The Religion Law Quiz Podcast

The Supreme Court’s Tanzin v. Tanvir decision is not one that is widely known.  But the potential impact of that decision is big given its holding.  (Don’t worry, we’ll cover that in a future Religion Law Quiz.)  What were the key facts of the Tanzin decision?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer: Here’s how the Supreme Court summarized those facts:   Respondents Muhammad Tanvir, Jameel Algibh...

A lot of times in life we just generically refer to certain things.  But sometimes it is important to stop and ask: What specifically is the definition of that particular thing?  That concept applies to religion law related matters.  Frequently we talk about the “government” what exactly does that mean?  More specifically, how does the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”) define “government”...

What did the Supreme Court hold in Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) and (b) what did the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) seek to do in response to the Supreme Court’s Smith decision?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer:  Here is how the Supreme Court answered that decision in 2020.    RFRA secures Congress’ view of the right to free exer...

How would you explain RFRA (i.e., the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) to a kindergartener?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer:  Here’s how the Supreme Court succinctly summarized RFRA in 2020:   The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) prohibits the Federal Government from imposing substantial burdens on religious exercise, absent a compelling interest pursued through the leas...

In what year did the Supreme Court issue its decision in Tanzin v. Tanvir and what was the issue that the Supreme Court decided in that case?     (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer: The Supreme Court issued its opinion in 2020.  Here’s how the Supreme Court described the issue it was facing:   The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) prohibits the Federal Government from imposing su...

True or False: An employer can satisfy Title VII’s “undue hardship” test by assessing the reasonableness of a particular accommodation and determining that such a request is unreasonable and would create an undue hardship for the employer.    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer:  FALSE.  Title VII requires an employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious practice rather than just th...

In Religion Law Quiz #99 we learned “that ‘undue hardship’ in Title VII means what it says, and courts should resolve whether a hardship would be substantial in the context of an employer's business in the common-sense manner that it would use in applying any such test.”  Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279, 2296, 216 L. Ed. 2d 1041 (2023).  But when a court is making this determination, are there cer...

True or False: In the context of Title VII, whether a requested religious accommodation creates an “undue hardship” should be determined by the court applying a common-sense test inquiring whether the hardship is substantial in the context of the employer’s business.    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer: True.  Here’s what the Supreme Court said in that regard.    What is most important is tha...

A heuristic is a mental shortcut that we use to reach decisions.  We all use heuristics and they can be very helpful.  But sometimes our use of a heuristic can be an Achilles heel because our generation and use of the heuristic overlooks critical details which, when they are considered, helps us realize that the heuristic that we used and created is incorrect.    With that concept in mind, when yo...

In June 2023 the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Groff v. DeJoy ruling on religious accommodations under Title VII.  In a nutshell, what was the main holding of the Groff decision?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer:  Here’s how the Supreme Court answers that question in the syllabus:   Held: Title VII requires an employer that denies a religious accommodation to show that the burden of...

Religion Law Quiz #91 asked how you would explain “strict scrutiny” to a kindergartner.  In keeping with that theme (i.e., you only truly understand a concept when you can intelligently teach it to someone much younger and less knowledgeable than yourself), how would you, in just one sentence, describe what Title VII requires of employers for employees who seek a religious accommodation?    (Scrol...

In Groff v. DeJoy, 243 S.Ct. 2279 (2023), the Supreme Court was recently asked to address Title VII in the context of a former United States Postal Service (USPS) employee who, as an evangelical Christian, Sunday should be for worship and rest (not work).  The USPS disagreed and did not make a reasonable accommodation for him.  The worker filed suit and the District Court and later the Third Circu...

Religion Law Quiz #94   The last several Religion Law Quizzes have focused on key legal principles as articulated in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 141 S.C.t 1868 (2021).  Today’s Religion Law Quiz poses one final question regarding that decision.    The Fulton decision specifically recognized that “‘gay persons and gay couples cannot be treated as social outcasts or as inferior in...

Religion Law Quiz #93   A city speculates that it will be sued if it grants an exception to its non-discrimination policies to a religious institution.  Does that constitute a sufficient basis for the city to satisfy strict scrutiny?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer: No.  Here’s how the Supreme Court addressed that question.    As for liability, the City offers only speculation that it mig...

Religion Law Quiz #92   If a city has a compelling interest in generally enforcing its non-discrimination policies will those policies survive strict scrutiny because the city’s interest is compelling?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer:  That is the wrong question to be asking.  The issue is not whether the city has a compelling interest in generally enforcing its non-discrimination policie...

Religion Law Quiz #91   Today’s Religion Law Quiz is going to challenge you in a very novel way.  Let’s see how you do.    How would you describe to a kindergartner how a government policy can survive strict scrutiny when dealing with religion?        (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer:  Here’s how the Supreme Court explained strict scrutiny in more easy-to-understand terms:    A government pol...

Religion Law Quiz #90   A city has a municipal code which has a formal system of discretionary exemptions for religious institutions.  Will such a regulatory scheme withstand judicial review if the court applies strict scrutiny?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer: No.  This is a bit of a trick question because the system fails no matter what level of scrutiny the court applies.  As the Supre...

Religion Law Quiz #89   Can the government discriminate against religion when acting in a managerial role?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer: No.  The Supreme Court has plainly stated, “We have never suggested that the government may discriminate against religion when acting in its managerial role.”  Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 141 S. Ct. 1868, 1878 (2021).   Disclaimer: T...

Religion Law Quiz #88   In Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 141 S. Ct. 1868, 1878 (2021) the regulations adopted by Philadelphia “incorporates a system of individual exemptions, made available in this case at the ‘sole discretion’ of the Commissioner. The City has made clear that the Commissioner ‘has no intention of granting an exception’ to” Catholic Social Services.  Id. (citations...

Religion Law Quiz #87   Today’s Religion Law Quiz is definitely a tougher one.  Let’s see how you do.    In Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the Supreme Court stated that “Government fails to act neutrally when it proceeds in a manner intolerant of religious beliefs or restricts practices because of their religious nature.”  141 S. Ct. 1868, 1877 (2021).  The Supreme Court then went on...

Religion Law Quiz #86   In Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Catholic Social Services urged the Supreme Court to overrule Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, 110 S.Ct. 1595, 108 L.Ed.2d 876 (1990).  As you may recall, “Smith held that laws incidentally burdening religion are ordinarily not subject to strict scrutiny under the Free Exerci...

The issue in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 141 S. Ct. 1868, 1874 (2021) was whether the “the actions of Philadelphia violate the First Amendment.”  By way of background, “Catholic Social Services [“CSS”] is a foster care agency in Philadelphia. The City stopped referring children to CSS upon discovering that the agency would not certify same-sex couples to be foster parents due to...

Neither Ronnie nor Janet are attorneys but they are keenly interested about federal law regarding religion.  Where can Ronnie or Janet go if they want to find quick helpful resources about federal religion law?    (Scroll down for the answer)   Answer: One good place to start is at the Department of Justice’s publications page found at https://www.justice.gov/crt/publications which has several hel...

Religion Law Quiz ## 82 and 83 are closely related.  As you’ll recall, in Religion Law Quiz $82 we learned that the Montana Supreme Court erred in its analysis in Espinoza v. Montana Dep't of Revenue by applying state law first instead of federal law.  Supreme Court’s reasoning was based on the Supremacy Clause.  In very succinct terms, how does the Supremacy Clause apply to State Court judges?   ...

Religion Law Quizzes #82 and #83 are closely related and they (particularly Religion Law Quiz #83) highlight some really important foundational legal principles in federalism form of government.  So, with that in mind, let’s see how you do.    In Espinoza v. Montana Dep’t of Revenue, the Montana Supreme Court had entirely invalidated a scholarship program because the Montana Supreme Court believed...