The drought is over.
On Friday, the Supreme Court took up a religion case at long last, ending a streak of saying no to such cases that began in early 2023.
The case, Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, pits a Catholic nonprofit against Wisconsin officials, who say that the organization is not eligible for a faith-based exemption to the state’s unemployment compensation program because it acts differently than other religious organizations.
The nonprofit’s leaders, on the other hand, argue that they’re being punished for helping non-Catholic people in need without trying to convert them.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with state officials earlier this year, ruling that Catholic Charities does not meet the state’s criteria for religious behavior and therefore does not qualify for a faith-based tax exemption.
“The court accepted ‘at face value’ assertions by Catholic Charities and the four (affiliated) agencies that their services were ‘based on gospel values and the principles of the Catholic Social Teachings.’ But the court found it dispositive that the activities of Catholic Charities and the agencies were ‘primarily charitable and secular.’ The groups do not ‘attempt to imbue program participants with the Catholic faith nor supply any religious materials to program participants or employees,’ the court stressed,” according to SCOTUSblog.
Now, the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in and potentially force the state of Wisconsin to redefine religious organization. The case will likely be heard this coming spring.
Catholic Charities Bureau is represented by Becket, a prominent religious liberty law firm.