This case involves a public high school football coach who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause and employment discrimination laws after he was fired for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer at the football field's 50-yard line immediately following every game. This practice started after the school district directed him to stop leading his team in pre- and post-game prayer, which the coach had done for eight years prior. The lower courts repeatedly…

At issue in this case is a free exercise challenge to a Maine secondary school tuition assistance program. To provide for high school education in over half of the State’s school districts that do not have public secondary schools, Maine pays for students to attend public or private schools which provide secular education, including religiously affiliated schools that do not indoctrinate religion. The lawsuit was brought by parents seeking to send their children to religious schools. ADL…

At issue in this case is the application of the First Amendment’s ministerial employee exception to an art teacher at a religious elementary school. Grounded in constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, the exception exempts religious institutions from all employment discrimination laws for employees deemed to be ministerial. A lower state court ruled that the teacher, who performed no “vital religious duties,” could move forward with her pregnancy and marital…

At issue in this case is whether the First Amendment ministerial exception should be expanded to categorically bar any Title VII or other hostile work environment claims by clergy and other ministerial employees of religious organizations. The purpose of the exception is to ensure that faith-based organizations have full control in hiring, firing and disciplining employees who perform religious duties. ADL joined a legal brief rejecting this expansion. The brief asserts that such an expansion…

At issue in this case is a business invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a religious exemption from a state anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding photography services to LGBTQ couples. In opposing this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that such an exemption is not authorized by the Free Exercise Clause and prohibited by the Establishment Clause. Furthermore, the sought exemption would undermine the state law’s prohibitions on religious discrimination…

At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a New Mexico coronavirus public-health order. The order limits indoor religious services to twenty-five percent of building capacity, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In opposing the church’s claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the public health order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards…

At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a Colorado coronavirus public-health order. The order limits indoor religious services to the lesser of fifty people (one hundred for large houses of worship) or fifty-percent capacity per room, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In opposing the church’s claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the public health order is…

At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a Colorado coronavirus public-health order.  The order limits indoor religious services to the lesser of 175 attendees or fifty percent of room capacity, which is similar to or less restrictive than limitations on comparable nonreligious activities. In rejecting this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards…

This case involves a second appeal by a public high school football coach who filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause and employment discrimination laws after he was fired for refusing to stop kneeling in prayer at the football field's 50-yard line immediately following every game. This practice started after the school district directed him to stop leading his team in pre- and post-game prayer, which the Coach had done for eight years prior. The Court…

At issue in this case is a religiously affiliated, taxpayer-funded foster care agency seeking to discriminate against same-sex couples applying to be foster parents. Invoking the Free Exercise Clause, the agency claims that its religious beliefs about same-sex marriage supplant a local anti-discrimination law’s prohibition on sexual orientation discrimination. In rejecting this claim, ADL’s amicus brief asserts that the sought exemption is not permitted by the Free Exercise Clause…

At issue in this case is a church invoking the Free Exercise Clause to seek a full exemption from a Maine coronavirus public-health order that equally limits religious and secular communal gatherings to 50 people or less. In rejecting this claim, the legal brief joined by ADL asserts that the order is fully consistent with all Free Exercise Clause standards. Furthermore, the sought exemption is not a permissible religious accommodation. It would violate the Establishment Clause by favoring the…

At issue in this case is a business that seeks a religious exemption from a state anti-discrimination law for the purpose of denying wedding-related services to LGBTQ couples. It, however, does not currently sell such services and there is no allegation that the business violated the law. ADL joined a legal brief filed by religious and civil rights organizations asserting that the business’ lawsuit is premature. Even if it was not, the requested exemption is not required by the Free…

At issue in this case is the legality of new federal rules providing excessively broad religious and moral exemptions from the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate. The mandate requires employer health insurance policies to cover prescription contraception for women without cost sharing. These discriminatory rules harm women because they effectively allow any employer, including public corporations, to opt out of the mandate. The prior rules already exempted houses of worship,…

At issue in this case is the application of the First Amendment’s ministerial employee exception, first recognized by the Court in 2012, to two teachers at different religious, elementary schools. Grounded in constitutionally mandated separation of church and state, it exempts religious institutions from all employment discrimination laws for employees deemed to be ministerial. Lower courts ruled that the teachers could move forward with their respective age and disability discrimination…

At issue before the Fifth Circuit is a lower court order invoking the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to block enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate as applied to two broad groups of people who have religious objections to the mandate based on the government, insurance companies and other individuals providing or procuring contraception under the law. ADL joined a brief opposing the order. It asserts that religious exemptions such as the order…

The Montana Constitution contains a provision that provides for stricter separation of church and state than the First Amendment. Based on it, the State's Supreme Court struck down a tuition-tax credit program that on paper supports secular and religious schools, but disproportionately benefited faith-based institutions. At issue before the U.S. Supreme Court is whether the Free Exercise Clause requires states to fund religious education when they support private secular schools. ADL joined a…

The State of Maine does not operate public secondary schools in certain parts of the State and reimburses parents for the cost of tuition at private schools. The program is limited to secular institutions because Maine’s Constitution provides for stricter separation of church and state than the First Amendment. Parents seeking tuition reimbursement from the State for private religious schools that indoctrinate faith, proselytize and discriminate claim that the Free Exercise clause…

At issue in these cases is a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Rule that creates an overly broad and preferential religious exemption for healthcare employees, contractors and volunteers. The Rule effectively provides these individuals who have religious objections to certain medical procedures, including abortion or sterilization, with the right to hinder or even block a hospital from performing such procedures. ADL’s briefs filed on behalf of religious and civil rights…