BREAKING: Supreme Court issues unanimous ruling in Christian charity religious freedom case

June 5, 2025

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From USA Today: The Supreme Court on June 5 said Wisconsin should not have denied a tax exemption to a Catholic Charities chapter, the latest in a series of rulings the justices have decided in favor of faith groups.

The court unanimously ruled that the state violated the First Amendment’s protection for religion and discriminated against the religious organization in Wisconsin.

“There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote.

Wisconsin’s law, which is similar to most states’ and the federal government’s, grants exemptions from its unemployment insurance program for certain church-controlled organizations that are “operated primarily for religious purposes.”

Wisconsin said the Catholic Charities bureau and four affiliates had to participate in the state’s unemployment benefits system because the work being performed is primarily secular, even if it’s motivated by religious belief.

“It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain ‘neutrality between religion and religion,’ ” Sotomayor wrote in the decision. “When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny.”

🚨ANOTHER UNANIMOUS RULING

This time, Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the court protecting Catholic Charities from discrimination in Wisconsin.

It’s heartening to see these cases decided both correctly and unanimously.https://t.co/QwnlUpdd11 pic.twitter.com/YtQV9Ttv3m

— Tyler O’Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) June 5, 2025

In the case of Wisc.’s denial of a tax exemption for religious nonprofits to Catholic Charities, the Supreme Court today reverses the decision of the Wisc. Supreme Court that said that the group didn’t qualify for the exemption b/c it did not proselytize and served non-Catholics.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 5, 2025

WATCH the report below:

🚨BREAKING — Supreme Court delivers a BIG WIN for religious liberty!

SCOTUS just UNANIMOUSLY RULED that a Catholic charity had their First Amendment rights VIOLATED by the state of Wisconsin.

The state tried to BLOCK the group from receiving a tax benefit.

BIG WIN. pic.twitter.com/WQ8pHpTPGv

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 5, 2025