9th Circuit panel rejects religious school's use of ministerial exception, creates circuit split

  A religious school in California cannot use the “ministerial exception” to label one of its former teachers and, therefore, avoid her disability discrimination lawsuit, a divided federal appeals court has ruled. The court’s decision creates a split among the federal appellate circuits and could cause the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit and perhaps provide more guidance on the meaning of its 2012 decision on the ministerial exception.

Taylor Dawson: Religious liberty for all

  Free exercise of religion is a bedrock principle of American governance. As schoolchildren, we’re taught that Pilgrims fled to America to avoid persecution by the Church of England. While many of America’s founders were Christians, they prohibited government from favoring one religion over another. Our constitutional protection for religious exercise is listed first in the Bill of Rights. That wasn’t a mistake.

Charles C. Haynes: In words and gestures, Pope Francis re-awakens the American ideal

  At a cultural moment when celebrity trumps character in America, it took a humble priest from Argentina to remind us of the better angels of our nature – and of the kind of nation we must aspire to build in the 21st century.

  Pope Francis arrived in our public square as a self-described migrant, and for a refreshing week in late September his message of compassion and justice drowned out the divisive, ugly, sometimes hateful rhetoric of this political season.

  Temporarily pushed out of the headlines was trash talk about immigrants, demonizing language about American Muslims, and the puffed-up buffoonery that passes for political discourse in 2016 America.

Charles C. Haynes: Despite settled law, schools still struggle to get religion right

  Although I can’t cite a scientific survey to prove it, I have detected a recent upswing in conflicts over religion in public schools. Just as I was beginning to believe that most schools were finally getting religion right, it appears that the trend is in the other direction.

  Two examples from the past school year — one from each end of the spectrum — will suffice to illustrate the wider problem.

Re-establishing religious liberty post-Hobby Lobby

  Religious liberty is woven into the very fabric of our nation. It defines the boundaries of our government and serves as a measuring stick of freedom. We are a nation of diverse religious beliefs and of no religious belief. From our nation’s earliest days, our Constitution has ensured both the freedom to worship and believe according to one’s conscience, as well as freedom from the government imposing religion upon its people or coercing them to follow beliefs that are not their own. This is the very essence of religious liberty.

Tami A. Martin: The global reach of religious liberty rhetoric

  For the past 16 years, the U.S.-affiliated and Kampala, Uganda-based Makerere University Walter Reed Project has conducted research on HIV vaccines and public health issues in the East African country. Earlier this month, Ugandan officials raided the project, detaining and interrogating a staff member, reportedly because of the project’s assistance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, or LGBT, people. According to the project’s website, "the operations of the program are temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of staff and the integrity of the program." Speculation that Uganda’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act, which prohibits "promoting homosexuality," inspired the raid raises the question of what inspired the act in the first place.

Crosby Burns: ‘Religious liberty’ does not give people a license to discriminate

  Last week lawmakers in nine state legislatures launched “religious freedom” caucuses aimed at helping “legislators set state-specific agendas for strengthening religious liberties.”

  Religious liberty should be protected. It should be safeguarded. And it should be valued. But if this past year is any indication of what these caucuses’ real policy goals are, their efforts will not be about protecting, safeguarding, and valuing religious liberty. Instead, they will be about promoting an agenda that rolls back women’s health and rights and curtails equality for gay Americans, all behind the guise of “religious liberty.”