Items included for this subject area come from a variety of sources. The perspectives conveyed may or may not express a Lutheran ethos. They can serve our instruction as discussion-starters, examples (positive and negative), and illustrations of intersections between God’s two kingdoms, intersections sometimes characterized by tension, sometimes by congruence. Inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Supreme Court Grants Cert. in Three ERISA Church Plan Cases: The Supreme Court granted review in three cases all posing the question of how to interpret the “church plan” exemption in the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act (ERISA). At issue: The term “church plan” means a plan established and maintained . . . by a […]
Video Company Sues So They Won’t Have To Film Same-Sex Weddings: Owners of a Christian video production company have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law requiring them to provide services for same-sex weddings. The lawsuit, backed by the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, stated that producing wedding videos for same-sex couples “directly […]
UW–Eau Claire to religious students: ‘Your service doesn’t count’ — ADF filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of two students at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire who are being denied credit for mandatory community service because their activities involved religion. See also the UWEC Daily Cardinal story.
3rd Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In Contraceptive Coverage Mandate Case: the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments (audio of full arguments) in Real Alternatives, Inc. v. Burwell. A Pennsylvania federal district court rejected a challenge by a non-profit, non-religious pro-life group to the scope of the Affordable Care Act contraceptive coverage mandate. The […]
Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. — The Supreme Court will deliberate two issues: 1) the legality of regulator letters; and 2) the word “sex” in Title IX. Here is the SCOTUSblog page for the public schools transgender bathroom case. SCOTUSblog updates this page as amicus briefs are submitted and other developments occur.
Swiss Christian nursing home must allow assisted suicide: A court in Switzerland has ruled a Christian nursing home must allow assisted suicide for its patients or lose its tax-exempt status. The Salvation Army-run nursing home in the Canton of Neuchatel contested a recent law requiring charitable institutions to permit assisted suicide for patients who request to end […]
Discovery Demand For Pastor’s Sermons Generates Controversy: Eric Walsh, a doctor and public health expert, filed a religious discrimination suit against the Georgia Department of Public Health alleging that his termination shortly after he was hired was based on the content of sermons he had given as a Seventh Day Adventist lay minister. Now the […]
Gay cakes and religious discrimination: Says a gay rights activist, “This verdict [against a baker who declined to provide a cake decorated for gay rights] a is a defeat for freedom of expression…Discrimination against LGBT people is wrong and is rightly unlawful. But in a free society, people should be able to discriminate against ideas […]
1,180 Churches Help World Relief Resettle Refugees at Record Rate: Last month, World Relief nearly doubled the number of refugees it resettles in the United States in a typical month. In the past 12 months, the evangelical agency handled a caseload of 9,759 refugees—its largest total since 1999, as federal judges rule against state attempts to ban […]
Court Clarifies and Refuses To Narrow Injunction Against Federal Transgender Guidelines: A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction applicable nationwide barring the federal government from enforcing Guidelines issued earlier this year interpreting Title IX as barring discrimination by schools on the basis of gender identity.
