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A Message from Becket's Executive Director
November 21, 2022
Dear Friend,
I can hardly believe it’s already November! This is one of my favorite times of year. It’s a time to prepare for the holidays, to be thankful for the blessings of the year so far, and (if you’re a Court watcher) to muse and speculate about the outcomes of the Supreme Court Term.
Over the last few years, we’ve grown accustomed to the Court’s docket being flush with religion cases, but this Term has been light on religion (so far). Why? We can only speculate–the Court may be waiting to see how the lower courts will interpret some of its new precedents from last Term, like
Carson<[link removed]>,
Kennedy<[link removed]>,
Shurtleff<[link removed]>, and
Ramirez<[link removed]>. Or it could be looking for the right case to further develop church autonomy principles or clarify Free Exercise law, after our recent wins in
Our Lady of Guadalupe<[link removed]> and
Fulton<[link removed]>. Surely the Court knows it has much more to do in this arena, even if it hasn’t taken big religion cases yet this Term.
That certainly doesn’t mean that the Court is staying out of the fray. The Justices have already heard cases on affirmative action, the 14th Amendment, and a case about pork that isn’t really about pork! And later this Term, the Court will hear a free speech case about whether a religious website designer should be forced to design wedding websites for same-sex couples.
Becket’s caseload is heavy on cases that are currently on appeal at the circuit courts, some of which are likely to end up at the High Court before the end of the Term. These include cases about
LGBTQ clubs on campus<[link removed]>,
Native American sacred sites<[link removed]>, and
conscience rights for doctors<[link removed]> who oppose gender transition surgeries for children. But we have already filed one petition before the Court in a case that we’ve been fighting for over a decade—
Slockish v. U.S. Department of Transportation<[link removed]>. In this case we are seeking justice for Native Americans whose sacred site was needlessly destroyed as part of a highway expansion project.
Stay tuned to find our whether the Court will take our case and for many other updates! We’ll keep you up to speed with the latest from the High Court from now until the last opinion drops next July.
What’s happening at Becket
#GivingTuesday–Next Tuesday, November 29th is GivingTuesday. As you celebrate Thanksgiving and all your many blessings, we hope you will join the millions of Americans considering which organizations and charities have made a positive impact in their communities and are worthy of their support. We hope you will consider the Becket Fund if you choose to take part in this annual global day of giving.
Can’t take a hint…I have often updated you on our trio of cases defending the Archdiocese of Indianapolis against former teachers and guidance counselors who were let go after violating their contracts by living in defiance of Catholic Church tenets. These cases are on their last leg—literally. Two of the cases,
Starkey<[link removed]> and
Payne-Elliot<[link removed]> have ended with Becket wins. The third,
Fitzgerald<[link removed]>, was recently appealed to the Seventh Circuit. This is a curious move on the part of our opponents in the case, as the same court just decided
Starkey<[link removed]>—a case with
identical
facts—in our favor. We’re looking forward to an opportunity to strengthen our win and Seventh Circuit case law!
A holy land worth fighting for–Last week we celebrated the 29th anniversary of
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)<[link removed]> by releasing a
new original video<[link removed]> as part of our #SaveOakFlat campaign. Then we found out there was even more cause for celebration! The Ninth Circuit
has decided<[link removed]> to rehear
Apache Stronghold v. United States<[link removed]>—a welcome result after a
disappointing defeat<[link removed]> in June. This coming March, we will be arguing that RFRA requires the court to protect the Western Apaches’ sacred site, Oak Flat.
Becket in the News
Authentic and uncompromising stewardship for LGBTQ students–Former and current students have sued Yeshiva University to try to force the school to recognize a YU Pride Alliance club in violation of Torah values. In an effort to care for LGBTQ students without compromising on its beliefs, Yeshiva set up a student group called the Kol Yisrael Areivim Club for LGBTQ students who are striving to live “a fully committed, uncompromisingly authentic halachic life.” The group is similar to the Catholic analogue,
Courage<[link removed]>. Religion News Service with
the story<[link removed]>.
“Ready or not, a new Supreme Court term is here.”–In
her piece<[link removed]>, which succinctly summarizes the religion cases up for consideration by the Supreme Court this Term, Kelsey Dallas of Deseret News shouts out Becket’s CEO and president, Mark Rienzi and quotes Becket’s VP and senior counsel Luke Goodrich on Becket’s cert petition in
Slockish v. U.S. Department of Transportation<[link removed]>.
“A mountain of empirical research demonstrates that religious attendance and participation benefits health and well-being.”–Writing in the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal, Christos A. Makridis
promotes the findings<[link removed]> of his newly published research in the European Economic Review which shows a substantial decline in well-being and an increase in social isolation among religious Americans due to Covid-related restrictions on houses of worship. His findings are fascinating, but the best part is that he cites data collected in Becket’s
third annual Religious Freedom Index<[link removed]>.
What we’re reading
“If Christian universities continue to be pressured into forsaking Christian principles, there will soon be no other options for students like myself who want a Christian education.”—Writing for Campus Reform, Emily Fowler—a Christian college student—
expressed concern<[link removed]> about the recent barrage of lawsuits against religious universities trying to force them to abandon their religious convictions to appease students. Fowler specifically calls out Becket’s case in defense of Seattle Pacific University which was singled out and targeted by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson for a shakedown over its religious hiring practices.
Has California been too boarish in restricting the pork?–I mentioned a Supreme Court case about pork that isn’t really about pork. The case is one that deals with the Commerce Clause and whether California can ban the sale of pork that wasn’t raised under certain conditions in the state. The reason we say this case isn’t really about pork is because it could have significant implications for state abortion policies in the wake of the Court’s
Dobbs decision<[link removed]>. Check out
Ed Whelan’s piece<[link removed]> in Bench Memos to learn more!
“Let’s hear it for the Feast of the Intransitive Verb.”–On Thanksgiving Day in 1999, the Washington Times published
a piece<[link removed]> by our founder, Seamus Hasson—a critique of the secularization of religious holidays. 21 years later, it is still a tradition among our team to read the piece each Turkey Day and remember that we have much to be thankful for—including the fact that we know there’s someone to be thankful to.
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Montse Alvarado
Executive Director
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