Religious liberty at the IGC and the Supreme Court

Once again, religious liberty is before the United States Supreme Court. To make sense of upcoming cases and the issues they involve, the Institute for Governance and Civics at FSU will host a debate on April 16.

Denise Harle, an attorney who specializes in religious liberty law, will take the stage with Marci Hamilton from the University of Pennsylvania to discuss the Court’s upcoming cases in Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission and St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond. Both cases may be landmark decisions.

Catholic Charities examines whether the government can define the type of “religious behavior” sufficient to make an organization tax-exempt. Catholic Charities performed charity work in northern Wisconsin.

Consistent with Catholic teaching, those charities did not proselytize. They focused solely on providing charity for those in need. But when Catholic Charities sought tax-exempt status from the state, Wisconsin rejected the request. State tax law exempted those “[i]n the employ of an organization operated primarily for religious purposes.” In denying Catholic Charities’ request, the state Supreme Court held that because Catholic Charities did not openly proselytize, and because its services could have been provided “by organizations of either religious or secular motivations” Catholic Charities was not “an organization operated primarily for religious purposes.”

The case could have tremendous implications. If government officials may define what Catholic Charities’ religious activity ought to look like, the government effectively puts itself in the position of defining religion itself. That would violate the First Amendment.

On the other hand, if actors who seek tax-exempt status may define religious activity as they see fit, some could abuse that power to evade their taxes.

Drummond looks just as consequential.

The case will decide whether a state can deny religious charter schools access to public funding once it directs it to charter schools.

St. Isidore, along with the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, argues that denying it access to otherwise available public funding violates its Free Exercise rights under the First Amendment. However, the state of Oklahoma argues that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment precludes it from awarding public money to a religious institution that will use the money to accomplish religious goals and instruction.

The case also poses the question of whether private religious entities that contract with the state to provide public services are considered government actors.

A win for St. Isidore would beget new religious charters across the county. Many of these charters would operate on public funding, which would impact numerous state regulations. If the Court sides with Oklahoma, it will limit educational opportunities across the country. Moreover, private faith-based organizations in many sectors could be at risk of losing state contracts and authorization to provide services to the public.

These are complex cases, and the IGC debate will help the public to understand them.

The event will take place on April 16 at 6 p.m. at the FSU College of Law, Roberts Hall, Room 208. For more information, see igc.fsu.edu/events.

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