The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/religious-freedom)
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a child’s best interests can guide religious custody disputes, rejecting strict scrutiny and prompting a planned U.S. Supreme Court challenge over parental rights and religious freedom.
California lawmakers approved legislation expanding protections for Native American religious practices and sacred sites on state lands, while provisions requiring tribal consent for certain state actions have raised concerns over potential impacts on infrastructure and water projects.
Two separate religious-freedom disputes in Tennessee—one involving religious practice and eligibility to foster and the other involving Ten Commandments displays in public schools—raise questions about government involvement with religion and protections for minority faiths.
A federal settlement protecting Christian employers and a Southern Baptist appeal to the Justice Department raise a broader question: Will the government’s expanding religious-liberty framework offer minority faiths the same protections in the workplace?
The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Colorado’s universal preschool rules that could reshape how religious accommodations interact with nondiscrimination protections, with potentially significant consequences for Pagan and other minority religious communities.