Thursday, January 08, 2026

Divorce Action Should Be Dismissed Because Couple Were Never Validly Married in the Coptic Church

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In Funti v. Andrews ,  (NY App., Jan. 6, 2026), a New York state appellate court held that a divorce action should be dismissed because the ...

Magistrate Says Claims Against School for Ignoring Antisemitism Should Not Be Dismissed

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In  In re Claims of Avi Polischuk as Parent of D.P. v. Massapequa Union Free School District ,  (ED NY, Jan. 5, 2026), a New York federal ma...

Street Preachers' Challenges to Noise Ordinance Fail

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 In Cabral v. City of Fort Myers, Florida ,  (MD FL, Jan. 6,2026), a Florida federal district court dismissed a First Amendment challenge to...
Wednesday, January 07, 2026

9th Circuit: Church Autonomy Doctrine Allows Churches to Hire Only Co-Religionists Even for Non-Ministerial Positions

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In Union Gospel Mission of Yakima, Washington v. Brown ,  (9th Cir., Jan. 6, 2026), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a prelimina...

Wyoming Supreme Court Strikes Down State's Abortion Bans

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In State of Wyoming v. Johnson ,  (WY Sup. Ct., Jan 6, 2026), the Wyoming Supreme Court by a vote of 4-1 held that Wyoming's nearly tota...
Tuesday, January 06, 2026

Cert. Filed In Case Challenging Religious Non-Discrimination Rule for State Grant Program

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 A petition for certiorari ( full text ) was filed yesterday with the Supreme Court in Youth 71FiveMinistries v. Williams, (Sup. Ct., certi...

Indiana Asks Court to Vacate 2002 Injunction Barring 10 Commandments Monument at Statehouse

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Last week, Indiana's Attorney General filed a motion in an Indiana federal district court asking the court to vacate an injunction it is...
Monday, January 05, 2026

Recent Articles of Interest

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From SSRN: Blair Major, Between Freedom and Neutrality: Servatius v Alberni School District and the Problem of Judicial Gaslighting (Decemb...

Corporate Governance in Sharia Compliant Banking Institutions Explored

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A series of papers have been posted on SSRN from students at STEBank (Jakarta, Indonesia). The papers focus on corporate governance issues ...
Sunday, January 04, 2026

California's Law Combatting Antisemitism In Public Schools Survives Constitutional Challenge

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In Prichett v. Bonta ,  (ND CA, Dec. 31, 2026), a California federal district court refused to preliminarily enjoin enforcement of Californi...
Friday, January 02, 2026

Catholic Church Sues Over Historic Preservation Designation

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 A Catholic church has filed suit in an Indiana federal district court charging that actions of the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commi...
Thursday, January 01, 2026

Happy New Year 2026! A Letter To Readers.

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Dear Religion Clause Readers: Happy New Year 2026!  Thank you for your loyal readership. I hope that you continue to find Religion Clause a ...
Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Puerto Rico Recognizes Fetal Personhood

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 As reported by the San Juan Daily Star , on Dec. 21 Puerto Rico's Governor Jenniffer González Colón signed into law Senate Bill 504 ( f...

Lower Court Applies Supreme Court's Classroom Religious Opt-Out Decision

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In Alan L. v. Lexington Public Schools , (D MA, Dec. 30, 2025), a Massachusetts federal district court, relying on the Supreme Court's r...
Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Senate Confirms Antisemitism Envoy; Other Religious Freedom Spots Remain Unfilled

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As part of a single Senate vote confirming 97 pending nominations for various federal offices, the U.S. Senate on  December 18, by a vote ...
Monday, December 29, 2025

RFRA Challenge to Connecticut Removal of Religious Exemption from School Vaccines Survives

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In We the Patriots USA, Inc. v. State of Connecticut Department of Education , (CT Super, Dec. 16, 2025), a Connecticut state trial court di...
Friday, December 26, 2025

Bishop Held Personally Liable for Failure of Catholic Hospital's Pension Plan

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The Pillar  this week reported on an interesting jury award in litigation over the failure of a Catholic hospital's pension plan.  The r...

Top 10 Religious Liberty and Church-State Developments of 2025

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Each year in December, I attempt to select the most important church-state and religious liberty developments of the past year.  My choices ...
Thursday, December 25, 2025

President Issues Christmas Message

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The White House today posted a Presidential Message on Christmas  ( full text ). It reads in part: ... The birth of Jesus revealed the perfe...

Catholic Bishop Excuses Those Who Fear ICE Detention from Attending Christmas Mass

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The Catholic Bishop of Columbus (Ohio) this week issued a Decree ( full text ) granting a dispensation from participating in Christmas Mass ...