Religious Liberty News

After a Lexington, Virginia, restaurant, the Red Hen, refused service to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday, commentators on the left immediately seized upon a false analogy. They likened that incident to the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, the case of the Christian baker in Colorado who refused to craft a custom cake for…

They say to walk a mile in someone’s shoes before judging them. When it comes to cake artist Jack Phillips, the man at the center of the wedding cake case that the Supreme Court just decided, you’re better off spending a day in his shop. Phillips’ case—Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission—asked the high…

It’s always tempting to minimize the hurt of a loss by trying to downplay its scope. That’s what the left has been doing since last week’s Supreme Court decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, which was decided 7-2 in favor of Jack Phillips, the Christian owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop. Mainstream media outlets like The New…

In Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court upheld Jack Phillips’ constitutional—and natural—right to freely exercise his faith. This important 7-2 decision dealt a blow to the inquisitorial and intolerant secularism that targeted the Constitution’s free exercise clause for radical redefinition. As I argued in a 20-state brief to the court, the…

For better or worse, the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. has probably influenced your view of religious freedom. In that decision, the court ruled that the government could not force the Green family, the owners of Hobby Lobby, to pay for potentially abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plan…

It was my time as a student at Wheaton College that helped me decide to become a lawyer. I never imagined that I’d have to spend six years of my legal career defending Wheaton’s right to exist. Thankfully, that six-year fight came to an end last week. The struggle began in 2011 when the Obama administration tried…

The story is all too familiar by now: A same-sex couple asks a religious baker to custom create a wedding cake. The baker politely apologizes, but the resulting lawsuit shuts down the bakery. But this time, the story has a different ending—for now. Cathy Miller runs a bakery in Bakersfield, California, called Tastries Bakery. Because…

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may seem like an unlikely threat to religious liberty and the institution of marriage. After all, the federal agency was created to combat workplace discrimination by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But sadly, the agency created to fight discrimination now threatens to discriminate itself. One nominee to the commission’s…

Religious liberty and freedom of conscience won big at the Supreme Court last week, just in time for Religious Freedom Day on Jan. 16. The justices declined last week to hear a legal challenge against a Mississippi law that protects citizens, small businesses, government employees, and charities from official discrimination by government if they believe…

Outside of watching the occasional hockey game or purchase of maple syrup, most Americans pay little attention to Canada. We may know of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s colorful socks, but little of how unpopular he is among his constituency. We may discuss the single-payer health care system, but are unfamiliar with the government’s disrespect for…

On Dec. 5, the Supreme Court heard the case of Jack Phillips, the Christian baker who can’t in good conscience design and create wedding cakes that celebrate same-sex marriages. The justices now will decide whether states, consistent with the First Amendment, can force citizens to express support for same-sex marriage through their artistic products. But…

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in a closely watched case dealing with free speech, religious liberty, and same-sex marriage. Specifically, the justices considered whether the state of Colorado can force Jack Phillips, a Christian baker, to create a custom cake for a same-sex wedding against his deeply held religious beliefs. Attorneys for…

Jack Phillips is a Christian baker from Colorado. Should he be forced to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding in violation of his deeply held religious beliefs? A group of leading legal scholars and economists says “no.” Not only would this violate Phillips’ individual conscience, it would also violate the Constitution and have negative…

On Fox News’ “Outnumbered,” The Heritage Foundation’s Ryan T. Anderson, a senior research fellow who focuses on religious liberty and marriage, discusses the Jack Phillips case with Wayne State University’s philosophy professor John Corvino. Watch above.

The Heritage Foundation’s Emilie Kao breaks down why the case of baker Jack Phillips, being heard by the Supreme Court Tuesday, has wide-ranging implications for free speech and for people of faith in many professions. Plus: Why President Donald Trump’s use of “Merry Christmas” matters.