The Supreme Court’s top religion case this term focuses on faith-based foster care services, but it may hold implications for a much wider variety of religiously motivated work.
In Fulton v. Philadelphia, justices have an opportunity to clarify when the government must accommodate religious objectors, a move that could make it easier for faith-based organizations to operate according to their beliefs.
“The Supreme Court has actually signaled it may reconsider some old precedents that made it harder for religious people to win their cases,” said Lori Windham, senior counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, during a virtual Deseret News event on the case.
Even if the Supreme Court does not overturn past rulings, the justices could bring much needed clarity to religious freedom law, Windham added. Everyone from lower court judges to faith leaders would benefit from additional guidance on what the First Amendment guarantees.
“One of the big questions in this case is, ‘How do we interpret the free exercise clause?’ It’s such a basic question and yet it’s one that the lower courts have really struggled with,” she said.
To learn more about Fulton v. Philadelphia and its potential impact on religious freedom law, watch the full video of Windham’s discussion with the Deseret News.