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Religious Communities Protecting the right to live, teach and organize according to the dictates of a religion’s faith.
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Religious communities, institutions, and schools have the right to live, teach, and organize according to the dictates of their faith. Unfortunately, the rights of many religious communities are under attack, sometimes simply because they stand out from the rest of society. This includes the right of religious communities to select their own leaders and employees free from government interference. Becket’s landmark victory in the 9-0 Supreme Court decision Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC guarantees this right to religious communities.
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Religious Communities Cases
Use the simple filters to explore our cases in this practice area, or visit our Cases Page to search our entire database.
Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission
Catholic Charities Bureau provides loving support to people with disabilities, the elderly, and those in poverty throughout the Diocese of Superior. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently told Catholic Charities that its ministry to those in need was not sufficiently ...
O’Connell v. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Catholic faithful worldwide have given annually to directly support the Pope and his charitable works for over a millennium. This annual donation is known as Peter’s Pence, after Saint Peter, and it helps support the Pope’s ministry. A ...
St. Joseph Parish v. Nessel
St. Joseph is a Catholic parish located in St. Johns, Michigan. Since 1924, St. Joseph has operated a top-notch elementary school, St. Joseph Catholic School, that exists to pass on the Catholic faith to the next generation. Like Catholic parishes across ...
Diocese of Albany v. Harris
In 2017, New York state mandated that employers cover abortions in their employee health insurance plans. Following the order, a diverse coalition of religious groups that includes contemplative goat-herding Anglican nuns asked the New York state courts to protect them from ...
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists v. Horton
The Seventh-day Adventist Church, led by its General Conference, is a Christian denomination with over 22 million members worldwide. To ensure that the Church continues to uphold its religious mission, the General Conference requires all of its employees to be faithful ...
Fellowship of Christian Athletes v. District of Columbia
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) clubs—called huddles—have helped students across the world to live out their faith on and off the field for decades. Every huddle welcomes all students, treating them with respect and kindness as people made ...
Billard v. Diocese of Charlotte
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte operates Catholic schools to accomplish a religious mission – not only to provide a robust academic education, but to help form students in the Catholic faith. To accomplish that mission, the Diocese asks all its ...
St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy
In 2022, the Colorado legislature created a “universal” preschool funding program intended to provide all parents of prekindergartners with 15 hours per week of free preschool education at a private or public school of their choice. Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood, ...
Minnesota Churches' Challenge to COVID-19 Executive Order
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, retail therapy was allowed to resume in the State of Minnesota, but not spiritual healing, according to Governor Tim Walz’s May 13, 2020 executive order. On May 13, Governor Walz announced that retailers could open ...
Kuilema v. Calvin University
Calvin University is a world-class Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that prepares students to engage the world through faith, curiosity, and conviction. To accomplish this mission, Calvin asks its administrators and professors to uphold its beliefs in word and ...
Gloucester County v. G.G.
Title IX was enacted in 1972 to promote equality for men and women in education by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of “sex.” But in May 2016, the U.S. Department of Education unilaterally...
HotChalk v. Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the second largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, maintains “ecclesiastical stewardship” over Lutheran universities across the country that offer students a high-quality education rooted in the Church’s biblical worldview. In 2020, one of these schools (...
Garrick v. Moody Bible Institute
Since 1886, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago has been on a mission to educate, train and equip men and women to proclaim the Gospel and promote the Christian faith. Drawn by this mission, students from the U.S. and countries ...
Pleasant View Baptist Church v. Beshear
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear shuttered in-person teaching at K-12 schools, forcing private religious schools to stop meeting in person even if they were successfully following all public health recommendations regarding masking and social distancing. At the ...
United States of America v. State of Texas
The Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas serves families—primarily mothers and children—who would otherwise be left on the street. As a ministry of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, the Respite Center provides food, clothing, medical care, ...
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship v. Wayne State University
The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship student group has been at the Michigan’s Wayne State University campus for over 75 years, holding Bible studies, hosting discussions on important campus issues, and providing a community for all students. Its goal has always been ...
YU Pride Alliance v. Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is America’s oldest Jewish institution of higher education. “Yeshiva” literally means a school for studying the Talmud—and Talmud studies remain at the heart of everything Yeshiva does. Most undergraduate students spend up to five hours each ...
Lebovits v. Cuomo
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have unnecessarily, unscientifically, and wrongly targeted Orthodox Jews for a series of shutdown orders ostensibly designed to restrict COVID-19. These orders were overbroad and targeted all members ...
Shlomo Hyman v. Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey
Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey is an Orthodox Jewish day school in the town of River Edge, New Jersey. In 2019, Rosenbaum Yeshiva announced in a letter to parents that, after consulting with religious experts, it had parted ways with a ...
Crisitello v. St. Theresa School
New Jersey is home to religious schools of many persuasions, reflecting the religious diversity of the state. These schools typically ask their teachers to follow a code of conduct to uphold the schools’ religious beliefs and practices. Among those schools ...
Sisters of Life v. McDonald
The Sisters of Life are a Catholic religious community who devote themselves to the love of God by professing vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The Sisters also take a vow to protect the sacredness of human life, which they ...
Gaddy v. Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Three former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are suing the Church in federal court, accusing it of propounding false beliefs and misrepresenting its religious history and practices to defraud members of donations. Becket filed a ...
Huntsman v. Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Temple Square is the spiritual seat of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as the home of its international religious ministry and the setting of its iconic Salt Lake City Temple. In the early 2000s, Church leaders ...
Gagliardi v. The City of Boca Raton, Fla.
Since 2007, the Chabad of East Boca Raton has been forced to defend its right to build a new synagogue against a hostile and well-funded opposition. In 2015, after years of thorough planning, and while enduring anti-Semitic threats and attacks, the Chabad ...
Starkey v. Roncalli High School and Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Roncalli is a Catholic high school in Indianapolis that exists to transmit the Catholic faith to the next generation. To accomplish its religious mission, Roncalli asks all of its administrators, teachers, and guidance counselors to sign a contract agreeing to ...
Payne-Elliott v. Archdiocese of Indianapolis
In 2017 a high school teacher at Cathedral Catholic High School in Indianapolis violated his agreement with the school, and centuries of Church teaching, by entering a same-sex civil union. After two years of deliberation, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis informed the ...
Fitzgerald v. Roncalli High School and Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Roncalli is a Catholic high school in Indianapolis that exists to transmit the Catholic faith to the next generation. To accomplish its religious mission, Roncalli asks all of its administrators, teachers, and guidance counselors to sign a contract agreeing to ...
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo
Ever since the Supreme Court’s 1984 decision in Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council required courts to defer to government agencies when those agencies interpret federal law, Executive Branch officials have used that power to target religious believers. The Little ...
South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom; Harvest Rock Church v. Newsom
For months, California permitted Hollywood film studios and large retailers to open their doors, often to hundreds of people mingling in enclosed spaces. But at the same time, the Golden State prevented houses of worship from opening their doors to ...
Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia v. Belya
Father Alexander Belya claims that he was elected as a Vicar Bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). The Church and its leadership insist that he was not, and that he is not qualified to be a ...
Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo
Agudath Israel of America – an Orthodox Jewish advocacy organization first founded in 1922 – and several of its affiliated synagogues located in New York City sued New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his discriminatory “cluster action initiative.” Ostensibly a measure to target ...
Intermountain Fair Housing Council v. Boise Rescue Mission Ministries
For over 50 years, the Boise Rescue Mission has served the neediest in their community by providing addiction recovery programs, holiday meals, assistance with job searches, and youth activities. As a Christian ministry, the Mission has helped hundreds of people build ...
Maxon v. Fuller Theological Seminary
Fuller Theological Seminary is one of the world’s leading Christian graduate educational institutions. It is a multidenominational, international, and multiethnic seminary committed to training global Christian leaders for the fulfillment of their religious callings in Christian ministries. At the ...
Capitol Hill Baptist Church v. Bowser
In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic put life on hold for so many across the country, Capitol Hill Baptist Church suspended in-person services for the first time in its nearly 150 year history out of concern for the health and safety ...
McAllen Grace Brethren Church v. Jewell
Pastor Robert Soto is an award-winning feather dancer and Lipan Apache religious leader who was threatened with criminal fines and imprisonment for using eagle feathers in his religious worship. After an undercover federal agent raided his traditional religious ceremony and ...
Pavez vs. Chile
La legislación internacional sobre derechos humanos protege los derechos de las iglesias y organizaciones religiosas de decidir quién enseña sus creencias a la siguiente generación. A diferencia de los Estados Unidos, muchas escuelas gubernamentales en Chile ...
Pavez v. Chile
International human rights law protects the rights of churches and religious organizations to decide who teaches their beliefs to the next generation. Unlike in the United States, many government schools in Chile offer religion classes taught by educators who are ...
Chahal v. Seamands
The United States Military Academy at West Point will now accommodate Sikh soldiers, allowing them to wear their essential articles of faith, after two young men persisted for the right to serve...
St. Vincent Catholic Charities v. Ingham County Board of Commissioners
For more than 40 years, St. Vincent Catholic Charities has been resettling refugee adults and families in the Lansing, Michigan area. St. Vincent helps refugees obtain housing, get needed medical care, find jobs, and build new lives safe from the dangers ...
Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish
St. Andrew the Apostle Parish has been serving the city of Chicago for over 120 years. As music director at St. Andrew, Sandor Demkovich was responsible for planning liturgies, choosing the music for Masses and other important sacraments, and playing the ...
Diocese of Lubbock v. Jesus Guerrero
In response to calls from Pope Francis for greater transparency, Roman Catholic dioceses around the world have published lists of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing a “minor,” which is defined by Catholic canon law to include adults lacking full ...
St. James Catholic School v. Biel
In its 2012 ruling in Hosanna-Tabor, the U.S. Supreme Court protected the right of religious groups to choose those who teach the faith to the next generation, free from government interference. This includes schools like St. James Catholic School, a ...
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru
Our Lady of Guadalupe School is committed to providing a faith-based education rooted in the Catholic tradition. In 2015 when Ms. Morrissey-Berru, a teacher responsible with leading students in daily prayer and preparing them for mass, began to exhibit poor performance, ...
Fernández Martínez v. Spain
In 1997, at the direction of its bishop, a Catholic school in Spain declined to renew an employment contract with one of its teachers because he joined a public campaign against Church doctrine. The teacher sued, arguing that ending his contract ...
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School operates a K-8 school in Redford, Michigan according to biblical teachings. In 2007, after being dismissed for insubordination, disruptive conduct, and threatening to sue the church – all in violation of church teachings – a commissioned minister ...
Wheaton College v. Azar
In 2012, a government mandate threatened Wheaton College, a Christian school and one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country, with crippling fines unless it violated its religious beliefs. Thanks to Becket, after a five-year court battle, in February 2018 ...
Sindicatul "Pastorul cel bun" v. Romania
The stakes could not be higher for European churches. Sindicatul v. Romania concerns a group of priests of the Romanian Orthodox Church who sought to form a trade union against the wishes of their...
Wisconsin Churches Reopen
The Catholic Diocese of Madison has been committed to preserving the health and safety of its community members throughout the coronavirus pandemic, voluntarily suspending public masses before it was mandated by the state and generally cooperating with the directives of ...
Yoder v. Morristown
In 2006, the town of Morristown, New York began penalizing an Amish community because they build their homes according to traditional Amish methods as part of their religious practice. Becket stepped into work with the Amish community and the town to ...
East Texas Baptist University & Houston Baptist University v. Azar
When a government mandate threatened their Baptist beliefs, two Texas universities were forced to court to defend their religious freedom. The 2011 HHS Mandate forced religious non-profits like the to either violate their faith-driven mission by providing services, such as the ...