Sunday, August 23, 2026

Satanic Temple Sues Over Denial of Use of Iowa Capitol Rotunda for Holiday Events

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In Iowa, private organizations and individuals may request use of space on the Capitol Grounds, including the Capitol Rotunda, for events t...
Friday, August 21, 2026

Two Cert. Petitions Raising Issues of State Aid for Religious Instruction Filed

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Two petitions for certiorari raising First Amendment issues were filed this week with the U.S. Supreme Court. Both involve the permissibili...

Massachusetts Supreme Court Says Religious Statues Proposed for Public Building Violate State Constitution

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In Fitzmaurice v. City of Quincy , (MA Sup. Jud. Ct., Aug. 20, 2026), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a trial court's pr...

Churches Seek to Hold ICE In Contempt for Violating Injunction Limiting Enforcement Around Churches

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As previously reported , in February a Massachusetts federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring immigration officials fr...
Thursday, August 20, 2026

2nd Circuit: Church Autonomy Doctrine Bars Defamation Suit Against Church Leaders by Former Priest

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In Belya v. Kapral , (2d Cir., Aug. 18, 2026), a defrocked priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) sued church leade...

9th Circuit: Suit Over Confiscation of Inmate's Wiccan Materials Should Not Be Dismissed on Summary Judgment

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In Goff v. Rode ,  (9th Cir., Aug. 18, 2026), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision held that an inmate presented sufficie...
Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Ministry Loses Challenge to Ban on Sex Offenders Living Near Places That Children Gather

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In Hope Prison Ministries v. City of Fort Worth, Texas ,  (ND TX, Aug. 14, 2026), a Christian ministry that operates transitional housing fo...

4th Circuit Rejects DHS's Elimination of Protection Against Immigration Raids at Churches

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In Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security , (4th Cir., Aug. 18, 2026), the ...

2025 Data on Hate Crimes in U.S. Released

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Last week, the FBI released  its 2025 Reported Crime Statistics. In a summary of the data , the FBI said that "hate crimes motivated by...
Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Supreme Court Review Sought in Texas 10 Commandments Cases

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 A joint petition for certiorari  ( full text ) was filed yesterday with the Supreme Court in Nathan v. Alamo Heights School District and Cr...

Police Enforcement of Rules Set by Farmers' Market Does Not Support a Section 1983 Action

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In Conwell v. City of Benson, Minnesota ,  (D MN, Aug. 14, 2026), a Minnesota federal district court denied a motion for a temporary restrai...

Teacher's Free-Speech Rights Not Infringed by Requirement to Use Students' Preferred Names and Pronouns

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In Ellis v. The Brooke Charter Schools ,  (D MA, Aug. 13, 2026), a Massachusetts federal district court rejected claims by a public charter ...
Monday, August 17, 2026

Suit Claims Head of Georgian Orthodox Church in North America Is Attempting To Wrongfully Take Property of 3 Monasteries

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Suit was filed last week in a New York federal district court against the presiding bishop of the Georgian Orthodox Church in North America ...

Recent Articles of Interest

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From SSRN: Wenfu Zheng, The Dynamics of Redemption: From Sovereign Decree, Intercession, Compassion, Justice, Calling, Leading, and the Cent...
Friday, August 14, 2026

Arizona Supreme Court Defines Elements of Clergy-Penitent Privilege

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In  Rodriguez-Ramirez v. State of Arizona , (AZ Sup. Ct., Aug. 12, 2026), the Arizona Supreme Court held that a conversation which the pasto...

DOJ's Title VI Suit Against Harvard Is Dismissed

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 As previously reported , in March the Justice Department filed suit against Harvard University alleging discrimination against Jewish and I...