Religious Freedom Wins in Supreme Court, But More Battles to Be Fought—An Analysis

Religious Freedom Wins in Supreme Court, But More Battles to Be Fought—An Analysis

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties, holding that the Federal Government cannot force closely held for-profit corporations to choose between obeying their religious beliefs and paying huge fines for following their convictions. The Court emphasized that its decision was a relatively narrow one, thus opening the way for further battles relating to Obamacare and the HHS Mandate. The Justices, in a 5-4 decision, ruled in the joined cases that the HHS Mandate instituted by then HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Obama Administration violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). RFRA is a federal law enacted over twenty years ago that prohibits the government from imposing a substantial burden on a person’s ability to practice his religion unless that burden advances an important government interest and does so in the least restrictive way possible. The HHS Mandate promulgated under […]

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