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Free Speech Practicing the free expression of all religious traditions
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Freedom of speech is not only an inherent human right, but also a fundamental building block of our society. The First Amendment protects our right to speak freely on issues without fear of government censorship or punishment, even when, and especially when, that view is unpopular. This involves religious speech as well.
However, in recent years, religious speech has been treated like a second-class citizen, being threatened with government fines, restrictions on sermons, and labels of hate-speech, all because someone may disagree.
Becket litigates cases of religious speech around the world. We believe in order for a free democracy to be preserved, we must allow a wide variety of voices and opinions to coexist.
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Free Speech Cases
Use the simple filters to explore our cases in this practice area, or visit our Cases Page to search our entire database.
Frankel v. Regents of the University of California
In the wake of the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, anti-Jewish protests emerged on college campuses nationwide. At UCLA, activists first set up an encampment in the heart of campus where they enforced a “Jew Exclusion Zone,” segregating Jewish ...
St. Joseph Parish v. Nessel
St. Joseph is a Catholic parish located in St. Johns, Michigan. Since 1924, St. Joseph has operated a top-notch elementary school, St. Joseph Catholic School, that exists to pass on the Catholic faith to the next generation. Like Catholic parishes across ...
Young Israel of Tampa v. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority
In October 2020, Young Israel of Tampa, an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, submitted an ad to the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) seeking to advertise its annual celebration of Chanukah. HART rejected the ad because it was religious—and it has ...
Catholic Charities v. Whitmer
Recent years have seen an explosion in the number of children identifying as transgender. Many of these children have been led down a path of “gender transition”—enduring a regime of drugs, hormones, and surgeries—which often results in profound ...
Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski
Chike Uzuegbunam, a student at Georgia Gwinnett College, was threatened with arrest for peacefully sharing his Christian faith in a campus “free speech zone.” Chike sued the school for silencing the message that Chike and his friends wanted to share ...
Archdiocese of Washington v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. conducts an annual holiday campaign which includes advertising on social media as well as on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s buses and Metro subway cars. But in 2017, as the Christmas season approached, ...
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship v. Wayne State University
The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship student group has been at the Michigan’s Wayne State University campus for over 75 years, holding Bible studies, hosting discussions on important campus issues, and providing a community for all students. Its goal has always been ...
Sisters of Life v. McDonald
The Sisters of Life are a Catholic religious community who devote themselves to the love of God by professing vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The Sisters also take a vow to protect the sacredness of human life, which they ...
Vitagliano v. County of Westchester
As a devout Catholic and occupational therapist for children with special needs, Debra Vitagliano felt called to offer compassionate, face-to-face support to women considering abortion. But a law in Westchester County, New York, made it illegal for Debra to engage ...
Reed v. Town of Gilbert
Everyone is welcome at Good News Community Church. Services are held Sundays. The Church encourages Christian fellowship through Bible study, religious song, and prayer. Its mission is outreach,...
Ingersoll v. Arlene's Flowers
Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, is a floral artist and devout Christian who enjoys creating custom floral arrangements to celebrate her customers’ life events. In 2013 a long-time customer and friend asked Barronelle to do the flowers for his ...
Shurtleff v. City of Boston
The City of Boston allows community groups to hold flag-raising ceremonies and display flags of their choosing on one of the flagpoles near City Hall. After granting permits for nearly 300 different flag raisings, Boston issued its first permit denial in 2017 ...
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
Coach Kennedy, a former high school football coach, was at the Supreme Court to defend his right to kneel in brief, quiet prayer at midfield after games. Becket filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that religious expression is ...
St. Vincent Catholic Charities v. Ingham County Board of Commissioners
For more than 40 years, St. Vincent Catholic Charities has been resettling refugee adults and families in the Lansing, Michigan area. St. Vincent helps refugees obtain housing, get needed medical care, find jobs, and build new lives safe from the dangers ...
Buck v. Gordon
Thousands of foster children nationwide are waiting for their forever family, but there are not enough families willing to foster and adopt. In Michigan, no one addresses this crisis more effectively than faith-based adoption agencies like St. Vincent Catholic Charities. ...
Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans
Is a specialty license plate considered official government speech? And can the government restrict individual viewpoints even when they are highly offensive? To both questions, Becket said no. In 2009, the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans submitted a ...
Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.
In 2017, Brandi Levy, a freshman student at Mahanoy High School, was told that she did not make the public school’s varsity cheerleading team. Frustrated, she vented privately in an off-color social media message sent to some of her friends. ...
First Resort, Inc. v. Herrera
Support Circle is a non-profit clinic and counseling center in the San Francisco Bay Area that provides pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, counseling, and support to women looking for resources as they face unplanned pregnancies. In 2011, the City of San Francisco passed ...
Baker v. Hands On Originals
For years, print shop owner Blaine Adamson has declined to print messages that contradict his core religious beliefs—a standard industry practice. So when the Gay and Lesbian Services Organizations (GLSO) asked Blaine to create t-shirts promoting the 2012 Pride Festival, ...
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra
Government has no right to silence one side of any debate, let alone one as deeply important to people on all sides as abortion. But in 2015, California enacted the Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency (FACT) Act, which targeted the ...
Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
In 2015, Mark Janus, a government employee at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Service, sued his union—the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Janus argued that...
Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, Inc. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore
The City of Baltimore passed a city law to force the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns to post signs with government language about abortion, even though the Center already accurately informs women about their services and position on abortion. ...
Rigdon v. Perry
In June 1996, the Pentagon issued a directive barring military chaplains from discussing moral issues in their sermons. The order prevented Air Force Chaplains Father Vincent Rigdon and Rabbi David Kaye from preaching openly to their congregations about abortion or discussing ...
McCullen v. Coakley
Eleanor McCullen has spent decades exercising her religion by offering help and support to women in need outside of abortion clinics. Knowing that women often have abortions when they feel they have no place to turn for love and support, ...
Hood v. Medford Township Board of Education
In 1996, Zachary Hood, a 1st grade student in Medford, New Jersey, chose to bring a children’s Bible to school to read aloud to his class. When his teacher told him that he could not read it because of its ...
U.S. v. Sterling
Our nation’s military was practicing religious liberty even before our country recognized it’s inherently beneficial traits: solving religious conflicts and advancing the human right to freely...
Pleasant Grove v. Summum
The city of Pleasant Grove, Utah included a Ten Commandments monument —along with other monuments—in its city park. A small religious group wanted to include its own religious monument in the same...
Heffernan v. City of Paterson
In 2006 New Jersey police officer Jeffrey Heffernan was spotted picking up a campaign sign for the candidate opposing the mayor of Paterson. Officer Heffernan didn’t live in the city and was picking...
Good News Club v. Milford Central School
Becket’s amicus brief defended the right of a Christian children’s club to use public school facilities that were available to non-religious groups. The Supreme Court agreed. It upheld the...
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
The state of California has been forcing religious objectors to speak. Religious groups like the Christian Educators Association International (CEAI) and members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church...
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
When the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a state public accommodations law required the Boy Scouts to readmit a gay leader, Becket filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the First...
Ake Green
In the summer of 2003, Pastor Ake Green preached a sermon to his congregation about marital conduct based on his interpretation of the Bible. The sermon was later printed in a local newspaper, and...
Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
In July 2012, a same-sex couple asked Jack Phillips, a Christian baker who runs Masterpiece Cake Shop in Denver, Colorado, to bake a cake for their wedding. After Phillips explained that he could not participate in their wedding ceremony because of ...
Neely v. Wyoming Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics
The story of a small-town, Wyoming judge raises a big question: Is there room in our society for people to live according to different views of marriage? Ruth Neely is a municipal judge and part-time...
Bronx Household of Faith v. The Board of Education of the City of New York
The Bronx Household of Faith is an inner-city church serving one of the roughest neighborhoods in New York City. Founded in 1971, it has spread hope in its local community for over forty...
Matal v. Tam
What do a Jewish-owned clothing line called “Heeb,” an Asian American rock band called “The Slants,” and the Washington Redskins have in common? The U.S. government says they are too...
Tong v. Chicago Park District
Chicago bureaucrats would have smothered religious speech in a display of privately funded messages in a neighborhood park if Becket had not secured an important victory for free religious speech. A...
Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Koskinen & Holy Cross Anglican Church
As a minister with over 25 years of service and a Benedictine abbot, Father Patrick Malone has long been serious about his faith. So when he became the vicar of Holy Cross Anglican Church, Father...
Calvary Assembly of God, Wisconsin
For more than 50 years, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has used an extremely broad interpretation of the tax code to censor and intimidate religious leaders of every faith. In short, they...
Islamic Council of Victoria v. Catch the Fire Ministries, Inc.
In some parts of the world, leading a peaceful religious discussion may come at a frighteningly high cost. Pastors Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah learned that Australia was one of those parts of the...