Los Angeles, CA – A few legal wins for Religious Liberty. Occasionally the courts decide to follow the Constitution. Strangely, the courts in California haven’t been that bad lately. However, it was a low bar. Let’s discuss some recent wins for Religious Liberty.
Sometimes topics we like to write about slip through the cracks. However, we do like to cover them -erring on the side of “better late than never.” Religious Liberty is one of the topics we find important. The attacks on Religious Liberty in our country strike at the core of who we are as Americans.
There have been two court decisions this Summer that fill our souls and affirm that freedom is still alive and well in this country.
First, is a California court denying Los Angeles County trying to shut down services at a church. From the Washington Times:
A California court rejected Friday efforts by Los Angeles County to require a popular megachurch to comply with pandemic orders, allowing the church to hold indoor services with singing and without attendance limits pending a resolution of the case.
Valerie Richardson, California judge sides with church by allowing indoor services in ‘historic win’, The Washington Times, August 14, 2020
A few legal wins for Religious Liberty.
It can be dangerous to let courts decide critical constitutional issues. However, if we don’t challenge the government when it restricts our freedoms, including our ability to worship, we lose our country. How did this lawsuit come about? More from the Washington Times:
Superior Court Judge James Chalfant denied the county’s request for a temporary restraining order against Grace Community Church after the church began holding indoor services July 26 in defiance of state and county rules aimed at combating the novel coronavirus, according to a press release from the Thomas More Society.
Valerie Richardson, California judge sides with church by allowing indoor services in ‘historic win’, The Washington Times, August 14, 2020
So, the China Virus mandates may not hold up in court. We think this lawsuit may be successful because there is more of a bright-line Constitutional issue here versus government shutting down a business. Please note that we think shutting down a business is a 5th Amendment Taking, but that’s an issue for another article.
Our right to worship wasn’t the only court victory for Religious Freedom this Summer. The Supreme Court handed a victory to parochial schools in late June.
In Montana, that State started offering small scholarships for private schools. However, it excluded private religious schools. Most state constitutions have provisions in their STATE Constitution that specifically prohibits tax dollars from going to parochial schools.
A quick history lesson here. In the 19th Century, Catholic Schools were growing and multiplying. At the same time, there was growing anti-Catholic bigotry. One result of this was a movement to ban state funds from going to Catholic Schools. To pass constitutional muster, the ban had to apply to all religious schools. A federal Constitutional Amendment failed. However, many states adopted this prohibition in their State Constitutions.
These anti-religious school amendments are called “Blaine Amendments”. They have been the justification for denying school choice legislation and initiatives. These Blaine Amendments can be blamed for the failure of our public education system, and the stranglehold the Teacher’s Unions have on our schools. We can write a dozen articles on this topic.
A few legal wins for Religious Liberty.
From The Hill:
The 5-4 majority decision, which fell along ideological lines, said that by making state-backed private school scholarships off-limits to parochial schools, the program ran afoul of First Amendment protections for the free exercise of religion, which prohibits the government from treating religious and secular groups differently.
JOHN KRUZEL, Supreme Court hands win to religious schools, The Hill, June 30, 2020
This is a huge decision. If states offer money to private schools, they have to offer it to ALL private schools, including religious ones. More from the decision:
“A state need not subsidize private education,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. “But once a state decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”
JOHN KRUZEL, Supreme Court hands win to religious schools, The Hill, June 30, 2020
Chief Justice Roberts finally sided with common-sense and the Conservative majority for a change. The headline should read: “Blind Squirrel Finds Nut!”.
For good measure, because we agree with them, here is some language from Justices Thomas and Gorsuch in their concurring opinion:
Two of the court’s more conservative justices — Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — would have gone even further to advance religious rights at the state level…In a concurring opinion, Thomas argued that the court’s current treatment of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which functions as a sort of counterweight to the free exercise clause, unduly interferes with states’ ability to support religious activities… “So long as this hostility remains, fostered by our distorted understanding of the Establishment Clause, free exercise rights will continue to suffer,” Thomas, joined by Gorsuch, wrote.
JOHN KRUZEL, Supreme Court hands win to religious schools, The Hill, June 30, 2020
Yes! Learn the meaning of the Constitution people! We need more Justices like Thomas, Gorsuch, Alito, and Kavanaugh. That’s why November is so crucial with Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s health problems.
A few legal wins for Religious Liberty. There is hope, but, sadly, Conservatives must use the courts to enforce the Constitution. We’ll take the wins, though.
What do you think? Is religious liberty alive and well here in America? What do you think about these court decisions? Write your answers below and on social media!
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