South Carolina Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In Episcopal Church Split

Yesterday, the South Carolina Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Protestant Episcopal Church In The Diocese of South Carolina v. Episcopal Church.  In the case, a state trial court held that 38 break-away Episcopal parishes in South Carolina retain ownership of their real, personal and intellectual property. It rejected claims by The Episcopal Church that an express or a constructive trust existed under which it could claim the property. (See prior posting.)  Both The State and the Post and Courier have reports on the arguments.  Also available online are the Appellants' Brief and Respondents' Brief to the state Supreme Court.  A related case is winding its way through federal courts. (See prior posting.)

Pope Francis Addresses Joint Session of Congress

Pope Francis this morning became the first Pope to address a joint session of Congress. He delivered an hour-long speech (full text) filled with appeals, often framed in subtle and sophisticated nuance, appealing to Congress and Americans to realize their own potential on a wide range of issues-- many of them politically charged.  Here are some of the more memorable quotes:

All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of the world today.  Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion.  We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism.  This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.  A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms.  But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners.  The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps.  We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within.  To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.  That is something which you, as a people, reject..... 

In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom.  We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners.  I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.  Tragically, the rights of those who were here long before us were not always respected.  For those peoples and their nations, from the heart of American democracy, I wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation.  Those first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present.  Nonetheless, when the stranger in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat the sins and the errors of the past.  We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible, as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our “neighbors” and everything around us.  Building a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a constant effort to do our best.  I am confident that we can do this.....

The fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes.  I know that many Americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with this problem.

It goes without saying that part of this great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth.  The right use of natural resources, the proper application of technology and the harnessing of the spirit of enterprise are essential elements of an economy which seeks to be modern, inclusive and sustainable.  “Business is a noble vocation, directed to producing wealth and improving the world.  It can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the area in which it operates, especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an essential part of its service to the common good” (Laudato Si’, 129).  This common good also includes the earth, a central theme of the encyclical which I recently wrote in order to “enter into dialogue with all people about our common home” (ibid., 3).  “We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all” (ibid., 14).

 Washington Post has additional reporting on the speech.

Over 700 Killed In Hajj Crush of Pilgrims

Reuters reports that at least 717 Hajj pilgrims were killed and 805 others injured in a stampede outside Mecca today.  The crush occurred when two large groups of pilgrims arrived at the same time at a crossroads on the way to performing the "stoning the devil" ceremony at Jamarat. 4,000 rescue workers have been sent to the location of the accident.

In Unscheduled Stop, Pope Supports Challenge To ACA Contraceptive Mandate Accommodation

According to the Washington Post, Pope Francis as part of his visit to Washington yesterday made an unscheduled stop at the convent of the Little Sisters of the Poor.  The Little Sisters, who operate homes for the elderly in cities across the country, is involved in a high profile court case challenging the Obama Administration's accommodation for religious non-profits that object to making contraceptive coverage available to their employees. Vatican Radio reports today:

This is a sign, obviously of support for them [in their court case]” said Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, the head of the Holy See Press Office.

“In this sense it is connected also to the words that the Pope has said in support of the Bishops of the United States in the speech to President Obama,” Father Lombardi continued.

“This was a little addition to the programme, but I think it has an important meaning in this moment,” he said.

Presumably Father Lombardi's reference to the Pope's talk at the White House (see prior posting) were to this portion of the Pope's remarks:

[American Catholics are] concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty.  That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions.  And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.

Little Sisters of the Poor have filed a petition for certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 10th Circuit's decision upholding the Obama Administration's contraceptive coverage accommodation for religious non-profits. (See prior posting.)

Florida City Ends Invocations After Satanist Demands Participation

The Coral Springs, Florida City Council has decided to end its practice of offering an invocation to open council meetings.  According to a report this week from Christian News Network, the decision came after a Satanist requested to lead an invocation.  Bowing to the campaign by Satanist Chaz Stevens to force an end to city council prayers by "mak[ing] a fiasco out of it," Coal Gables Mayor Skip Campbell said he did not want to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers fees to fight Stevens' invocation request.

Pope Addresses Politically Sensitive Topics In First U.S. Speeches

In his first full day in the United States, Pope Francis today waded into the politically sensitive topics of immigration, climate change and the Church's sex abuse scandals.  He gave two major addresses one at the White House this morning (full text) and a second (full text) to the U.S. Catholic Bishops at a mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, close to the White House. Here are some excerpts:

On immigration:

As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families. (White House speech).

My second recommendation has to do with immigrants.  I ask you to excuse me if in some way I am pleading my own case.  The Church in the United States knows like few others the hopes present in the hearts of these “pilgrims”.  From the beginning you have learned their languages, promoted their cause, made their contributions your own, defended their rights, helped them to prosper, and kept alive the flame of their faith.  Even today, no American institution does more for immigrants than your Christian communities.  Now you are facing this stream of Latin immigration which affects many of your dioceses.  Not only as the Bishop of Rome, but also as a pastor from the South, I feel the need to thank and encourage you.  Perhaps it will not be easy for you to look into their soul; perhaps you will be challenged by their diversity.  But know that they also possess resources meant to be shared.  So do not be afraid to welcome them.  Offer them the warmth of the love of Christ and you will unlock the mystery of their heart.  I am certain that, as so often in the past, these people will enrich America and its Church. (Speech at St. Matthew's').

On Church sex abuse scandals:

I am also conscious of the courage with which you have faced difficult moments in the recent history of the Church in this country without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.  Nor have you been afraid to divest whatever is unessential in order to regain the authority and trust which is demanded of ministers of Christ and rightly expected by the faithful.  I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims – in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed – and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated. (Speech at St. Matthew's)

On climate change:

Mr. President, I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution.  Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation.  When it comes to the care of our “common home”, we are living at a critical moment of history.  We still have time to make the changes needed to bring about “a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change” (Laudato Si’, 13).  Such change demands on our part a serious and responsible recognition not only of the kind of world we may be leaving to our children, but also to the millions of people living under a system which has overlooked them.  Our common home has been part of this group of the excluded which cries out to heaven and which today powerfully strikes our homes, our cities and our societies.  To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is the time to honor it. (Speech at White House).

Parties Dismiss Suit That Claimed Teacher Punished Student For Nonbelief

WANE News reports that yesterday an Indiana federal district court dismissed, upon agreement of the parties, a suit that was filed in June claiming that a Fort Wayne (IN) elementary school teacher punished a second grade student who allegedly upset classmates by telling them that he did not go to church or believe in God. (See prior posting.)  The case is A.B. v. Meyer, (ND IN). An internal school investigation found that teacher Michelle Meyer acted appropriately and that the complaint in the lawsuit did not accurately reflect what had happened.  The teacher said her concern was that the student did not care about the impact of his words on a fellow student.

Pope Francis Visit To U.S. Begins Today-- How To Follow The Events

The White House has posted a page on its website captioned Pope Francis Is Coming To Washington.  It sets out the Pope's schedule for his visits to D.C., New York and Philadelphia, and other basic information about the visit.  It also provides a form to sign up for e-mail alerts during the Pope's visit.  He arrives from Cuba at Andrews Air Force Base today at 4:00 p.m.  Coverage of the visit will be streamed live online by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops here.  EWTN is also providing live streaming of both the Cuba and U.S. portions of the visit. Of course, the Vatican News Portal also has extensive coverage.  A private Catholic evangelization website, Pope Francis Visit 2015, has extensive background material and coverage as well.  It even offers extensive Pope Francis merchandise and memorabilia for sale.

More On Rowan County, Kentucky, and Marriage Licenses

When Kentucky federal district court Judge David Bunning released Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis from jail where she had been placed for refusing to comply with a court order to issue same-sex marriage licenses (see prior posting), he also ordered the five deputy clerks who agreed to comply with the order to file a status report every 14 days. (Full text of order). The first of the ordered reports (full text) was filed on Sept. 18 on behalf of Deputy Brian Mason, the Deputy Clerk who, by mutual agreement, is actually issuing the licenses.  He reports in detail on language changes Kim Davis made in the forms. These include elimination of references to Davis in the form. The other Deputy Clerks filed their first status reports yesterday (Sept. 21).  Perhaps the most interesting (full text) is the one filed on behalf of Deputy Clerk Kristy Plank, which says in part:

As of this filing, Mrs. Plank reports that, to the best of her knowledge, all requests for marriage licenses requested by legally qualified couples have been issued.  The only denial of a marriage license application that has occurred within the last two weeks was to a gentleman who stated that he wanted a license that would permit him to marry “Jesus”. When it was explained to the individual that both parties had to be present, he stated, “Jesus is always present”. After being denied, the gentleman returned later and presented a type of Power of Attorney document issued by his church granting him authority to sign “Jesus’” name. Since both parties were not present these requests were denied.

For those who want to follow all the filings in this case (and in other cases involving LGBT rights), a comprehensive source is the non-profit organization Equality Case Files which posts these primary source materials online.  They are most easily accessed through the group's Twitter feed, its Facebook page or its library on Scribd. [Thanks to Marty Lederman via Religionlaw for the lead.]

UPDATE: On Sept. 21, the ACLU filed a motion (full text) with the court asking it to issue an order requiring marriage licences issued by the Rowan County Clerk's Office to be in the form that was used prior to Sept. 8, and not in the altered form that Davis has imposed. The motion argues that the changes-- especially listing the person signing it as "Notary Public" rather than "Deputy Clerk"-- cast question on the validity of the license and casts "a stamp of animus against the LGBT community."

CAIR Calls For Carson To Withdraw From Presidential Race Because of His Comments About Muslims

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, yesterday CAIR-- the Council on American-Islamic Relations-- called for Dr. Ben Carson to withdraw from the contest for the Republican Presidential nomination, saying that Carson "is unfit to lead and because his views are inconsistent with the United States Constitution."  The call comes after Carson, who identifies as a Seventh Day Adventist, said on Sunday's Meet the Press that a Muslim should not be made President and that Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. (See prior posting.)  In an interview with The Hill on Sunday, Carson expanded on  his views:

I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country.  Muslims feel that their religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that’s inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution.

According to The Hill:

Carson said that the only exception he’d make would be if the Muslim running for office “publicly rejected all the tenants of Sharia and lived a life consistent with that.”

...  However, on several occasions Carson mentioned "Taqiyya," a practice in the Shia Islam denomination in which a Muslim can mislead nonbelievers about the nature of their faith to avoid religious persecution. “Taqiyya is a component of Shia that allows, and even encourages you to lie to achieve your goals,” Carson said.

CAIR says it will send each candidate in the primaries a copy of the Koran, and will send a copy to any American who requests it and pays the cost of shipping.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Amélie Barras & Dia Dabby, Only Skin Deep? Revising the Secular Narrative Through Circumcision, (Heather Shipley (ed.), Globalized Religion and Sexual Identity: Contexts, Contestations, Voices (Brill Academic Publishing, 2014), 86-106).
• Ifzal Mehmood, Siddiq Ali Chishti & Muhammad Hassan, Right of Women to Divorce: Adjudication of Redemption (Khul‘) in Islamic Law and Pakistani Law, a Critical Analysis of the Orthodox Islamic Scholars and Recommendations of Pakistani Courts on the Basis of Legal Opinion (Ijtihad), (Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2015).
• Kathryn Chan, The Advancement of Religion as a Charitable Purpose in an Age of Religious Neutrality, (September 12, 2015).
• Lynne Marie Kohm, The Unspoken Consequences of Obergefell: Calling Convictional Christian Scholars, (September 15, 2015).
• Steve Sanders, RFRAs and Reasonableness, (Indiana Law Journal, Forthcoming).
• Kellen R. Funk, Shall These Bones Live? Property, Pluralism, and the Constitution of Evangelical Reform, (Law and Social Inquiry, Forthcoming).
• Kari E. Hong, Obergefell's Sword: The Liberal State Interest in Marriage, (University of Illinois Law Review, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Sonu Bedi, The Horizontal Effect of a Right to Non-Discrimination in Employment: Religious Autonomy Under the U.S. Constiution and the Constitution of South Africa, 95 Boston University Law Review 1181-1204 (2015).
• Robin Fretwell Wilson, Bargaining for Civil Rights: Lessons From Mrs. Murphy for Same-Sex Marriage and LGBT Rights, 95 Boston University Law Review 951-993 (2015).
• Michelle Kundmueller, The Devil Is In All the Details (Not Just In Georgia), [LEXIS link], 13 First Amendment Law Review 221-261 (2014).

Church Denied Injunction Against Noise From Downtown Festival

A Nevada federal district court last week refused to grant a preliminary injunction to a downtown Las Vegas church that fears noise and road closings from the annual Life Is Beautiful festival will interfere with its ability to hold its regular weekend services.  The festival is scheduled for this coming weekend.  While the parties worked out some compromises, the festival would not agree to cancel concerts on two stages near the church on Saturday and Sunday nights. The church refused suggestions to move its services elsewhere.  In Amistad Christiana Church v. Life Is Beautiful, LLC, (D NV, Sept. 18, 2015), the court rejected the argument that the grant of the special use permit to the festival violates the church's free exercise rights. The permit does not selectively burden the church.  The court relied heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court's statement in its 1988 Lyng case that: "The Free Exercise Clause simply cannot be understood to require the Government to conduct its own internal affairs in ways that comport with the religious beliefs of particular citizens." The court also rejected the church's private nuisance claim.

Paper Profiles Mat Staver and His Organzation Liberty Counsel

The Orlando Sentinel this weekend carries a lengthy profile of Mat Staver and his and his Christian conservative legal organization, Liberty Counsel.  Staver has recently been in the news because of his high profile representation or Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis who refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

The maelstrom that formed earlier this month around Davis — an Apostolic Christian who said she was acting on her faith — involves factions Staver knows well. Liberty Counsel, a Maitland-based legal organization he founded, has spent decades representing the conservative vanguard in debates over abortion, gay marriage and religion's place in the public sphere.

In the process, the nonprofit has ballooned from a tiny venture collecting less than $200,000 in yearly donations to a multipronged organization that hauled in more than $4 million in the 2013 tax year, employs 10 staff attorneys, runs an outreach to Israel and even released its own feature film last year.

Presidential Hopeful Ben Carson Says Islam Is Not Consistent With U.S. Constitution

In an interview today on Meet the Press (video excerpt), Dr. Ben Carson-- currently one of the leading contenders (latest CNN poll) for the Republican Presidential nomination-- asserted that Islam is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution. Politico reports on Carson's responses to a series of questions from moderator Chuck Todd triggered by Donald Trump's silence last week on an audience member's assertions about Islam and President Obama:

Asked whether his faith or the faith of a president should matter, Carson said, "It depends on what that faith is."

"If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem," he explained, according to a transcript.

Todd then asked Carson, whose rise in the polls has been powered in large part by Christian conservatives, if he believed that "Islam is consistent with the Constitution."

"No, I don't, I do not," he responded, adding, "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."

Carson said he would not necessarily have the same view about voting for a Muslim for Congress.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Finley v. Nevada ex rel. Nevada Department of Corrections, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122165 (D NV, Sept. 14, 2015), a Nevada federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122167, (May 27, 2015), and dismissed complaints by African American Hebrew Israelite inmates that they were switched from the pre-packaged kosher meal program to the kosher common fare diet.

In Cole v. Danberg, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122373 (D DE, Sept. 15, 2015) a Delaware federal district court dismissed a Muslim inmate's objections to a ban on charitable fundraising and institutional accounts; his claim that Muslim inmates are prevented from attending Friday services at the proper time and are not given equal time as other religious groups to conduct services; and the failure to furnish a Muslim inmate clerk and a typewriter. However the court permitted plaintiff to move ahead with has complaint that congregational prayer was banned and a Halal diet was not available.

In Walker v. Scott, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122467 (CD IL, Sept. 15, 2015), an Illinois federal district court allowed a civilly committed Muslim inmate to move to trial on his complaint that he was denied a Halal or kosher diet and required to choose either the standard or vegetarian diet.

In Ellis v. Avery Mitchell Correctional, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122679 (WD NC, Sept. 15, 2015), a North Carolina federal district court gave plaintiff inmate 20 days to submit evidence that he exhausted administrative remedies in seeking a vegan diet for religious reasons.

In Watkins v. Jones, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123648 (ND FL, Sept. 15, 2015), a Florida federal district court adopted in part a magistrate's recommendations (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123647, Aug. 28, 2015) in a suit by a Muslim inmate and ordered prison officials to make kosher or other religiously acceptable meals available to plaintiff. The court dismissed as moot plaintiff's objection to prior rules barring his quarter-inch beard and dismissed his complaint that there were not separate Sunni Muslim services.

In Munic v. Langan, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124662 (MD PA, Sept. 18, 2015), a Pennsylvania federal district court permitted a Jewish inmate to move ahead with is damage claims for denial of kosher meals, denial of visits with his rabbi, and denial of drug and alcohol treatment because of his religious beliefs.

In Damon v. Masters, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124754 (SD WV, Sept. 18, 2015), a West Virginia federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations and dismissed a complaint by a Nation of Islam inmate that his free exercise rights were infringed when kidney beans were substituted for navy beans at a religious ceremonial meal. UPDATE: The magistrate's recommendation is at  2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125757 (Aug. 25, 2015).

In Harvey v. Segura, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124998 (D CO, Sept. 17, 2015), a Muslim inmate complained that authorities confiscated his only kufi, while prison officials contended that they took a second kufi which he was not entitled to keep under prison regulations.  A Colorado federal district court, adopting a magistrate's recommendation, dismissed the suit, but ordered officials to conduct a search of plaintiff's personal property. If he has no kufi, one must be furnished to him. If he does have one, this is to be reported to the court so it can consider sanctions for frivolous litigation.

Proposed Legislation Would Exempt Christian Scientists From ACA Individual Mandate

On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee voted (legislative history)  to forward on to the full House of Representatives H.R. 2061, the Equitable Access to Care and Health ("EACH") Act (full text). The proposed bill would extend the current religious conscience exemption in the Affordable Care Act that applies to Amish and Old Order Mennonites to also include Christian Scientists. (Background). The bipartisan bill currently has 170 co-sponsors in the House.  An identical Senate Bill (S. 352) has 30 co-sponsors.  The bill is still in committee in the Senate.

Top Massachusetts Court Hears Arguments On Whether Religiously-Motivated Corporal Punishment Disqualifies Foster Parents

Last week (Sept. 10), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard oral arguments (video of full arguments) in Magazu v. Department of Children and Families (docket and links to briefs). As summarized by the Court at issue is:

Whether it was proper for the Department of Children and Families to deny the plaintiffs' request to become foster parents on the basis of the parents' religiously motivated use of corporal punishment on their biological children.

Wall of Separation blog discusses the case.

Pope Arrives In U.S. Tuesday; White House Guest List Already Raises Controversy

Pope Francis will arrive in the United States on Tuesday afternoon. Here is his official schedule. One event already creating controversy is the reception for the Pope on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday morning before his personal meeting with the President. According to Religion News Service today, while it is expected that nearly 15,000 people will attend the reception, conservative Catholics and at least one Vatican official are upset at invitations that have been extended to "a number of gay Catholics and LGBT advocates, an openly gay Episcopal bishop, and to a nun who is a prominent social justice activist." Other officials in the Vatican however apparently have no problem with the guest list.

6th Circuit Denies Kim Davis Stay of Injunction Pending Appeal

Yesterday in Miller v. Davis, (6th Cir., Sept. 17, 2015), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion by Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis to stay the preliminary injunction against her, pending appeal. The district court had enjoined Davis from refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  The appeals court said that Davis had not sought a stay from the district court, as required by Federal Rules, before asking the Court of Appeals for a stay.  Davis argued that it would have been useless to go to the district court first.

UPDATE: Marty Lederman at Balkinization blog (9/19) has a lengthy discussion of whether Kim Davis or her office is in violation of the federal district court's injunction in the implementation of the issuance by a deputy clerk of marriage licences with modified language.

8th Circuit Creates Circuit Split On ACA Contraceptive Mandate Accommodation For Religious Non-Profits

Disagreeing with the decisions of several other Circuit Courts of Appeal, yesterday the 8th Circuit held that the Obama administration's contraceptive coverage accommodation for religious non-profits violates RFRA.  In Sharpe Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (8th Cir., Sept. 17, 2015), the court held the requirement that CNS International Ministries and Heartland Christian College complete notification forms to opt out of providing coverage imposes a substantial burden on their exercise of religion:

Even if the ACA requires that insurance issuers and group health plans include contraceptive coverage regardless of whether CNS and HCC self-certify, it also compels CNS and HCC to act in a manner that they sincerely believe would make them complicit in a grave moral wrong as the price of avoiding a ruinous financial penalty.... [I]f one sincerely believes that completing Form 700 or HHS Notice will result in conscience-violating consequences, what some might consider an otherwise neutral act is a burden too heavy to bear.... Religious beliefs need not be “acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others” to deserve protection.

The court went on to hold that even if the government has a compelling interest here, it has not used the least restrictive means to achieve its goals. Those less restrictive means include requiring the government to identify the third party administrator who will be responsible for furnishing coverage; having the government directly furnish contraceptive coverage to women whose employers object to doing so; or making contraceptive coverage available through insurance exchanges.

In a second opinion issued yesterday, Dordt College v. Burwell, the 8th Circuit applied its Sharpe Holdings precedent to a similar challenge by two religiously affiliated colleges.

In a press release on the decision, Becket Fund says that the split in Circuits created by yesterday's opinions greatly increases the likelihood that the Supreme Court will grant review in one or more cases raising the issue.  Cert petitions have already been filed in seven other cases in which circuit courts upheld the accommodation rules.