Supreme Court
The ‘Splainer: RFRA and the Hobby Lobby case
By Kimberly Winston — June 30, 2014
(RNS) What is this RFRA of which the Supremes speak? Stay with us and there’s ice cream, cake, a puppy and even hallucinogenic drugs in it for you.
Five takeaways from the Hobby Lobby case
By Lauren Markoe — June 30, 2014
(RNS) Corporations can't pray, but they do have religious rights -- and other takeaways from the Supreme Court decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.
Atheist to offer invocation in N.Y. town at the center of public prayer case
By Kimberly Winston — June 23, 2014
(RNS) “I am going to ask the council to understand the principle that this country was founded on,” said Dan Courtney, a member of the Atheist Community of Rochester. “That the government was founded by the people and it needs to represent all the people regardless of their religious beliefs.”
Awaiting Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, public favors contraception mandate
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — June 23, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) In showdown of business owners vs individual choice on free contraception, the public has made its call. Soon the Supreme Court will weigh in.
Supreme Court won’t wade into fight over graduations in churches
By Kimberly Winston — June 16, 2014
(RNS) In 2012, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the decision to hold a public high school graduation ceremony at a Wisconsin megachurch was “offensive” and “coercive.”
Gay marriage victories propel cases toward Supreme Court at record speed
By Richard Wolf — May 30, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The race to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation’s state and federal courts has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, fueled by an unbroken string of pro-marriage rulings since the Supreme Court first weighed in on the subject last June. As each decision strikes down state bans, it becomes more difficult for judges to ignore […]
COMMENTARY: There’s little to celebrate in Greece v. Galloway prayer decision
By C. Welton Gaddy — May 16, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) Every time we submit a sacred act to a civic body, and seek a ruling on its appropriateness in a diverse public, we allow others who are not thinking theologically to compromise the most sacred aspects of our religious practices.
COMMENTARY: Is the Hobby Lobby Bible elective objective?
By Stephen Prothero — May 13, 2014
(RNS) I do not doubt that Steve Green wants to produce a non-sectarian Bible textbook. I am skeptical, however, that the scholars that Green has assembled for this job are capable of producing a textbook beholden to facts rather than faith.
Supreme Court prayer ruling may spur new alliances
By Kimberly Winston — May 7, 2014
STANFORD, Calif. (RNS) While the Supreme Court decision allowing sectarian prayer at government meetings was a blow to secular organizations, it may also lead to some unlikely alliances.
Supreme Court approves sectarian prayer at public meetings
By Lauren Markoe — May 5, 2014
(RNS) Just because sectarian prayers are constitutional, said University of Notre Dame law professor Richard W. Garnett, doesn't mean policies like those of Greece, N.Y. "are wise or welcoming."
Hobby Lobby’s Green family meets with Pope Francis
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — March 31, 2014
(RNS) Pope Francis asked members of the Green family how their Supreme Court fight against President Obama's contraception mandate was progressing, a spokeswoman said.
Supreme Court takes up Hobby Lobby’s challenge to the contraception mandate
By Lauren Markoe — March 25, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Hobby Lobby case could be yet another instance where Justice Anthony Kennedy provides the swing vote in the decision of whether a corporation has religious rights, and whether those rights have been trampled by the government's contraception mandate.
COMMENTARY: The bad theology behind opposing the contraception mandate
By Cheryl B. Anderson — March 24, 2014
EVANSTON, Ill. (RNS) Denying contraception to employees is not only poor policy, but also poor theology. Nothing in the Christian tradition suggests that an employer’s scruples deserve greater consideration than an employee’s health.
Does Hobby Lobby have religious rights? The Supreme Court will decide
By Lauren Markoe — March 18, 2014
WASHINGTON (RNS) Hobby Lobby says Obamacare tramples on its religious freedom. But Hobby Lobby is not a person -- it's a corporation. What religious rights, if any, do corporations have? The Supreme Court will try to answer that question.
Some protest, others celebrate Roe v. Wade with festive meals
By Tracy Simmons — January 22, 2014
(RNS) Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho is hosting "Celebrate Roe" parties throughout the region to commemorate "reproductive justice.” It's a tradition started by Mary Wissink 41 years ago.
