Christian Community, by which applicants attest to “honor Christ,” “seek Christ‐centered community,” and “stand together against all that the Bible clearly condemns.”... Such an admissions requirement is facially proscribed by the Faith Statement Ban. Now, consider a hypothetical secular private college that participates in the PSEO program. If that secular school required that all PSEO applicants attest to “honor reason,” “seek reason‐centered community,” and “stand together against all that rationalism clearly condemns,” such an admissions requirement would seemingly not be proscribed by the Faith Statement Ban.  

The only difference between the two statement requirements is that Northwestern’s is of a religious—and not a secular—nature. Such a distinction on the face of the Faith Statement Ban is not neutral to religion, and thus triggers strict scrutiny....

In sum, the Faith Statement Ban is unconstitutional on its face under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution because it burdens religious exercise, is not neutral and generally applicable, and is not narrowly tailored to achieve MDE’s compelling interest. Necessarily, this means that the Faith Statement Ban is also unconstitutional under the Freedom of Conscience Clause of Article One, Section Sixteen of the Minnesota Constitution. ...

The court also held that the Amendment's nondiscrimination provision is inseparable from the Statement Ban, so that it too must be struck down. It also rejected the Department of Education's counterclaims against the religious schools that were among the plaintiffs.

MPR News reports on the decision. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Amy L. Sepinwall, A Private Right To Public Accommodations, (August 18, 2025).
• Dennis Wieboldt, American Providentialism: A Reappraisal, (40 Notre Dame J. L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y __ (2025)).
• Dhiman Deb Chowdhury, From Rwanda to Bangladesh: A Comparative Examination of Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and the Dynamics of Prolonged Persecution, (August 13, 2025).
• Zahra Takhshid, ChatGPT and the Marjaʿ,  (April 10, 2025).
• Modh Mudassir, The Impact of Food on Worship and Spirituality: A holistic Approach, (August 14, 2025).
• Grishma Pokharel, Constitutional Secularism and Religious Conversion Laws: A Comparative Study of India and Nepal, (September 15, 2024).
• Mohd Mudassir, The Harmful Effects of Music: An Islamic, Scientific, and Historical Perspective, (August 14, 2025).
• Anas Khalid, et. al., Dowry On Trial: Between Ritual, Right, and the Rule of Law, (August 14, 2025).
• Gaurav Mukherjee, Private Disestablishment, (51 B.Y.U. Law Rev. ___ (2026)).

Recent and Forthcoming Books:

• Jeffrey M. Trissell, Unlocking the Churches: The Legal Victory Against California’s Pandemic-Era Religious Discrimination, (Sophia Institute Press, May 2025).
• Ivan G. Marcus, How the West Became Antisemitic: Jews and the Formation of Europe 800-1500, (Princeton University Press, Aug. 2025).
• Charles J. Russo, State Funding for Teaching about Religion: International Perspectives on State Aid for Schools with a Religious Character, (Routledge, forthcoming 2026).
• Barnabas Aspray & David Elcott, On the Significance of Religion in Immigration Policy, (Routledge, forthcoming 2026).

Pastor's Suit for Reinstatement Dismissed Under Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine

 In Kyles v. Church of God in Christ, (TX App, Aug. 21, 2025), a Texas state appellate court dismissed on ecclesiastical abstention grounds a suit seeking a declaratory judgment that plaintiff, Rufus Kyles, should be reinstated as pastor of the Evangelist Temple Church of God in Christ in Houston, Texas. The court explained in part:

Kyles alleged wrongdoings by multiple bodies of the church during investigations into complaints against him and the resolution of those investigations. The CGC filed an answer, alleging that Kyles was charged in the church with sexual misconduct in 2014, that the church conducted an internal investigation and internal judicial processes in which Kyles participated, and that the internal judicial processes resulted in Kyles being removed from the offices of bishop and pastor....

Here, Kyles’s lawsuit would require the review of the ecclesiastical judicial process, analysis of the CGC’s internal church governance and procedure, and a determination regarding the appropriateness of the CGC’s disciplinary actions against Kyles. In other words, Kyles’s lawsuit cannot be resolved by only applying neutral principles of law; instead, it would require the application of principles of church governance, procedure, and discipline... To prevent courts from impermissibly influencing church governance, courts may not second-guess the decisions reached by a church judicatory body in the application of its own rule, custom, or law....

School Counselor's Office Display of Anti-Trans Books Is Permissible Only When No Students Are in His Office

In Theis v. Intermountain Education Service Board of Directors, (D ORA, Aug. 20, 2025), a social worker employed by the district to administer standardized tests individually to students sued claiming his constitutional rights were violated when the district found that his display of two particular books in his office violated the district's bias policy. The district found that the display of the books-- titled He is He and She is She--constituted a hostile expression toward a person because of their gender identity. Plaintiff was ordered to stop displaying the books. 

The court concluded that the district's policy did not violate plaintiff's free exercise rights, saying in part:

... Plaintiff has failed to show that Defendant’s Speech Policy is not neutral. There is no indication that the ESB Policy restricts any religious practices because of their religious motivations. Indeed, the policy explicitly seeks to prevent discrimination or harassment based on religion. And even if the ESB Policy adversely impacted religious practices, it is addressing the legitimate concern of ensuring an open and welcoming school environment for all students and employees.

Plaintiff also has not shown that Defendants were “hostile” towards his religious beliefs....

The court however agreed in part with plaintiff's free speech claim, saying that "only his display when no students are present is protected under the First Amendment." It explained: 

When no students were present in Plaintiff’s office, the message of the books would not be reasonably attributable to IMESD, and the display could not press Plaintiff’s views on impressionable or captive students.

Court Enjoins Compliance with Texas Law Requiring Posting of 10 Commandments in Classrooms

In Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, (WD TX, Aug. 20, 2025), a Texas federal district court in an unusual 55-page opinion that defies brief summarization issued a preliminary injunction barring 11 Texas school districts from complying with Texas SB 10 that requires posting of a particular version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The court said in part:

... [T]o succeed on the merits under Kennedy, Plaintiffs must show that the practice at issue–permanently displaying the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms–does not “fit within” and is not “consistent with” a broader tradition existing at the time of the founding....

The Court heard from and is very appreciative of the testimony of Dr. Steven Green and Dr. Mark Hall, which was an extensive augmentation of the Court’s 20 years of Methodist Sunday School and theology, political philosophy and constitutional history courses at Texas Lutheran University.  The Court finds Dr. Green’s opinions concerning the intent of the Founders regarding the First Amendment to be more persuasive than Dr. Hall’s testimony....

The court's conclusionary section provides a flavor of the opinion:

Ultimately, in matters of conscience, faith, beliefs and the soul, most people are Garbo-esque. They just want to be left alone, neither proselytized nor ostracized, including what occurs to their children in government run schools.      

Even though the Ten Commandments would not be affirmatively taught, the captive audience of students likely would have questions, which teachers would feel compelled to answer.  That is what they do.  Teenage boys, being the curious hormonally driven creatures they are, might ask: “Mrs. Walker, I know about lying and I love my parents, but how do I do adultery?”  Truly an awkward moment for overworked and underpaid educators, who already have to deal with sex education issues, ... and a classic example of the law of unintended consequences in legislative edicts.

Notwithstanding the sausage making process of legislation, to avoid religious rancor and legal wrangling the Texas Legislature alternatively could require the posting of:

1. Multiple versions of lessons of behavior from many cultures melded into the American motto of “E pluribus unum,” a concept currently in decline.  For example, the Five Moral Precepts of Buddhism: abstain from killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, lying and intoxicants; or

2. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Be kind.  Be respectful.; or

3.  All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: “Share everything.  Play Fair.Don’t hit people. . . . Clean up your own mess.  Don’t take things that aren’t yours.  Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. . . . Live a balanced life. . . . When you go out into the world, . . . hold hands, and stick together.” 

CBS News reports on the decision.

8th Circuit: Evidence Did Not Support Dismissal of Jail Administrator's Title VII Religious Discrimination Case

In Naylor v. County of Muscatine, Iowa, (8th Cir., Aug. 19, 2025), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's dismissal of a Title VII religious discrimination lawsuit brought by a county jail administrator who was fired because of his online postings.  The court said in part:

At the district court, Muscatine County argued it would suffer two types of undue hardship if it continued to employ Naylor as jail administrator. First, the County argued that keeping Naylor on would cause the jail undue hardship because the publicity surrounding his online commentary—which included disparaging views of Muslims and “the gay lifestyle”—had harmed its public image....

We assume, but need not decide, that public image effects can present issues for an organization sufficient to rise to the level of an undue hardship under Title VII. Here, the County has simply not provided sufficient evidence to warrant summary judgment on this ground....

As a second, related type of undue hardship, Muscatine County argued to the district court that retaining Naylor as the jail administrator would imperil its business relationships. The district court agreed, relying on evidence that two outside entities—USMS and Johnson County—considered ending their agreements to send their overflow detainees to the jail as a result of Naylor’s online commentary, and that the loss of these relationships would cause a significant financial burden to Muscatine County. While a reasonable jury could find this evidence sufficient to establish an undue hardship, the evidence is insufficient to support the grant of summary judgment. 

Austrian Court Approves Arbitration Award Rendered by Panel Applying Islamic Law

The European Conservative reported this week that the Regional Court for Civil Law Matters in Vienna, Austria has confirmed an arbitration decision reached by arbitrators who applied Islamic law (Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaah principles). Parties to a contract had agreed to submit their contract dispute to the Muslim law panel. According to the news report:

The court ... confirmed the arbitration decision without reviewing which specific Islamic rules were applied, stating that it only needed to ensure the outcome did not violate the ”fundamental principles” of Austrian law.

The court's decision is controversial in Austria.  According to another European Conservative report:

Although the court said its decision only applies to property disputes, opponents fear it will encourage the wider use of Sharia-based agreements in Austria.

Good News Clubs Must Have Equal Access to School Facilities

In Child Evangelism Fellowship NorCal, Inc. v. Oakland Unified School District Board of Education, (ND CA, Aug. 15, 2025), a California federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring the Oakland School District from denying Christian Evangelism Fellowship and its Good News Clubs access to school facilities after school on an equal basis with the access provided similarly situated nonprofit organizations. Plaintiff had been denied use of school facilities, in part because all space was being used by two broad afterschool programs that choose subcontractors to provide content. The court said in part:

Even assuming that afterschool space is now controlled by the lead agencies, as OUSD seems to urge, Plaintiff has provided an example of a lead agency similarly denying CEF access as a subcontractor because of its religious affiliation....

In short, the Court finds that the law and facts clearly favor Plaintiff’s position that OUSD violated CEF’s free speech rights.

Catholic News Agency reports on the decision.

EEOC Highlights Its Actions to Protect Employees' Religious Freedom

The EEOC yesterday issued a lengthy press release titled 200 Days of EEOC Action to Protect Religious Freedom at Work. The Release says in part:

To date, the EEOC has recovered over $55 million for workers impacted by these [vaccine] mandates—most recently, this week’s $1 million settlement with Mercyhealth. During the Biden Administration, almost all of the agency’s important work enforcing Title VII in the wake of COVID-19 vaccine mandates happened both silently and too slowly. No longer. Under the Trump Administration, the EEOC is taking bold and aggressive steps to remedy the widespread civil rights harms during the pandemic—the first public fruits of which are reflected below....

It also highlighted initiatives involving religious accommodation for employees, antisemitism in colleges, protection of federal employees' religious rights and the Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias.

9th Circuit: Oregon Religious Non-Discrimination Rule for Grantees Is Mostly Valid

 In Youth 71Five Ministries v. Willliams, (9th Cir., Aug. 18, 2025), a Christian youth program sued after the Oregon Department of Education's Youth Development Division withdrew the conditional award of a grant. Plaintiff requires that its board members, employees, and volunteers agree to a Christian Statement of Faith and be involved in a local church. The Division contended that this violates its religious non-discrimination policy.  Plaintiff contended that the withdrawal violated its free exercise, religious-autonomy, and expressive-association rights. 

 The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said in part:

... [T]he Rule does not deny funding based on a practice exclusive to religious organizations. Government agencies, secular corporations, and religious ministries alike might engage in religion-based employment discrimination....

Based on the evidence properly before the district court, it was not an abuse of discretion to conclude that the Division likely treats comparable secular and religious activity the same....

... 71Five argues that merely tailoring services to a target demographic is comparable to 71Five’s categorical exclusion of non-Christians. We disagree....

The Division adopted the Rule to, among other reasons, better reflect its “commitment to equitable access, equal opportunity, and inclusion.” That is a legitimate interest.... The Rule rationally furthers that interest by ensuring that Division-funded initiatives are equally open to employees, volunteers, and participants regardless of race, sex, religion, or any other protected characteristic. The district court therefore did not abuse its discretion in determining that 71Five is not likely to succeed on the merits of its free-exercise claim....

71Five claims that the Rule abridges its expressive association by requiring it to accept employees and volunteers “who disagree” with its message “or would express a contrary view.” ... We hold that 71Five has established that it is likely to succeed, at least in part. As to Division-funded initiatives, the Rule is likely permissible as a reasonable and viewpoint-neutral regulation of expressive association in a limited public forum—the Grant Program. But to the extent that it restricts 71Five’s selection of speakers to spread its Christian message through initiatives that receive no Division funding, the Rule likely imposes an unconstitutional condition....

71Five’s complaint does not allege a violation of any clearly established right under the First Amendment, so the Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity, and the district court did not err in dismissing 71Five’s damages claims with prejudice.

Judge Rawlinson concurred only in the judgment and did not join the majority's opinion, saying in part:

I concur in the judgment because, and only because, of our truncated review of a district court's decision granting or denying injunctive relief, and our obligatory deference to a district court's discretionary decision to decline consideration of arguments and evidence presented in a Reply Brief. ...

I decline to join the majority opinion's analysis because it relies heavily on the premise (mistaken, in my view), that Youth Five's website evidenced discrimination, while websites from the secular organizations applying for grants did not evidence discrimination....

[Thanks to Steven Sholk for the lead.]

UPDATE: On Nov. 26, 2025, the court filed an amended opinion, withdrew Judge Rawlinson's concurring opinion and denied an en banc rehearing. (Full text of amended opinion).

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Erik Stanley, The Ministerial Exception and its Relationship to the First Amendment, (August 08, 2025).
• Ethan Caspian, The Eternal Present: How Biblical Hebrew's Aspectual Verbs Frame the Old Testament as Perpetual Future, (July 30, 2025).
• Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Prologue: The Boundaries of Religious Freedom in Democracies, (in Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias and Aviad Hacohen (eds.), Freedom of Religion, Minority Rights and the Law (Abingdon: Routledge, 2025): xix-xxix).
• Ellen P. Aprill, Misunderstanding National Religious Broadcasters, (Tax Notes Volume 188 No. 4 (2025)).
• Melvin Otey, Christian Faith and Marijuana Use After Federal Rescheduling, (Indiana Health Law Review, Volume 22, No. 2, pp. 351–379 (2025)).
• Eric Heinze, How We Should—and Shouldn’t—Ban Extremist Speech, (UK Commission for Countering Extremism (2025)).
• Eric Heinze, Banning Hate Speech: Are Our Debates about Liberal Values or about Democratic Values?,  (forthcoming in Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, vol 21 (2025/26)).
• Pratham Kaushik, From Lemkin to Law: The Journey of Genocide and International Response, (August 05, 2024).
• Angela C. Carmella, Meyer, Pierce, and Substantive Free Exercise: The Role of the Parent-Child Bond in Religion Clause Jurisprudence, (35 Western Legal History 51-76 (2025)).

From SSRN (Islamic Law):

• Rabiaal Aqillah Shazali, A Conceptual Comparative Study of Shariah Screening Methodologies and Their Implications for Risk-Adjusted Financial Performance Across 34 International Shariah Operators (2000-2024), (August 10, 2025).
• Rabiaal Aqillah Shazali, A Critical Review of “Corporate Governance in the Islamic Perspective” by Alam Choudhury, M., and Nurul Alam, M. (2013), (International Journal Of Islamic And Middle Eastern Finance And Management, 6(3), 180-199 (August 01, 2025)).
• Mahmoud Samawal, From Prophet-Aisha Marriage to Islamic Pedophilia: A Meta-Analysis Study To Disclose Aisha’s Sexual Maturity, (July 16, 2025).
• Aditi Sangwan, Beyond Religious Autonomy: Granting UMEED to Islamic Women and Marginalized Section, (August 05, 2025).
• Filzah Assi, A Short Communication on Balancing the Scales: Faith, Psychology, and the Law in Pursuit of Honesty, (July 23, 2025).
• Muhammad Munir, Gifting the Corpus or Usufruct of the Property to One's Wife: Exploring a Hidden Legal Circumvention to Benefit Helpless Women, (August 07, 2025).
• Dr. Kamshad Mohsin, Emerging Technologies and Islamic Laws: A Comparative Analysis of Prominent Islamic Jurisdictions, (August 10, 2025).

9th Circuit Rejects Christian Day Care's Challenge to Licensing Requirement

In Foothills Christian Ministries v. Johnson, (9th Cir., Aug. 14, 2025), Foothills, a Christian day care center, challenged a California licensing provision requiring that day care centers ensure that children are free to attend religious services or activities of their parents' choice. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that plaintiff lacks standing to challenge the regulation on free exercise grounds because the state has repeatedly taken the position that the regulation does not prohibit operating a day care center with a mandatory religious curriculum, where parents are made aware of this in advance of enrollment. 

However, the court held that Foothills does have standing to challenge the general licensing requirement on the ground that some secular child day care centers are exempt from licensing. But the court rejected that claim on the merits, saying in part:

Foothills contends that the Act’s exemption of “recreation programs conducted for children by” the YMCA “or similar organizations,”...  But this provision only exempts recreation programs from the licensure requirement; it explicitly does not exempt “child day care programs conducted by” the same organizations and so creates no mechanism for granting individualized exemptions for such facilities....

Foothills points to the exception for any “child daycare program that operates only one day per week for no more than four hours on that one day.”... This exemption applies to, among other things, Sunday schools. But a program that oversees children for only four hours a week does not present a threat to children’s health and safety comparable to that of a facility that can operate up to 24 hours a day....

Foothills alleges that the Act’s exemption of certain sectarian organizations—such as the YMCA and Boy Scouts of America—from licensing gives preferential treatment to certain religions in violation of the Establishment Clause.... 

If Foothills sought to operate a recreation program, it would not be subject to the Act. And if the YMCA or the Boy Scouts sought to operate a child day care facility, they would. This exemption draws no lines based on religion....

The court also held that the required disclosure to parents of the right for their child to attend religious activities of their choice does not infringe Foothills' free speech rights, distinguishing the Supreme Court case of Nat’l Inst. of Fam. & Life Advocs. v. Becerra , saying in part:

 Because the Act merely requires Foothills to inform parents of their children’s rights and does not “convey a message fundamentally at odds with its mission,” the required disclosure is not controversial....

8th Circuit: Rejection of Prison Course on Manhood From Christian Biblical Lens Violated Volunteer's 1st Amendment Rights

In Schmitt v. Robertus, (8th Cir., Aug. 14, 2025), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision held that Minnesota prison officials likely violated the 1st Amendment in  refusing to allow plaintiff, a volunteer, to teach a program titled The Quest for Authentic Manhood at the Minnesota Correctional Facility.  The program defines manhood through a Christian biblical lens. Officials rejected the program as violating the prison's diversity, equity and inclusivity values, saying in part:

Throughout all sessions reviewed, men were only identified as heterosexual, seeking ideal relationships and marriage with women. It is evident that throughout this curriculum, manhood can only be achieved through heterosexual relationships.

Additionally, throughout many of the sessions, women are also identified as the problem for creating “soft males[,”] described as indecisive and weak....

The 8th Circuit focused on the test in prison cases announced by the Supreme Court in Turner v. Safley. Under that test prison regulations must have a valid rational connection to a legitimate governmental interest. The 8th Circuit said in part:

The first Turner factor, however, requires more than a legitimate penological interest. “[T]he governmental objective must be a legitimate and neutral one.”... “This means that the proffered mechanism by which the regulation promotes the legitimate government interest must be ‘unrelated to the suppression of expression.’” ...

Here, although the MDOC set forth a legitimate government interest, its termination of Quest was not “in a neutral fashion, without regard to the content of the expression.”...

Judge Kelly dissented, saying in part:

As I see it, it is common sense that a prison, like a school, can curate the programming it provides. ...

It thus seems natural to me to conclude that MDOC’s rehabilitative programming constitutes government speech, casting doubt on Schmitt’s free-speech and free-exercise claims....

5th Circuit Allows San Antonio Park Development To Move Ahead Over Religious Objections of Lipan-Apache

In Perez v. City of San Antonio, (5th Cir., Aug. 13, 2025), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision affirmed a trial court's refusal to enjoin San Antonio's development plan for a city park.  Plaintiffs are members of the Lipan-Apache Native American Church. Certain of their religious ceremonies can take place only at a particular river bend in the park and require the presence of cormorants in the trees there. The development plans involve removing and relocation of trees and modifying bird habitats to deter birds from nesting in highly urbanized areas of the park. Plaintiffs claim that removal of trees and the bird deterrence program violate their religious freedom protected by the 1st Amendment, the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Texas Constitution.  In a prior opinion, the 5th Circuit certified to the Texas Supreme Court a question on the meaning of a 2021 amendment to the Texas Constitution that prohibits the government from interfering with religious services. In response, the Texas Supreme Court said that the constitutional provision does not extend to governmental actions for the preservation and management of public lands.

In this week's decision, the majority, refusing to grant an injunction pending further appeal, held that the project did not violate the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, saying in part:

... [T]he City’s development plan only indirectly impacts Appellants’ religious conduct and expression. Appellants continue to have virtually unlimited access to the Park for religious and cultural purposes. The record shows that, regardless of the rookery management program, no cormorants, due to their migration patterns, inhabit the area for extended periods of time each year....

Appellants did not meet their burden to show that they are likely to succeed on their claim that the plan constitutes a substantial burden of their religious exercise. Even if they did, that would not change the outcome of this appeal because the City’s plan advances a compelling interest through the least restrictive means—and thus survives strict scrutiny.

The majority also held that the city's program did not violate the 1st Amendment, saying in part:

The parties’ dispute under the Free Exercise Clause centers on which standard of constitutional review applies to the instant case, rational basis or strict scrutiny. Appellants argue that the City’s plans for tree removal and rookery management measures are not neutral and generally applicable and, therefore, must be analyzed under the more exacting strict scrutiny standard. The City contends that its planned Park improvements are neutral and generally applicable and that the more deferential rational basis standard of review applies. Assuming strict scrutiny applies, we conclude that the challenged government action in this case withstands Appellants’ Free Exercise challenge, as illustrated infra in the TRFRA claim analysis.

Judge Higginson dissented in part, saying in part:

Despite my respect for the majority’s analysis, I continue to think that Appellants’ religious exercise is substantially burdened and that the City of San Antonio ... failed to accommodate Appellants’ religious beliefs in the least restrictive manner.  I would therefore hold that the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“TRFRA”) requires the City to accommodate Appellants’ religious beliefs across two “items of relief” requested in the complaint: the City’s tree-removal (“Item 2”) and anti-nesting (“Item 3”) measures....

Appellants’ testimony shows that services at the riverbend would be “meaningless” without the trees or the cormorants, and that disruption to either will “unravel” the land’s spiritual ecology—a sine qua non for Church members’ religious exercise.  Just as importantly, Appellants’ testimony confirms that these services cannot “be performed anywhere else.”...

To the extent the majority suggests that Appellants can obtain  spiritual fulfilment by exercising their religious beliefs in a manner contrary to their testimony, such reasoning is forbidden.

UPDATE: On Dec. 12, 2025, the Court filed an amended opinion, again concluding in a 2-1 vote that neither the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act nor the 1st Amendment had been violated.

School Officials Lack Standing To Sue Advocacy Group For Interfering With Their Duties

In Oklahoma State Department of Education v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, (ED OK, Aug. 13, 2025), Oklahoma education officials, in an interesting twist, sued to enjoin the advocacy organization Freedom From Religion Foundation from interfering with Plaintiffs’ statutory authority to govern Oklahoma’s public schools. FFRF had sent letters complaining about Bible reading and prayer in classrooms in one district and appointment of a football team chaplain in another. The court held that Plaintiffs lack standing to bring the suit, saying in part:

... [T]he Complaint does not explain how these letters have interfered with day-to-day operations in any real way.

Plaintiffs’ Complaint also vaguely alludes that Plaintiffs’ injury is the “chilling effect” caused by Defendant’s letters....

... [T]he Complaint does not allege that it has stopped executing its duties or ceased administration of Oklahoma’s public schools because of Defendant’s letters.2  Nor does the Complaint allege that the schools have ceased any policies or practices because of Defendant’s letters. 

For these reasons, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to show an injury in fact.

[Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.]

8th Circuit: Jury Should Decide If Anti-Abortion Facebook Posting Impacted Delivery of Public Services

In Melton v. City of Forrest City, Arkansas, (8th Cir., Aug. 13, 2025), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a district court should have sent factual questions to a jury instead of granting summary judgment in a retaliation suit by a fireman who was dismissed because of the firestorm caused by a controversial posting on his personal Facebook page. The fire chief had received complaints about the posting from city council members and members of the public. The court said in part:

Steven Melton is a pro-life, evangelical Christian.  In June 2020, he reposted a black-and-white image on Facebook that depicted a silhouette of a baby in the womb with a rope around its neck.  His intent was to convey that he was “anti-abortion.”...

Others did not view the image the same way.  Two weeks after he posted it, a retired fire-department supervisor complained to Melton that he thought it looked like a noose around the neck of a black child.  It upset him because the caption of the image, “I can’t breathe!,” was associated with the protests surrounding George Floyd’s death.  Melton agreed to delete it immediately....

The problem is that there was no showing that Melton’s post had an impact on the fire department itself.  No current firefighter complained or confronted him about it.  Nor did any co-worker or supervisor refuse to work with him.  Granting summary judgment based on such “vague and conclusory” concerns, without more, runs the risk of constitutionalizing a heckler’s veto.

ADF issued a press release announcing the decision.

Contraceptive Mandate Religious and Moral Accommodation Rules Held Invalid

In Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump, (ED PA, Aug. 13, 2025), a Pennsylvania federal district court invalidated two rules promulgated in 2018 that allow employers with religious objections and most employers with moral objections to opt out of furnishing contraceptive coverage for their employees in their health insurance plans. Little Sisters of the Poor intervened as a defendant in the case. The court held that promulgation of the rule was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The court said in part:

In promulgating the Religious Rule, the Agencies’ justified the Rule by invoking potential conflicts between the Contraceptive Mandate and RFRA....

The Religious Rule goes far “beyond what the Departments’ justification” (i.e., resolving potential conflicts between RFRA and the Contraceptive Mandate) “supported—raising doubts about whether the solution lacks a ‘rational connection’ to the problem described.”...

Neither is the Moral Rule sustainable.  The States’ point that, in promulgating the Moral Rule, the Agencies “relied on factors which Congress has not intended it to consider,”....  Accordingly, the Moral Rule must be set aside as arbitrary and capricious....

Quite apart from the reasons set forth above, both the Religious and the Moral Rules must be vacated because the Agencies did not provide a “satisfactory explanation for [their] action,”... in that they failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for their change in course regarding contraception’s safety and efficacy, and, they failed to adequately address reasonable alternatives to the Rules they crafted....

The APA provides that the “reviewing court shall . . . (2) hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be—(A) arbitrary [and] capricious.”... “Ordinarily, reviewing courts have applied that provision by vacating invalid agency action and remanding the matter to the agency for further review.”...

Becket Fund issued a press release announcing the decision.

DOJ Finds GW University Violated Title VI In Failing To Respond To Antisemitism

In a letter dated Aug. 12 (full text), the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice notified George Washington University that DOJ has found the University in violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act because of the University's lack of response to discrimination and antisemitic harassment of Jewish and Israeli students by other students. The letter reads in part:

The Department finds that GWU students and faculty were subjected to a hostile educational environment that was objectively offensive, severe, and pervasive. The antisemitic, hate-based misconduct by GWU students directed at Jewish GWU students, faculty, and employees was, in a word, shocking. The behavior was demonstrably abhorrent, immoral, and, most importantly, illegal....

Jewish students, parents and alumni contacted GWU numerous times to express their alarm and concern about the actions of protesters and to express their legitimate and reasonable fears for their safety. Just between April 25 and May I, 2024, GWU received no less than eight complaints alleging that demonstrators were discriminating against students because they were Jewish or Israeli. The Department has also received other complaints from Jewish GWU students and their parents about antisemitic misconduct and abuse.

Based on its investigation, the Department has concluded that GWU took no meaningful action and instead was deliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment on its campus in violation of Title VI....

The Department intends to proceed with enforcement of this important federal civil rights law unless resolution of this matter is reached in the near future. The Department therefore offers GWU the opportunity to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement to ensure immediate remediation of these issues and related  reforms to prevent the recurrence of discrimination, harassment, and abuse.... 

The Justice Department issued a press release announcing its findings.

FBI Releases 2024 Hate Crime Data

On August 5, the FBI released 2024 U.S. Hate Crime Statistics (full text of report). The Report discloses the 24.6% of the hate crime incidents last year resulted from religious bias. According to the Report, of the 3,235 victims of anti-religious hate crimes, 69.1% were victims of crimes motivated by offenders’ anti-Jewish bias; 9.3% were victims of anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias; 4.7% were victims of anti-Sikh bias; 2.6% were victims of anti-Other Christian bias; 1.9% were victims of anti-Catholic bias.

Denial of State Reimbursement for Religious Home School Material Does Not Violate 1st Amendment

In Trakel v. Critchfield, (D ID, Aug. 6, 202), an Idaho federal district court rejected parents' claim that they are entitled to reimbursement for religiously influenced supplemental materials that they purchased for their children who are enrolled in the state's home learning program, the Idaho Home Learning Academy. The court said in part:

IHLA is an accredited public charter school that provides Idaho students with a customizable online education. The school offers its own online curriculum options but also reimburses families for the costs of certain self-selected supplemental and enrichment materials. Some of these items are “preapproved,” while others require IHLA to first determine that the items are educationally appropriate, reasonable, and an efficient use of tax dollars....

The school denied the reimbursement request, citing State Department of Education policies and Article IX, Section 5 of the Idaho Constitution, known as the Blaine Amendment,  which prohibits the use of public money for religious purposes....

The Trakels argue this denial violates the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. Specifically, they view IHLA’s reimbursement policy as a public benefit, which is unconstitutionally limited to secular curriculums....

... [T]he Trakels seek to compel IHLA to provide a religious education. IHLA’s reimbursement policy is not a public benefit that allows parents to make fully independent decisions regarding their children’s education. Although families have an unusual degree of input and flexibility, IHLA is ultimately a public school that sets its own curriculum. To qualify for reimbursement, supplemental materials must receive approval and meet a variety of standards set by the school.... To put it simply, reimbursed materials become part of the IHLA curriculum. The question, then, is whether the Trakels have a free exercise or free speech right for their children to receive a public religious education. The answer is clearly no.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Bennett Lunn, De-Balkanizing Religious Discrimination: St. Isidore and the Social Cohesion Rationale, (August 01, 2025).
• Richard Kenneth Sherwin, Constitutional Over-Beliefs: Constituent Power, Affective Intensity, and Law's Legitimation, (August 01, 2025).
• Michael Stokes Paulsen, Freedom For Religion, (The Yale Law Journal Forum, Vol.133 (2023).
• Hila Keren, Constitutional Opportunism, (August 04, 2025).
• Isaac Barnes May, Legal Realism and the Separation of Religion and Judicial Reasoning, (Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities, Volume 36, Issue 2 (2025)).
• Agustin V. Startari, Grammars of Power: How Syntactic Structures Shape Authority, (July 03, 2025).
• Dennis Wieboldt, Ideas With(out) Consequences?: The Natural Law Institute and the Making of Conservative Constitutionalism During the Cold War, 1947-1951, (42 L. & Hist. Rev. __ (2025)).
• Gaurav Mukherjee, Religious Freedom in an Era of Democratic Backsliding, (Oxford Handbook of Comparative Human Rights Law (Mila Versteeg & Neha Jain, eds., 2025).
• Jennifer S. Hendricks, Next Time Around: Abortion and Sex Equality, (June 01, 2024).
• Michael Showalter, Establishment Clause Legislative History Is Not the Law: The Misguided Search for Original Subjective Intent, (Federalist Society Review, forthcoming).

From SSRN (Non-U.S. Law):

• Nicholas Aroney, In Two Natures, without Confusion, without Change, without Division, without Separation Christology and the Constitutional Ordering of Authority, (July 23, 2025).
• Swaraj Pandey, Genocide and International Justice: Legal Accountability in Gaza, Myanmar, and Beyond, (July 20, 2025).
• Jamshed Durrani, QalbCode: A Multidisciplinary Framework for Rewiring the Subconscious Operating System Behind Human Potential, (July 02, 2025).
• Haim V. Levy, Embryo Status, Parenthood, and Child Welfare in Assisted Reproduction: Legal and Ethical Challenges (July 22, 2025).
• Khushi D, When Culture is the Target: Rethinking Genocide in India and Beyond, (May 06, 2025).
• Marie Seong-Hak Kim, Legal Pluralism That Wasn't: State and the Plurality of Law in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, (February 01, 2025).

From SmartCILP:

• Noah Feldman, The Brainerd Currie Memorial Lecture. History and Tradition? Anatomy of a Constitutional Revolution, 74 Duke Law Journal 1597-1612 (2025).

Court Again Upholds Idaho Law on School Restroom Use by Transgender Students

In Sexuality and Gender Alliance v. Critchfield, (D ID, Aug. 7, 2025), an Idaho federal district court refused to issue a preliminary injunction to bar enforcement of an Idaho statute that requires transgender students in Idaho public schools to use restrooms, changing rooms, and showers that correspond to their biological sex. The 9th Circuit had previously upheld the denial of a broad preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the statute. In this suit, plaintiffs ask for a narrow injunction applicable only to restrooms at Boise High School. Plaintiffs argue that Boise High School has allowed transgender students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity for years, and allowing enforcement now would upset the status quo. The court said in part:

Separating restrooms by biological sex has been common for centuries.... And for good reason—there are biological differences between men and women.... Those biological differences are deserving of privacy and S.B. 1100’s segregation of restrooms based on sex is related to that interest. It is not the Court’s role to determine whether S.B. 1100 is a perfect policy; the Court must only address whether it is “substantially related” to the State of Idaho’s interest in protecting student’s privacy. Because S.B. 1100 is substantially related to the State’s legitimate interest in privacy, the Court finds SAGA is unlikely to succeed on its Equal Protection claim....

The Ninth Circuit... concluded: “SAGA failed to meet its burden to show that the State had clear notice at the time it accepted federal funding that Title IX prohibits segregated access to the facilities covered by S.B. 1100 on the basis of transgender status.”... This conclusion applies with equal force to SAGA’s as-applied challenge. Accordingly, the Court finds SAGA is unlikely to succeed on its Title IX claim.

ADF issued a press release announcing the decision.

Executive Order Targets Religious and Political Discrimination by Banks

Yesterday President Trump issued an Executive Order (full text) titled Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All. The Executive Order requires banking agencies to take steps to prevent, and to remedy past, "politicized or unlawful debanking." The Order provides in part:

The term “politicized or unlawful debanking” refers to an act by a bank ... or other financial services provider to ... adversely restrict access to, or adversely modify the conditions of, accounts, loans, or other banking products or financial services ... on the basis of the customer’s or potential customer’s political or religious beliefs, or on the basis of [their] ... lawful business activities that the financial service provider disagrees with or disfavors for political reasons.

10th Circuit Upholds Oklahoma's Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

In Poe v. Drummond, (10th Cir., Aug. 6, 2025), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court's refusal to preliminarily enjoin enforcement of an Oklahoma law that prohibits furnishing of surgical procedures, puberty blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to treat gender dysphoria in minors.  Relying on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Skrmetti, the court rejected equal protection and parental rights challenges. The court said in part:

We conclude that Oklahoma’s enactment of SB 613 rationally relates to Oklahoma’s interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of minors in light of the debate among medical experts about the risks and benefits associated with treating a minor’s gender dysphoria with gender transitioning procedures.  We thus affirm the district court’s ruling as to Plaintiffs’ Equal Protection claim....

In sum, SB 613 does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminates based on age and medical purpose and satisfies rational basis review.  We also need not subject SB 613 to heightened scrutiny based on impermissible legislative purpose because no evidence exists that Oklahoma legislature enacted it as a pretext to invidiously discriminate against transgender minors....

We next determine whether the liberty interest—parents’ right to access gender transition procedures for their children—is so deeply rooted in our Nation’s history to establish a fundamental right.  After conducting “a careful analysis of the history of the right at issue,”... we conclude there is no deeply rooted tradition in parents’ right to access gender transition procedures for their children.

News On 6 reports on the decision.

5th Circuit: Anti-Vax Belief in Bodily Autonomy Can Support Title VII Religious Discrimination Claim

In Wright v. Honeywell International, Inc., (5th Cir., Aug. 5, 2025), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's dismissal of a Title VII religious discrimination suit brought by a dock operator who in 2022 refused to comply with Honeywell's Covid vaccine mandate. Honeywell refused to grant plaintiff a religious exemption on the ground that he did not identify a sincerely held religious belief as the basis for his refusal. The court said in part:

Wright sought a religious exemption from the vaccination policy, citing on his exemption request form his belief that “our creator gave us this gift to choose and decide for ourselves,” and also that it is “in our constitution no man should be forced to do something he . . . is not comfortable with.”  Wright is a Baptist Christian.  He explained that his religion does not “prevent[]” him from receiving the vaccine, “but cert[ai]n passages le[ad him] to feel very strongly about” his decision.  Wright also attested on his exemption request form that he “didn[’]t like the respon[s]e [his] body had” to a tetanus vaccine in 2015.  And he stated that this was the first time that he had sought a religious exemption from a mandatory vaccine. 

Wright also submitted Honeywell’s required third-party attestation of his religious beliefs, completed by his daughter.  Citing scripture, his daughter explained, “It is in our belief that humans should only use things that are created of the earth by God.  We believe the vaccine is a claim of the mark of the beast[;] it is man made and goes against our religion.”...

“Bona fide religious beliefs include ‘moral or ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views.’”...

Wright’s evidence demonstrates a “moral or ethical” belief in bodily autonomy and freedom to choose what to put in his body.... The fact that he gave additional reasons for his vaccine refusal does not show that his belief is “merely a preferred practice.”...  Instead, it simply shows that his vaccine refusal is grounded on both religious and non-religious reasons.  Furthermore, the inquiry on this prong is not “whether [Wright’s specific] belief is a true religious tenet” of the Baptist faith, but rather whether the belief is, “in his own scheme of things, religious.”

7th Circuit: Jury Must Decide Whether Religious Accommodation Would Create Undue Hardship

In a Title VII case that has been in litigation for six years, in Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corp., (7th Cir., Aug. 5, 2025), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment to the Brownsburg school district and sent the case back to the trial court for a jury to determine disputed facts. At issue is a music teacher's religious objections to following school policy that requires him to refer to transgender students by the names and pronouns that the students and their parents have asked that the school use. Initially the school accommodated the teacher by permitting him to address transgender students using only their last names. However, this led to student dissatisfaction and the accommodation was rescinded. The primary disputed facts are whether the accommodation created an "undue hardship" under the standard defined by the Supreme Court in its 2023 decision in Groff v. DeJoy, and whether the teacher's religious objections were sincere.  The majority said in part:

... [T]he record contains material factual disputes about whether the accommodation disrupted Brownsburg’s learning environment, precluding summary judgment to the school....

... [T]he complaints ...  all deal with the effects on the two students from Kluge’s use of the last-name-only practice. Nowhere do these documents support an inference that the students had a problem with Kluge’s religion or “the mere fact [of] an accommodation.”...  Instead, the complaints are leveled against the impacts on students and teachers, regardless of whether the accommodation was for religious or secular reasons. 

... [T]here is still a genuine material factual dispute about whether those complaints rose to an undue hardship on the school’s educational mission....

...  [A] genuine issue of material fact exists regarding Kluge’s sincerity. Even though a claimant’s sincerity does not hinge on whether he is “scrupulous in his [religious] observance,” it would still be premature to take this issue away from the jury on this question. ...

Judge Rovner filed a dissenting opinion, saying in part:

Until today, when confronted with a Title VII employment discrimination claim, we have deferred to an employer’s good-faith assessment of how an employee performed in the workplace..... Today the court invites a jury to do what we have always said a federal court will not do, which is to sit as a super-personnel department and second-guess the employer’s good-faith reasoning. In making employment decisions, ... employers will now have to consider not only how successfully an employee is performing his job as modified by a religious accommodation, but how a jury might second-guess its assessment in litigation years down the line. This is an untenable restraint on employers’ decision making. 

Today’s decision also burdens employers in a second important respect. Brownsburg successfully argued below that Kluge’s accommodation proved inconsistent with its mission, which is to provide a supportive learning environment for all of its students. Although the majority accepts this mission for present purposes, it also suggests that evidence of an employer’s mission must be limited to policies that are formally documented and adopted prior to any litigation. I think many employers will be surprised to learn that their ability to define their own missions is restricted to formal policies prepared long before an employment dispute arrives in court....

See prior related posting. ADF issued a press release announcing the decision.

9th Circuit: Ministerial Exception Requires Dismissal of Customer Service Representative's Title VII Suit

In McMahon v. World Vision, Inc., (9th Cir., Aug. 5, 2025), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the ministerial exception doctrine requires dismissal of a Title VII employment discrimination suit brought by a World Vision customer service representative ("CSR") whose job offer was revoked when the organization learned that she was in a same-sex marriage. World Vision is a Christian ministry which shares the gospel through outreach to poor and underserved children and families. The court said in part: 

We hold that the ministerial exception applies to a CSR not merely because they interface with the public, pray with their colleagues, or abide by World Vision’s requirements to embody Christian values.  Rather, CSRs qualify for the exception because (1) they are World Vision’s “voice,” responsible for “effectively communicat[ing] World Vision’s involvement in ministries and projects around the world”; (2) their engagement with donors is a form of ministry itself; and (3) they “give people an opportunity to join [World Vision] in the mission of God.”  Each of these religious responsibilities is “vital” to World Vision’s particular religious mission. 

[Corrected] 

Prosecution of Religious Leader for Psilocybin Use Is Enjoined

In Jensen v. Utah County, (D UT, Aug. 4, 2025), a Utah federal district court enjoined Utah County from continuing its prosecution of plaintiff Bridger Lee Jensen for violating the Utah Controlled Substances Act's prohibition on psilocybin. Jensen is the founder of Singularism, an entheogenic religion. The court said in part:

... [A]t this procedural juncture ... it would be wisest to assume—without deciding—that the Utah constitution’s free exercise clause provides protections equal to those of the Federal Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause. Doing so adheres to “the general rule that courts should avoid reaching constitutional issues if the case can be decided on other grounds.”...

... [T]he Utah Controlled Substances Act’s restrictions on psilocybin possession and use, though neutral, are not generally applicable due to the secular exemption for behavioral-health treatment by certain healthcare systems and accordingly trigger strict scrutiny if a plaintiff can show that the restrictions burden its religious exercise. And Plaintiffs’ complaint alleges facts sufficient for the court to conclude that Plaintiffs have alleged a burden on their free exercise....

Only after this court determined that Plaintiffs were likely to prevail on the merits of their state RFRA claim did Defendants institute criminal proceedings against Mr. Jensen and invoke Younger abstention. From this sequence of events, the court finds that Defendants commenced the state criminal action (the basis for their abstention argument now) in order to relitigate the RFRA issue on which they appear to be poised to lose in this court—in other words, to get a second bite at the apple. The court will not allow the shield of the Younger doctrine to be used as a gamesmanship sword.  

Even if Defendants had not waived their Younger abstention defense by voluntarily invoking federal jurisdiction, the court finds that the bad-faith and irreparable-injury exceptions apply....

Based on the record in this case, the court notes once again its finding that the prosecution was brought in bad faith as part of a larger effort to harass Plaintiffs for their entheogenic religious practices and in hopes of giving the government a second opportunity to litigate the free-exercise issues presented squarely in this case. The prosecution has already caused Singularism to lose many of its practitioners and affiliates, and forcing Plaintiffs to wait until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings to secure their free-exercise rights would be the equivalent of issuing a death warrant for their nascent religion....

Court Enjoins Compliance with Arkansas Law Requiring Posting of 10 Commandments in All Classrooms

Earlier this year, Arkansas enacted Act 573 requiring display of the Ten Commandments in public school and college classrooms. In Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1, (WD AR, Aug. 4, 2025), an Arkansas federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring four school districts that are defendants in the case from complying with the new law.  The court said in part:

Forty-five years ago, the Supreme Court struck down a Ten Commandments law nearly identical to the one the Arkansas General Assembly passed earlier this year. That precedent remains binding on this Court and renders Arkansas Act 573 plainly unconstitutional. Why would Arkansas pass an obviously unconstitutional law? Most likely because the State is part of a coordinated strategy among several states to inject Christian religious doctrine into public-school classrooms. These states view the past decade of rulings by the Supreme Court on religious displays in public spaces as a signal that the Court would be open to revisiting its precedent on religious displays in the public school context. ...

Despite the Kennedy [v. Bremerton School District] Court’s rather sweeping announcement that the Lemon test had been “abandoned,” ..., there is no cause to believe that all Supreme Court precedent that relied on the Lemon test has been—or will be—overruled. The Kennedy opinion itself makes that crystal clear....

...  Act 573’s mandate is incompatible with the Founding Fathers’ conception of religious liberty. The Founders were deeply committed to the principle that government must not compel religious observance or endorse religious doctrine, and that commitment is reflected in multiple foundational texts....

The State has not established that burdening Plaintiffs’ Free Exercise rights “serve[s] a compelling interest and [is] narrowly tailored to that end.”... Even if the State were to meet its burden of showing a compelling interest, it would fail the “narrowly tailored” prong. There are many ways in which students could be taught the relevant history of the Ten Commandments without the State approving an official version of scripture and then displaying it to students in every classroom on a permanent, daily basis....

ACLU issued a press release announcing the decision. [Thanks to Thomas Rutledge for the lead.]

UPDATE: On Aug. 28., a Supplemental Complaint was filed adding an additional school district as a defendant. The court issued a temporary restraining order barring that district from complying with the statute, and giving it an opportunity to submit briefing on why the preliminary injunction should not be expanded to include it.

European Court Says Russia Violated Religious Rights in Its War with Ukraine

In Ukraine and Netherlands v. Russia, (ECHR, July 9, 2025), the European Court of Human Rights in a 1652 paragraph Grand Chamber opinion held Russia has violated a large number of provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights in its conflict with Ukraine. The opinion covers the period from 2014 until 2022 when Russia withdrew as a party to the Convention. Among the violations were intimidation, harassment and persecution of religious groups other than the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), in violation of Article 9 of the Convention which protects freedom of religion. The Court said in part:

1269.  The evidence shows that since May 2014 freedom of religion has been significantly curtailed in occupied Ukrainian territory. The separatists in the “DPR” [Donetsk] and the “LPR” [Lugansk] quickly declared the UOC-MP to be the main religious group in occupied territory. They harassed and persecuted religious figures of other religions or Christian churches as well as civilians engaging in worship ... in breach of the requirements of international humanitarian law.... There are numerous reports of religious leaders being ill-treated, abducted during religious activities and, in some cases, killed by separatists in eastern Ukraine. It is clear from the context of many of these instances that these individuals had been targeted on account of their positions as leaders of religious communities and in the context of a generalised practice of disrupting and preventing the right of those not adhering to the UOC-MP to practise their religions.... There is also evidence of the banning of religious material, which was deemed to be “extremist” by separatist administrations and institutions.... Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses appear to have been particularly targeted.

1270.  From 2016 the evidence shows that the “DPR” and the “LPR” began to put in place formal requirements for the registration and operation of religious groups..... Some religious organisations were identified as “extremist” organisations and banned on this ground with their religious material and publications seized, destroyed and banned... Religious leaders and parishioners were pursued on charges of organising or attending illegal gatherings....

1271.  ... In 2022 the Russian occupation administration “nationalised” property from religious communities and repurposed it for their own ends....

The Court also issued a press release summarizing the full decision.

Challenge to Church's Switch in Denominations Fails

In Wimber v. Scott, (CA App., July 30, 2025), a California state appellate court held that plaintiffs who were tithing congregants of a Protestant church formerly known as Vinyard Christian Fellowship and now known as Dwelling Place lack standing to sue the church's pastors and board of directors on behalf of the church for fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. It also held that the First Amendment precludes granting the relief sought. Following the wishes of the church's senior pastor, the pastor and the board of directors disaffiliated the church from the Vinyard Movement and used the church's $62 million in assets to start and fund a new movement. Plaintiffs included the widow of the founder of the Vinyard Movement and a congregant who had contributed over $500,000 to the church. The court said in part:

The NRC [California Nonprofit Religious Corporations Code] limits who may bring a representative lawsuit to, as relevant here, a “member” alleging a director violated their authority (§ 9141, subd. (a)) and a “member” or “former member” alleging breach of a trust. (§ 9142, subd. (a)(1).)  

Because churches are these unique species of corporation, the NRC recognizes the church may refer to persons who are part of its congregation as “‘members.”’ (§ 9332, subd. (a).) But the NRC does not allow these individuals to assert representative lawsuits. Only those persons explicitly authorized to do so by the corporation’s articles or bylaws have the power to bring a representative lawsuit. (Ibid.) Otherwise, any one of a church’s potentially hundreds or thousands of congregants could at any time bring a representative lawsuit....

Appellants’ allegations demonstrate they are members of the congregation, not the corporation....

 Although the statements may constitute misrepresentations, the Scotts made the statements to the “Search Committee and the Board,” of which only Director Appellants were a part. As such, [those plaintiffs who were not directors] ... have not alleged a cause of action for fraud based on misrepresentation....

Even assuming the complaint stated sufficient facts to allege causes of action, the First Amendment would bar this case from going forward....

Appellants ask the court to impose a trust over Dwelling Place’s assets in favor of Vineyard USA and to require the Scotts to keep Dwelling Place a part of the Vineyard Movement and Vineyard USA. Even if the facts alleged in the complaint entitled Appellants to such relief, they are essentially asking the court to manage and run Dwelling Place in a manner consistent with their religious beliefs. We would have to administer Dwelling Place’s assets to further a religious doctrine to which Appellants ascribe. 

Worse, we would then potentially violate the Scotts’ religious beliefs by forcing them to minister Dwelling Place in a mode Appellants see appropriate. We will not do any of this....

We note the ministerial exception also bars Appellants’ claims....  We cannot litigate Appellants’ claims or grant the relief they seek without in some way punishing the church for its hiring of the Scotts, retention of the Scotts, or ratification of the Scotts’ decisions and actions.