2015 is shaping up to be a significant year for religion at the Supreme Court
January 27, 2015
By David Masci
Often, the U.S. Supreme Court considers only one religion-related case each year. But 2015 could shape up to be a particularly active and influential year when it comes to religious liberties issues.
Last week, the Supreme Court handed down an important decision expanding the religious liberty rights of prisoners. But it’s just the first of three religion-related cases that the justices could weigh in on before the term ends this summer.
In the coming weeks, the high court will hear arguments in a case involving religion in the workplace, and the justices also will decide whether to hear another challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate – this time from religiously affiliated nonprofits. Here’s a rundown of the court’s busy docket on these matters:
Religion and Prison: In the case just decided, Holt v. Hobbs, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that prison officials in Arkansas had violated the constitutional rights of a Muslim inmate when they prohibited him from growing a short (half-inch) beard. The court said that reasons given by officials to justify their no-beards policy – including a concern that inmates could hide contraband in their facial hair – weren’t sufficient. The ruling leaves state officials with a clear obligation to accommodate inmates’ religious liberty rights, unless they can show that doing so interferes with the effective administration of the prison.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/27/2015-is-shaping-up-to-be-a-significant-year-for-religion-at-the-supreme-court/
= new reply since forum marked as read
