Religious freedom v. LGBTQ rights: Supreme Court faces major test
WASHINGTON–The Supreme Court has been very, very good for the cause of religious freedo min recent years. This summer alone, it sided with religious students, parents and employers in a trifecta of major rulings.
The high court has been kind to the cause of LGBTQ rights as well, granting same-sex marriage rights in 2015 and protection against employment discrimination this past June.
On Wednesday, both of those winning streaks will be on the line. Hours after the polls close on Election Day and with a new justice on the bench, the court will be confronted by a case in which one side has to lose.
At issue is the city of Philadelphia' s decision to stop referring children in need of foster care to Catholic Social Services, for decades one of its most reliable contract agencies, after discovering that it would not place kids with same- sex couples.
The dispute pits the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom against government bans on discrimination. When the court faced a similar case in 2018 involving a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a samesex couple, it issued a minor ruling that failed to resolve the question.
This time, the addition of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett gives the court's conservatives a 6-3 majority, putting at risk a 30-year-old Supreme Court precedent that made it difficult for religious groups to avoid neutral laws that apply to everyone. Several justices are eager to overturn t he precedent – written, ironically, in 1990 by conservative Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
In recent years, the court has carved out protections for religious groups and individuals. It ruled that a Missouri church could receive federal funds, private corporations could avoid federal healthcare regulations regarding contraceptives, and a New York town board could open meetings with Christian prayers.
This year, the justices approved taxpayer support for religious education in some circumstances and let religious employers sidestep job discrimination laws and health insurance coverage for contraceptives.
The court refused to l et employers discriminate against LGBTQ workers in a 6-3 ruling in June, but even then Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch reiterated the justices' respect for religious liberty.
“We are also deeply concerned with preserving the promise of the free exercise of religion enshrined in our Constitution,” he wrote. “That guarantee lies at the heart of our pluralistic society.”
200-year history
The Arch diocese of Philadelphia has been serving abused, neglected and orphaned children for more than 200 years. But in 2018, the city learned from a local newspaper article that Catholic Social Services' policy did not allow placements with same-sex couples, so it blocked the agency f rom making new placements on anti-discrimination grounds.
The foster care agency sued, but two lower federal courts refused to block the city's action. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled unanimously that the agency“failed to make a persuasive showing that the city targeted it for its religious beliefs or is motivated by ill will against its religion, rather than sincere opposition to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”
“The city stands on firm ground in requiring its contractors to abide by its non-discrimination policies when administering public services,” the court said.