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Exclusive: Legal organizations whose mission is to protect American religious freedom, The best court 9-0 ruling in favour of the Catholic Charity Bureau (CCB) “a big moment for American religious freedom,” and the government’s explicit rejection goes too far into religious life.
“This wasn’t a hard call,” Tiffany Dunkin, a law fellow and lawyer at the First Liberty Institute, stressed in an interview with Fox News Digital, citing Wisconsin’s unanimous decision to curb religious exemptions as the CCB does not reinforce or provide services exclusively for Catholics.
“Wisconsin They were doing it… They said that Catholic charities were not a religious system because they did not convert or serve people of their own faith,” Dunkin explained.
The Supreme Court stipulates that Wisconsin discriminated against Christian charity unconstitutional
Facade of the Supreme Court. (Valerie Plesch/Picture Alliance by Getty Images)
“What they were doing was to determine what it means to be religious,” she added. “And the first amendment prohibits the government from doing that.”
This incident, Catholic Charity Bureau Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Board raises questions Faith-based nonprofit organization Providing public services is “religious” to get the same benefits as churches and places of worship.
Catholic charities affiliated with the Wisconsin Diocese provide critical care services to people with disabilities and mental health needs. Wisconsin argued that these actions were not “mainly religious.”
The Supreme Court disagreed.
Scotus Judgment The term could enhance the protection of religious rights, experts say
Tiffany Dunkin of the First Liberty Institute sat at Fox News Digital for an exclusive interview detailing his recent unanimous victory over religious freedom in the Supreme Court. (First Liberty Institute)
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the court’s opinion, clearly stated that the government has no authority to assess or rank the religious nature of philanthropy.
Dunkin said the outcome of the ruling is far beyond Wisconsin.
“This is actually a pretty ongoing issue across the country,” she noted.
“It’s not just Wisconsin. The Fast Liberty Institute represents your dad’s location in Brian, Ohio… They say you run a 24-7 homeless shelter, so you can [religious]. ”
Other clients at First Freedom, based in Colorado and Plano, Arizona, face similar debates from local governments, questioning whether providing food, clothing and shelter to those in need is inherently religious.
“There are churches that do this kind of work, but the government says, ‘Well, you’re not religious enough,'” Dunkin said.
On October 24th, 2023, a Catholic charity blanket is on the floor at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. (via Images via Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service)
The language in the court’s ruling “supposes what the Supreme Court has been saying for almost a century,” noting that the government cannot choose whether expressions of faith are valid.
“This sends a big message to all religions and all charities,” she said. “The government cannot infiltrate the precise way you can and cannot convey what you can and cannot, whether you are religious or not, to receive the benefits of the government or participate in society.”
If Scotus had dominated other ways, Dunkin warned that it had “significant meaning” to religious charities and ministries around the country.
“It would allow the government to step into the religious doctrine of all faiths more than our founded father had intended,” she said. “The government cannot intervene or engage in determining, selecting, and choosing one type of religious activity and another type of activity.”
When asked what this means to the churches and ministries on earth, Dunkin’s answer was clear.
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And for those who view this as a one-off legal victory? It’s not that fast.
“I think this is really two different things,” she said. “One thing, what affirmation? First fix We’ve always stood up, but of course we have hope. It encourages American religious freedom to be alive. And of course, the First Liberty Institute is here to continue fighting for that. ”
