Becket Case Database

In response to calls from Pope Francis for greater transparency, Roman Catholic dioceses around the world have published lists of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing a “minor,” which is defined by Catholic canon law to include adults lacking full ...

For centuries—long before this nation was founded—the Klickitat and Cascade Tribes of Yakama Nation have considered areas surrounding Mount Hood, Oregon, to be sacred sites. When in 2006 the U.S. Federal Highway Administration announced a project to expand ...

Citing confidentiality concerns, Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP) refused to submit confidential donor information on a State of California tax form. When the State demanded they submit this “Schedule B” information, AFP sued, arguing that the form violates their First ...

La legislación internacional sobre derechos humanos protege los derechos de las iglesias y organizaciones religiosas de decidir quién enseña sus creencias a la siguiente generación. A diferencia de los Estados Unidos, muchas escuelas gubernamentales en Chile ...

International human rights law protects the rights of churches and religious organizations to decide who teaches their beliefs to the next generation. Unlike in the United States, many government schools in Chile offer religion classes taught by educators who are ...

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. ...

In 2017, the New York State Department of Financial Services mandated that employers cover abortions in their employee health insurance plans. Immediately, a diverse coalition of religious groups asked the New York state courts to protect them from this regulation that ...

A federal mandate issued in 2016 required doctors to perform gender transition procedures on any patient, including a child, even if the doctor believed the procedure would be harmful. An agency rule imposing the mandate was struck down in court after ...

A federal mandate issued in 2016 required doctors to perform gender transition procedures on any patient, including a child, even if the doctor believed the procedure would be harmful. The mandate was struck down in court after it was challenged by ...

One of the Navy’s most prominent admirals once said he would not tolerate any violation of the “rights or privileges” of sailors who grow beards, but today, Navy policy requires all sailors to be clean-shaven—even if their religious ...

Santa Clara County has ordered all churches to remain closed during Lent and Easter, contrary to the United States Supreme Court’s order in South Bay Pentecostal Church v. Newsom (“South Bay II”). On February 5, the U.S. Supreme Court ...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentucky Governor Beshear on November 18, 2020, closed K-12 classrooms, forcing all private religious schools to engage in online-only instruction. At the same time, however, he has allowed secular institutions—like theatres, offices, and even gambling ...

Oak Flat (known in Apache as Chi'chil Bildagoteel) is a sacred site in Arizona’s vibrant Tonto National Forest where Native Americans have gone to worship, pray, and conduct religious ceremonies since time immemorial. Recognizing its responsibility to Native peoples, ...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have unnecessarily, unscientifically, and wrongly targeted Orthodox Jews for a series of shutdown orders ostensibly designed to restrict COVID-19. These orders were overbroad and targeted all members ...

During the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has been a safe haven to its more than 655,000 parishioners. When the pandemic struck, Catholic Charities scaled back its services and ramped up its charitable efforts, serving more than ...

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 ...

Business Leaders in Christ (BLinC) is a Christian student organization at the University of Iowa whose mission is to form future business leaders who will integrate their religious values into the workplace. In October 2017, the University of Iowa targeted BLinC ...

After the Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that all faiths have to be treated equally when it comes to the comfort of the clergy in the execution chamber, the Alabama Department of Corrections changed its policy from requiring a member of ...

Do death row inmates have the right to meet with a religious minister of their own faith in the moments before their death? This question has gone to the Supreme Court twice already this year. First, a Muslim prisoner in ...

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 ...

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish has been serving a Polish immigrant neighborhood in the city of Chicago for over 120 years. As music director at St. Andrew, Sandor Demkovich was responsible for planning liturgies, choosing the music for Masses and other ...

For 25 years, the InterVarsity Graduate Christian Fellowship student group at the University of Iowa has held Bible studies, hosted community discussions, and supported the wider community through acts of service. InterVarsity encourages and welcomes all students to be members, and ...

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 ...

Agudath Israel of America – an Orthodox Jewish advocacy organization first founded in 1922 – and several of its affiliated synagogues located in New York City sued New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his discriminatory “cluster action initiative.” Ostensibly a measure to target ...

The Brownstown Area Ministerial Association is a coalition of Christian ministers in Jackson County, Indiana, that serves its community through prayer, fellowship, outreach, and direct aid. In 2003, BAMA purchased a nativity scene, with broad community support, to display in front ...

Fuller Theological Seminary is one of the world’s leading Christian graduate educational institutions. It is a multidenominational, international, and multiethnic seminary committed to training global Christian leaders for the fulfillment of their religious callings in Christian ministries. Each student ...

In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic put life on hold for so many across the country, Capitol Hill Baptist Church suspended in-person services for the first time in its nearly 150 year history out of concern for the health and safety ...

Joelle and Joseph Chung are siblings, avid high school tennis players, and active members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in their hometown, Chehalis, Washington. Joelle was a top player on her high-school tennis team, but in her senior year, she ...

Despite a 2016 victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, an Executive Order, and a new rule that protects the Little Sisters of the Poor and other non-profit religious groups from the unconstitutional HHS mandate, the Little Sisters are still in ...

Regina Frost is an OB-GYN and a member of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. Religious healthcare professionals like Dr. Frost care for all patients and are consistently on the frontlines serving the most vulnerable members of our society, including underserved ...

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. ...