From: Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief, 12/17/21

Supreme Court fails Again to Uphold Religious Exemptions:

Trump-appointed Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett once again joined the liberal justices on the bench in denying the appeal of NY healthcare workers whose religious exemptions were denied by the state of NY. Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a forceful dissent.

“In this case, no one seriously disputes that, absent relief, the applicants will suffer an irreparable injury,” Gorsuch wrote. “Not only does New York threaten to have them fired and strip them of unemployment benefits … The Free Exercise Clause protects not only the right to hold unpopular religious beliefs inwardly and secretly. It protects the right to live out those beliefs publicly in ‘the performance of (or abstention from) physical acts.’”

The refusal to grant relief is expected to affect more than 450,000 workers, for whom no new religious exemptions will be granted, and previously-obtained religious exemptions will be invalidated. [Lifesite News]