For Holy Week, I am focused on the countless houses of worship across the United States that are exercising their faith with incredible acts of compassion, determination and essential services for their community.

After reviewing the CARES Act, for example, BJC General Counsel Holly Hollman concludes that although funding religious entities through the Paycheck Protection Program is likely to be found constitutional, the loan forgiveness provisions raise some troubling concerns.

Because of the special protections in place under federal and state law for religious free exercise, some states are choosing to exempt religious services from orders forbidding gatherings in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Supreme Court postponed oral arguments out of public health concerns, impacting two upcoming cases with possible religious liberty implications: Tanzin v. Tanvir and Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru.

A court has dismissed a football coach’s lawsuit to continue his practice of praying at the 50-yard line directly after games. Courts have consistently ruled that schoolchildren are particularly vulnerable to the threat of religious coercion.

A bill authorizing school districts to offer elective courses on the Bible passed the West Virginia State Senate, despite the desire of many senators to remove references to the Bible in favor of more inclusive language that permitted the study of a variety of world religions.