{"id":2443386,"date":"2025-06-05T13:25:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T17:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-wi-supreme-court-violated-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T13:27:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T17:27:07","slug":"scotus-wi-supreme-court-violated-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-wi-supreme-court-violated-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS: WI Supreme Court Violated Catholic Charity\u2019s First Amendment Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscotus-wi-supreme-court-violated-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2443386&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Wisconsin Supreme Court infringed on a Catholic charity&#8217;s First Amendment rights. The case involved the Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB), which operates under the Diocese of Superior and provides various charitable services to people regardless of their religious affiliations. Despite its religious ties, the CCB argued that its philanthropic work should exempt it from contributing to the state&#8217;s unemployment system, as certain religious organizations are allowed under state law.<\/p>\n<p>initially, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Advancement denied this exemption, claiming that the CCB was not primarily operated for religious purposes. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutors-ask-u-s-supreme-court-to-reinstate-bill-cosby-sex-crimes-conviction\/\" title=\"Prosecutors Ask U.S. Supreme ... to Reinstate Bill Cosby Sex Crimes Conviction\">state court upheld<\/a> this decision, stating the CCB did not serve its mission in a way that was overtly religious.However, the Supreme Court unanimously disagreed, emphasizing that the state law must be applied neutrally, without favoring particular religions. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who delivered the opinion, stated that distinguishing between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jfk-files-provide-inside-look-at-cias-shadowy-cold-war-history-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"JFK files provide inside look at CIA\u2019s shadowy Cold War history- Washington Examiner\">religious organizations based<\/a> on their mission violated First Amendment rights by imposing a denominational preference. The ruling highlighted that the CCB&#8217;s activities, while charitable, are intrinsically linked to its Catholic identity and should not disqualify it from exemptions solely because it does not explicitly promote Catholicism in its services.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:United_States_Supreme_Court_Building_at_night.jpg\">  APK\/ Wikimedia Commons <\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC By-SA 4.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/05\/scotus-wisconsin-supreme-court-violated-a-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=SCOTUS:%20Wisconsin%20Supreme%20Court%20Violated%20A%20Catholic%20Charity%E2%80%99s%20First%20Amendment%20Rights&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/05\/scotus-wisconsin-supreme-court-violated-a-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=SCOTUS:%20Wisconsin%20Supreme%20Court%20Violated%20A%20Catholic%20Charity%E2%80%99s%20First%20Amendment%20Rights&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/05\/scotus-wisconsin-supreme-court-violated-a-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/05\/scotus-wisconsin-supreme-court-violated-a-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=SCOTUS:%20Wisconsin%20Supreme%20Court%20Violated%20A%20Catholic%20Charity%E2%80%99s%20First%20Amendment%20Rights&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/05\/scotus-wisconsin-supreme-court-violated-a-catholic-charitys-first-amendment-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that the Wisconsin Supreme Court violated a Catholic charity&rsquo;s First Amendment Rights. <\/p>\n<p><span>The <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/24\/with-wisconsin-case-its-time-for-scotus-to-finally-define-religion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>case<\/strong><\/a>  involved the Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB), which is the charitable arm of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin. Part of the CCB&rsquo;s mission is offering a variety of philanthropic services &mdash; including to non-Catholics. As Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted when delivering the opinion of the court<\/span>, the CCB provides &ldquo;services to the poor and disadvantaged&rdquo; regardless of the recipient&rsquo;s religious background and seeks to &ldquo;be an effective sign of the charity of Christ.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-958131291\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The CCB also oversees four &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/24pdf\/24-154_2b82.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separately incorporated<\/a>&rdquo; sub-entities that are a part of this case. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2024\/24-154\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oyez<\/a> the sub-entities &ldquo;are primarily funded through government contracts and do not <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >receive direct funding<\/a> from the Diocese. Neither employees nor service recipients are required to be of any particular religious faith, and the programs do not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-federalists-guide-to-this-years-biggest-scotus-cases\/\" title=\"The Federalist&#039;s Guide To This Year&#039;s Biggest SCOTUS Cases\">provide religious training<\/a> or attempt to promote the Catholic faith.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As Sotomayor noted, the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin &ldquo;exercises control&rdquo; over both the CCB and its sub-entities.<\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/108\/02\/15\/h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state law<\/a> permits certain religious organizations to be exempt from contributing to the state&rsquo;s unemployment system. Almost a decade ago, however, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/28\/u-s-supreme-court-takes-up-wisconsin-ruling-stripping-tax-exemption-from-christian-nonprofit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">denied a request<\/a> from CCB and its sub-groups to have an exemption from contributing to Wisconsin&rsquo;s unemployment system. The DWD argued that CCB and its sub-entities &ldquo;did not qualify for the exemption because it did not establish that it is operated primarily for religious purposes,&rdquo; according to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/supct\/cert\/24-154\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cornell Law School<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the case made its way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which ruled that the CCB does not qualify for an exemption because its charitable activities were not for &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/24pdf\/24-154_2b82.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">primarily religious purposes<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But on Thursday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/25\/heres-the-federalists-guide-to-this-years-biggest-supreme-court-cases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supreme Court<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/24pdf\/24-154_2b82.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> that the Wisconsin Supreme Court&rsquo;s application of state law that exempts certain religious organizations from paying unemployment compensation taxes violated the CCB&rsquo;s First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Wisconsin Supreme Court&rsquo;s interpretation of [state law] imposed a denominational preference by differentiating between religions based on theological lines,&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-barr-did-not-see-fraud-because-he-refused-to-look\/\" title=\"Bill Barr Did Not See Fraud Because He Refused To Look\">court ruled<\/a>.          &ldquo;[P]etitioners&rsquo; eligibility for the exemption ultimately turns on inherently religious choices (namely, whether to proselytize or serve only co-religionists in the course of charitable work), not &lsquo;&rdquo;secular criteria&rdquo;&lsquo; that &lsquo;happen to have a &ldquo;disparate impact&rdquo; upon different religious organizations.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Writing for the unanimous court, Sotomayor explained that the Wisconsin Supreme Court erred when it deemed the CCB&rsquo;s petition for exemption ineligible on the basis that the CCB and its sub-groups do not &ldquo;attempt to imbue program participants with the Catholic faith.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Petitioners&rsquo; Catholic faith &hellip; bars them from satisfying those criteria,&rdquo; Sotomayor wrote for the court.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain &lsquo;neutrality between religion and religion,&#8217;&rdquo; Sotomayor wrote. &ldquo;There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown-Jackson issued concurring opinions. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/catholic\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Catholic<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/catholic-charities\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Catholic Charities<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Clarence Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/first-amendment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">First Amendment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/justice-sonia-sotomayor\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Justice Sonia Sotomayor<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ketanji-brown-jackson\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ketanji Brown Jackson<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/religious-freedom\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">religious freedom<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sonia-sotomayor\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sonia Sotomayor<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/wisconsin\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Wisconsin<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Wisconsin Supreme Court infringed on a Catholic charity&#8217;s First Amendment rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2443387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/United_States_Supreme_Court_Building_at_night-2-e1749135982116.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[56617,52200,32274,6994,33712],"class_list":["post-2443386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-catholic-charity","tag-first-amendment-rights","tag-religious-freedom","tag-scotus","tag-wisconsin-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/United_States_Supreme_Court_Building_at_night-2-e1749135982116.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2443386"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2443390,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443386\/revisions\/2443390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2443387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2443386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2443386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2443386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}