Supreme Court Takes 3 Religion Cases as Roberts Court Backs Faith Claims in 86% of Rulings
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 12
Supreme Court Takes 3 Religion Cases as Roberts Court Backs Faith Claims in 86% of Rulings
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 12
Summary
Three new cases on religious rights are set to shape the Supreme Court’s upcoming term, including a November fight over whether a Colorado Catholic preschool can join a state pre-K program while excluding children of gay parents.
The docket could also bring a challenge to public-school Ten Commandments displays and an Amish bid to escape New York’s school vaccine mandate, testing how far the court will push free-exercise protections.
Since the 2020 term, the court has sided with religious groups in 7 of 8 cases; across the Roberts era, pro-religion rulings have reached 86%, far above roughly half in the prior five decades.
That shift has already widened religious exemptions from antidiscrimination and health-care rules, opened public benefits to religious schools, and strengthened parental opt-outs from LGBTQ-themed lessons.
With a 6-3 conservative majority cemented since 2020, the term may further redefine the boundary between free exercise and church-state separation in public life.
Where will the highest court draw the line between protecting religious freedom and enforcing strict anti-discrimination and public health laws?
The 2025–2026 Supreme Court Term: Expanding Religious Liberty, Public Education Conflicts, and the Future of Church-State Separation
Overview
During the 2025–2026 Supreme Court term, the Supreme Court made major decisions on religious rights and public institutions. The Court unanimously ruled that Wisconsin wrongly denied a tax exemption to a Catholic charity because its services were not limited to Catholics, calling this discrimination. In Maryland, after schools introduced LGBTQ+-inclusive books, religious parents sued when opt-outs were denied, leading the Court to require schools to allow opt-outs if lessons interfere with religious upbringing. Meanwhile, a split decision left unresolved whether religious groups can run publicly funded charter schools, ensuring more legal battles ahead. These cases show the Court’s growing focus on protecting religious exercise in public life.