Indiana Legislature OKs religious activities as essential
The Indiana Senate approved a bill Thursday that designates religious activities as essential services and prohibits any restrictions on them during a declared emergency.
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Indiana House OKs bills to give local officials, churches more say over public health restrictions
The Indiana House on Tuesday approved two bills giving local and county government officials more say over restrictions imposed during health emergencies and protecting churches from state or local orders more restrictive than those imposed on other essential businesses.
Druidism must be recognized in Department of Correction, judge rules
Druidism could soon become a formally recognized religion within the Indiana Department of Correction after a federal judge granted injunctive relief to a prisoner who claimed his religious rights were violated by the lack of communal Druid services in the DOC.
High court revives ex-student’s suit against Georgia college
The Supreme Court is reviving a lawsuit brought by a Georgia college student who sued school officials after being prevented from distributing Christian literature on campus. Chief Justice John Roberts was the lone dissenter, lamenting that the ruling risked “turning judges into advice columnists.”
LGBTQ rights bill ignites debate over religious liberty
A sweeping bill that would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people is a top priority of President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress. Yet as the Equality Act heads to the Senate after winning House approval, its prospects seem bleak — to a large extent because of opposition from conservative religious leaders.
Barrett’s 1st opinion breaks informal SCOTUS precedent
When Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered her first Supreme Court majority opinion Thursday, ruling against an environmental group that had sought access to government records, it strayed from informal precedent that new justices’ first opinions be unanimous.
High court tells Santa Clara it can’t bar in-person worship
The Supreme Court is telling California’s Santa Clara County it can’t enforce a ban on indoor religious worship services put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Suit: Police excessive force caused Indianapolis woman’s death
The estate of an Indianapolis woman who died from a lack of oxygen in 2019 after officers restrained her facedown in a church is suing the city and its police department, alleging that officers caused her death by using excessive force.
Valparaiso looking for new team name after dropping Crusaders
Valparaiso University announced Thursday that is dropping the team name Crusaders, the school mascot and all logos associated with the term that it says has been embraced by hate groups.
Justices: California can’t enforce indoor church service ban
The United States Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t bar indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it can keep for now a ban on singing and chanting indoors.
SCOTUS won’t hear Nevada church’s COVID-19 case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused a rural Nevada church’s request to enter a legal battle over the government’s authority to limit the size of religious gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic after the church won an appeals court ruling last month that found Nevada’s restrictions unconstitutional.
Appeals panel finds for church in snowy parking lot slip-and-fall case
A woman injured after slipping in an icy church parking lot could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that her fall was caused by a hidden danger and that her negligence suit was wrongly decided.
Justices order review of Colorado, New Jersey worship limits
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered lower federal courts in Colorado and New Jersey to reexamine state restrictions on indoor religious services to combat the coronavirus in light of the justices’ recent ruling in favor of churches and synagogues in New York.
Justices deny archdiocese’s bid to dismiss fired Cathedral teacher’s case
A four-member Indiana Supreme Court denied a petition Thursday filed by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to stop the lawsuit brought by a social studies teacher who was fired from Cathedral High School for being in a same-sex marriage.
Justices order review of California virus rules for churches
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a lower federal court to reexamine California restrictions on indoor religious services in areas hard hit by the coronavirus in light of the justices’ recent ruling in favor of churches and synagogues in New York.
High court blocks NY virus limits on houses of worship
With coronavirus cases surging again nationwide, the Supreme Court last week barred New York from enforcing certain limits on attendance at churches and synagogues in areas designated as hard hit by the virus.
Justice Alito: COVID restrictions ‘previously unimaginable’
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Thursday sounded an alarm about restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic, saying they shouldn’t become a “recurring feature after the pandemic has passed.”
A more conservative court hears same-sex foster parent case
The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to side with a Catholic social services agency in a dispute with Philadelphia over the agency’s refusal to work with same-sex couples as foster parents.
Federal court rejects archdiocese’s religious exemption claim in Roncalli case
Ruling the religious exemption in Title VII should be narrowly construed so as to avoid stripping employees of all protections against discrimination, the Southern Indiana District Court denied a motion for judgment on the pleadings by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in a lawsuit brought by a guidance counselor who was fired from her job at Roncalli High School for being in a same-sex marriage.
Barrett was trustee at private school with anti-gay policies
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett served for nearly three years on the board of private Christian schools that effectively barred admission to children of same-sex parents and made it plain that openly gay and lesbian teachers weren’t welcome in the classroom.