Friend:

I bet you heard that on Monday, in a 6-3 decision written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ people cannot be fired simply because of who they are or who they love. This stunning victory was a landmark win for the entire civil rights movement – but as AU’s legal team analyzed it in detail, we discovered a big “uh-oh” buried inside.

Justice Gorsuch’s opinion set the stage for a religious exception challenge. Specifically, it made clear that because the employers in these cases didn’t ask the court to consider religious accommodations, “how these doctrines protecting religious liberty interact with Title VII are questions for future cases.” Basically, employers who want to discriminate against LGBTQ employees now have an even greater incentive to cite their religious beliefs as a legal justification.

In the wake of the decision, I was quoted in The New York Times and the Huffington Post calling on the progressive secular and faith communities to work together to ensure religious freedom is a shield that protects, not a sword that causes harm. I also discussed the consequences of this decision for religious freedom more broadly on a podcast with CBN reporter David Brody from the conservative Christian Broadcasting Network.

For a timely conversation about this decision, and what to expect from the several key religious freedom cases still to come this month, please join us on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 3 pm ET for a free virtual Supreme Court Briefing from AU’s legal experts.

So much is at stake for religious freedom in the months ahead, and it’s your enduring support that makes it possible for the AU team to prepare and respond wherever church-state separation is under threat. Thanks for always being an integral part of our work.

With hope and determination,