Religion Clause

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Britain Issues Statistics on Hate Crimes in 2025-26

On October 8, the United Kingdom's Home Office released the Official Statistics on Hate Crimes in England and Wales for the Year Ending March 2026. The total number of hate crimes was 146,825, up 7% from the prior year. Religion-based hate crimes for 2025-26 totaled 11,419, up 13% from the prior year. The largest number of religion-based hate crimes targeted Muslims-- 5,132, up 15% from the prior year. The next largest number targeted Jewish individuals-- 3,162, up 10% from the prior year. However, based on the rate per 10,000 population, anti-Muslim hate crimes were 13 per 10,000. Anti-Jewish hate crimes were 117 per 10,000. By far, the largest number of hate crimes-- 73.5%-- were racially motivated. [Thanks to Law & Religion UK for the lead.]

California Requires Employers to Provide Anti-Hate Speech Training to Employees

On September 27, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed A.B. 1803 (full text) which amends Cal. Gov. Code §12950.1 to require that beginning January 1, 2028, employers must provide anti-hate speech training to employees every two years. The training must provide supervisors and employees with "practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, and confronting workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on" race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decision making, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status. The training requirement applies to any employer having five or more employees. Calif. Gov. Code §12926(d), however, provides that "employer" as used in these civil rights provisions does not include a non-profit religious association of corporation.

ReligiousLiberty.tv discusses the impact of the new provisions on religious organizations.

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

5th Circuit: Section 1981 Does Not Bar Purely Religious Discrimination Against Jews

In Domanic v. Christian Brothers Automative Corporation, (5th Cir., Sept. 30, 2026), the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a Texas religion-based franchisor of auto-repair stores did not violate 42 USC §1981 by requiring that its franchisees be professing Christians. Christian Brothers described its mission as one to "glorify God by providing ethical and excellent services to its customers." The court said in part:

All of [Christian Brothers] more than 250 franchisees—a group which includes some ethnic Jews—are professing Christians. When the company refused to franchise to Evan Domanic, who is an ethnic and religious Jew, Domanic sued for racial discrimination under 42 U.S.C. §1981. The district court granted Christian Brothers summary judgment, ruling that its franchise policy constituted not racial but religious discrimination, which is not cognizable under § 1981.

On appeal, Domanic’s main argument is that discrimination against Jews is ipso facto racial discrimination, even when (as here) the differential treatment is motivated purely by religion and not ancestry. We decline to adopt this novel argument, which is in tension with the Supreme Court’s longstanding precedent that § 1981 does not reach religious discrimination.... [T]he Seventh Circuit ... has twice rejected similar contentions about the indivisibility of Jewish ethnicity and faith under § 1981.

... [N]o evidence suggests that Christian Brothers’s franchise policy is a façade for ethnic discrimination against Jews....

Judge Oldham filed an opinion concurring in the result, saying in part:

... In an appropriate case, our en banc court should reconsider our use of McDonnell Douglas at summary judgment generally and in § 1981 cases specifically.

Heartlander News reports on the decision.

Evangelist Sues Over Exclusion of Leafleting at Neighborhood Christmas Festival

Suit was filed earlier this month in an Arizona federal district court by a Christian evangelist challenging Tucson's decision in 2025 to exclude religious, political, and issue-based leafleting at the annual Winterhaven Festival of Lights, a neighborhood display of Christmas and seasonal lights. Instead, leafleting was permitted outside the Festival in a "free expression zone." The complaint (full text) in Hoffman v. City of Tucson, (D AZ, filed 10/2/2026), alleges that the exclusion violates plaintiff's free speech, free exercise and due process rights. First Liberty Institute issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Monday, October 12, 2026

Christian Counselors Sue to Invalidate Lincoln, Nebraska's Conversion Therapy Ban

Suit was filed last week in a Nebraska federal district court asking the court to enjoin enforcement of Lincoln, Nebraska Ordinances that prohibit conversion therapy for minors. The complaint (full text) in Dierks v. City of Lincoln, Nebraska, (D NE, filed 10/6/2026), alleges that that the challenged Ordinance is almost identical to the Colorado statute that the U.S. Supreme Court found unconstitutional on free speech grounds in Chiles v. Salazar. The complaint alleges in part:

3. Since Chiles was decided, Plaintiffs' attorneys have contacted the Lincoln City Attorney several times, beginning on April 16, 2026. By letter of that date, Plaintiffs requested the City of Lincoln to repeal the Ordinance no later than June 15, 2026....

4. There followed one telephone call and two phone messages with the Lincoln City Attorney....

5. By way of another email on July 16, the Plaintiffs' attorneys then requested to know whether, even if the City of Lincoln is unwilling to repeal the Ordinance, the City of Lincoln at least is willing to agree not to enforce it as applied to talk therapy.... The City of Lincoln was informed in that email that if the City took no action, Plaintiffs would have no alternative but to sue the City. The City of Lincoln has not responded to Plaintiffs' attorneys as of the date of this filing.

Thomas More Society issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Friday, October 09, 2026

Bankruptcy Court Rejects Diocese's Reorganization Plan Because of Abuse Survivors' Objections

In In re Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland, (ND CA Bkrptcy., Oct. 2, 2926), the federal Northern District of California Bankruptcy Court, in a 109-page opinion, rejected the Oakland Diocese's proposed Plan of Reorganization, finding that the Plan does not satisfy the Bankruptcy Code's requirement that it be in the best interest of any non-consenting class of creditors.

Under to proposed Plan, a Survivor's Trust would be set up and would pay known abuse claimants $172.3 million in total, which amounts to just over $499,000 per claimant. A reserve of $7.7 million would be set aside for unknown future abuse claimants. The Abuse Claimants voted overwhelmingly (331-8) against approval of the Plan.

The court rejected the Diocese's claim that certain requirements for confirmation of the Plan violate its rights under the 1st Amendment's Free Exercise Clause or under RFRA, saying in part:

First, the Court is unaware of any Code provision, or any case law interpreting the Code, that applies any of the requirements of the Code ... differently or more leniently, because the debtor is a religious entity....

Second, the Court does not believe that the Debtor has articulated any basis on which the actual requirements for confirmation of a plan of reorganization would implicate any of the protections provided under the First Amendment or RFRA....

Third, even if there were some theoretical basis to consider the application of the First Amendment or RFRA to this case, the actual provisions and requirements of those laws would either (a) render them inapplicable to plan confirmation issues or (b) make it impossible to assess the effect of those laws on the Debtor’s requirements for confirmation....

The Debtor argues that the Court would violate the Church Autonomy Doctrine, and by analogy, the Ministerial Exception, if it were to “weigh in on a dispute between the Committee and Debtor regarding how many Churches the Debtor needs to fulfill its mission...."

Here, the court is not resolving a dispute between the Committee and the Debtor about the number of churches to sell, nor is it requiring Debtor to sell anything. It is also not second guessing the decisions Debtor has, in good faith, made. ....

... Debtor simply does not articulate a basis for the Court to conclude that the confirmation standards are imposing a substantial burden on Debtor ‘s exercise of religious rights....

However, the Court concluded that it could not find that the plan satisfied the "best interest of creditors" test, questioning the accuracy of the amount of assets the Diocese claimed would be available to creditors. The court, though, rejected claims that the Diocese had not proposed the Plan in good faith.

NBC Bay Area reports on the court's decision.

Thursday, October 08, 2026

Federal Antisemitism Task Force Is Beginning a National Tour

The Department of Justice yesterday announced that its Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is beginning its American Tour Against Hate. Its first stop, on October 14, will be in Southfield, Michigan. According to the DOJ's press release:

The Tour is a first-of-its-kind federal initiative, bringing government resources and officials directly to local communities experiencing hate and discrimination.

“President Trump has made clear that this Administration will not tolerate antisemitism, and the Department of Justice is committed to implementing that directive,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This national tour is an important step in ensuring communities across the country know the federal government stands ready to work with them to confront antisemitic threats, protect public safety, and uphold civil rights.”

"No American should live in fear of unjust discrimination or violence,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. “The Department of Justice is working tirelessly to protect and defend all Americans’ right to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion. This event is sure to be a powerful evening.”...

Trump's Columbus Day Proclamation Includes References to Religious Faith

Yesterday, President Trump issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring October 12 as Columbus Day. The Proclamation contains several religious references. It reads in part:

More than five centuries ago, Christopher Columbus embarked westward across uncharted waters and discovered the New World — bringing with him the rich traditions of Western civilization.... Above all, we remember with gratitude that the triumph of freedom and the glory of our Republic are the fruits of his faith and unrelenting devotion.....

When Columbus and his crew made landfall on the islands of the present-day Bahamas, they first believed they had reached the shores of Asia.... When they arrived, as a sign of devotion to God and respect to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Columbus raised a mighty cross in the newly discovered land as a sign that “Your Highnesses hold this land for your own, but chiefly as a sign of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ...

Coumbus Day also holds special significance for our incredible Italian-American citizens. Like Columbus, they have embodied a steadfast love of country and faith in God, and they continue to strengthen our communities and propel our country to even greater heights.

In 1892, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ epic voyage, Pope Leo XIII published an encyclical hailing “the greatness of his mind and heart,” which “can be compared to but few in the history of humanity.” The Pope continued: Columbus “looked for a something greater and higher than did these others.” Today, as we celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World, we honor his unrivaled greatness. We embrace our duty to prove worthy of the inheritance he left us, to match his courage with our own, and to never abandon, forsake, or forget the beauty of our faith, the glories of our culture, and the stories of our heroes.

Wednesday, October 07, 2026

Catholic Clergy Sue ICE Detention Center for Restricting Their Ability to Minister to Detainees

A suit was filed on Monday in a Missouri federal district court alleging that a detention center housing 150 immigration detainees is violating the free exercise rights of detainees and Catholic clergy. The complaint (full text) in Rozanski v. Stolzer, (ED MO, filed 10/5/2026), the Archdiocese of St. Louis alleges in part:

1. Under the First Amendment—and federal and state statutes that protect the rights enshrined in it—the government may not (a) ban the exercise of religion or (b) treat religious practice differently than it treats analogous secular activity. Yet the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center manages to commit both sins by imposing a visitation policy that prevents Catholic priests from meaningfully ministering to Catholic federal detainees housed there (while readily allowing exceptions to the policy for non-religious reasons).

2. ...The jail’s visitation policy prohibits this basic religious exercise in two ways. First, it allows only “no contact” visits, which are not private and prevent face-to-face interactions. This prevents priests from administering the sacraments of confession and communion. Second, the policy permits clergy visits for only a single, four-hour period once a week. This severely restricts priests’ ability provide pastoral care, as priests cannot meet with all detainees who wish to see a Catholic priest (and have only limited time with those they do visit). Priests are also prohibited from saying Mass....

3. Worse still, the policy applies to clergy but not to lawyers or consular officials, for whom exceptions to the policy are readily made. That constitutes more favorable treatment for secular activity than religious exercise....

4. ... [T]he visitation policy violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, the Missouri Religious Freedom Restoration Act ... and the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”)....

St. Louis Public Radio reports on the lawsuit.

Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine Leads to Dismissal of Complaint By 37 Churches Over Disaffiliation Rules

In Methodist Church of Cape St. Claire v. Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, (MD App., Oct. 5, 2026), a Maryland state appellate court held that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine prevents civil courts from adjudicating the claim of 37 local churches that their parent body wrongly imposed a charge of 50% of the value of a church's property on local congregations that wished to disaffiliate and retain their property. The General Conference had created a procedure for local congregations that objected to the church's policy on human sexuality to disaffiliate, with regional Conferences being able to add conditions. The 50% payment requirement was added by the BW Conference. The appeals court said in part:

The Local Churches argue first that the circuit court ignored viable exceptions to the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine and dismissed their constructive fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract claims incorrectly....

Resolving the claims alleged in this case would require a trial court to examine the UMC’s religious doctrine and the Conference’s management of church resources in a manner prohibited by the First Amendment. We look first at the Local Churches’ allegation that the Conference engaged in constructive fraud and breached its fiduciary duty by failing to act in their best interest and in accordance with the UMC’s doctrine, custom, and practices....

We reach the same conclusions with respect to the Local Churches’ claims that the Conference committed constructive fraud and breached its fiduciary duty by mismanaging church funds or by making misrepresentations about its use and management of those funds....

In this case, the circuit court properly declined to enforce the Book of Discipline against the Conference as the Local Churches requested because it couldn’t interpret the Book of Discipline “under ‘neutral principles of [contract] law,’ without court involvement ‘in any theological or doctrinal matter.’” ...

Whether the General Conference’s amendment of the Book of Discipline to include Paragraph 2553 contradicted longstanding church practices and existing provisions of the Book of Discipline allegedly allowing local churches to disaffiliate without forfeiting their real property is a question for the UMC’s Judicial Council to answer. And according to the Conference, the Judicial Council has, in fact, answered it.

Finally, the court held that the trial judge who is a Methodist did not need to recuse himself, saying in part:

Ultimately, the judge’s sole connection to the controversy in this case is that he is a parishioner of a church that falls under the regional purview of a party to the case, the BW Conference. His religious affiliation and status as a parishioner, without more, do not qualify as grounds to question his impartiality and do not, on their own, suggest that the judge had an interest in the outcome of the case one way or the other....

Pennsylvania Supreme Court: 1st Amendment Free Exercise Claim Requires "Burden", Not "Substantial Burden" On Religious Practice

In Alsyrawan v. Department of Human Services, (PA Sup. Ct., Oct. 5, 2026), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that to show a 1st Amendment free exercise violation, litigants only need to show a "burden", rather than a "substantial burden", on their religious exercise. At issue in the case was the denial of a Muslim family's application for a waiver of a rule (the 40/60 Rule) that limited the number of hours each week that a state program would compensate relatives for acting as caregivers, here for a Down Syndrome adult male. According to the court:

Alsyrawan adheres to Islamic law, as established in the Quran, which forbids unrelated males and females from being alone together and prohibits unrelated males from offering personal care concerning nudity or uncovered private parts to other males.... As articulated by Mother, due to Alsyrawan’s religious obligations, only immediate relatives (such as sisters, brothers, father, mother, and grandparents) are permitted to administer private personal care to him.... Mother testified further that even if an unrelated male aide did not provide Alsyrawan with private personal care — thus, not breaching Alsyrawan’s religious obligations — her religious beliefs prohibit her from being alone with an unrelated male, even if this unrelated male is taking care of Alsyrawan.

The majority reviewed a number of recent U.S. Supreme Court free-exercise opinions and found that the Supreme Court has been referring only to a "burden" and not to a "substantial burden" in those opinions. The majority concluded:

... [A] litigant satisfies the threshold showing of a burden on their religious practice by demonstrating that they must choose between receiving a government benefit or abiding by their religious beliefs. In other words, they must make a “forced choice” – the state actor does not provide a benefit option where the litigant can have both.

RFPA [Pennsylvania’s Religious Freedom Protection Act ] and the Free Exercise Clause are different legal routes for litigants to allege violations of their right to freely exercise their religion. The Supreme Court’s recent decisions indicate that a violation of the Free Exercise Clause may occur only when an individual’s religious exercise is simply burdened, as opposed to substantially burdened as required prior to Smith. Therefore, analysis of constitutional claims under the U.S. Constitution and statutory claims under RFPA cannot be conflated. Evidence of a substantial burden is required for claims under RFPA, but only a burden is required for such claims under the Free Exercise Clause. The appropriate standard of review — strict scrutiny or rational basis — is determined by assessing whether the burden is imposed by government policy or conduct that is not neutral or generally applicable....

Justice Mundy filed a dissenting opinion, saying in part:

I would hold that because the 40/60 Rule is neutral and generally applicable, and survives rational basis scrutiny, Appellant lacks a valid First Amendment claim. I would also conclude the 40/60 Rule does not impose a substantial burden on Appellant’s religious exercise, meaning he also lacks a valid RFPA Claim. Therefore, I would affirm the order of the Commonwealth Court.

Justice Wecht filed an opinion concurring in the majority's analysis, but contending that the court should have vacated and remanded the lower court's decision, rather than reversing and remanding it so the lower court could more fully consider whether the 40/60 Rule was generally applicable.

Tuesday, October 06, 2026

Backers of Hasidic School May Move Ahead with Challenges to Zoning Denials

Congregation Rabbinical Institute of Tartikov, Inc. v. Village of Pomona, NY, (SD NY, Sept.28, 2026), is the latest decision in a long-running attempt by members of the Hasidic Jewish community to build a rabbinical institute in Pamona, New York, that will provide facilities to train rabbinical judges and will include housing for its students and their families. In an 80-page opinion, a New York federal district court allowed plaintiffs to move ahead with their as-applied federal and state equal protection, free exercise, freedom of speech and association, Fair Housing Act and RLUIPA claims. At issue are plaintiff's compliance with two local laws--one allowing only accredited educational institutions to be constructed in the village, and the second placing a number of restrictions on design of dormitories.

The court said in part:

... Plaintiffs plausibly allege that Defendants enforced the Challenged Laws with discriminatory intent.

... [T]he New York State Education Department no longer provides institutional accreditation....

Plaintiffs further allege that Tartikov explained to the ZBA that it cannot obtain accreditation through private means because AARTS requires a rabbinical institute to be operational before it can obtain accreditation, leaving Tartikov unable to obtain accreditation without first operating and unable to operate in the Village without first obtaining accreditation.... Rather than address this alleged “Catch-22,” the ZBA chairperson suggested that Tartikov rent a facility outside the Village, operate there until it obtained accreditation, and then return to the Village....

The ZBA subsequently denied Tartikov’s variance application because Tartikov had not sufficiently established that it could not become accredited.... It did so despite the Rockland County Department of Planning’s conclusion that lack of accreditation, standing alone, presented no significant land-use impacts....

Thus, despite Tartikov’s repeated efforts to obtain permission for student-family housing, Defendants effectively conditioned consideration of that request on Tartikov first overcoming the Accreditation Law—the same requirement that Plaintiffs allege Tartikov cannot satisfy without first operating its rabbinical institute.... These procedural irregularities and alleged delays further support an inference that Defendants acted with discriminatory intent....

At this early stage, Plaintiffs’ allegations of repeated procedural irregularities, the circumstances surrounding Defendants’ application of the Challenged Laws, and alleged anti-Hasidic animus among Village officials and community members plausibly support an inference that Defendants applied the Challenged Laws in a discriminatory manner. ...

The Court concludes that Plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that Defendants’ application of the Challenged Laws imposes a substantial burden on their religious exercise.

... Plaintiffs allege that the Institute requires a Torah community, which in turn requires prospective students to reside with their families.... Yet the Dormitory Law prohibits the very housing necessary to accommodate Tartikov’s Torah community by excluding single-family, two-family, and multifamily dwelling units from the definition of a dormitory and prohibiting separate cooking, dining, or housekeeping facilities.... These allegations plausibly establish more than a “minimal impact on religious exercise”....

These allegations plausibly allege that the Institute would foster protected expression and that Defendants burdened that expression through their application of the Accreditation Law....

Plaintiffs have also plausibly alleged that the Accreditation Law burdens their ability to associate for the purpose of engaging in that protected activity...

Although Plaintiffs will ultimately bear the burden of demonstrating that the Dormitory Law has a significantly adverse or disproportionate impact on Hasidic Jews, they need not make that evidentiary showing at this stage in the litigation....

Supreme Court Opens Its October 2026 Term

The Supreme Court opened its October 2026 Term yesterday, issuing its traditional long list of certiorari denials. Yesterday's 42-page Order List includes a denial of certiorari in Peterson v. Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue, (Docket No. 25-1210, cert. denied 10/5/2026). In the case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims by eight firefighters that the Snohomish fire department violated Title VII and Washington state law by refusing to accommodate their requests for religious exemptions from the state's Covid vaccine mandate for all healthcare providers. (See prior posting.)

The Court already has four religion cases on its Merits Docket for this Term. They are (links are to each case's SCOTUSblog page):