Justices Left and Right Grill Wisconsin’s Lawyer on Religious Freedom

Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry

​It is considered bad form and bad luck to anticipate how the U.S. Supreme Court will decide a given case. But Adam Liptak of The New York Times just went ahead and called it: “The Supreme Court on Monday seemed ready to rule that a Catholic charity in Wisconsin was entitled to a tax exemption that had been denied by a state court on the grounds that its activities were not primarily religious.”

To say that Colin T. Roth, lawyer for the state, had a rough morning would be an understatement. It was Roth’s task to defend the Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, which found that Catholic charities that serve the poor are not exempted from state unemployment taxes as a religious organization.
 
The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the flawed reasoning that Catholic Charities – which has provided aid to the disabled, the elderly, and the poor for over a century – is not operated primarily for religious purposes because it provides services to people of all faiths.
 
When asked what it would take for Catholic Charities to be considered religious, Roth replied they might say the Lord’s Prayer when spooning soup. We’ll be sure to pass that advice along to the Catholic lay volunteers, nuns, priests, bishops, cardinals, and the Pope. Thanks, Wisconsin!
 
“Isn’t it a fundamental premise of the First Amendment that the state shouldn’t be picking and choosing between religions?” Justice Neil Gorsuch asked. “Doesn’t it entangle the state tremendously when it has to go into a soup kitchen, send an inspector in, to see how much prayer is going on?”
 
“Some religions proselytize, other religions don’t,” said Justice Elena Kagan. “Why are we treating some religions better than others based on that element of religious doctrine?”
 
Justice Amy Comey Barrett followed up by asking if a Jewish charity would be disqualified given her understanding that Judaism is largely a non-proselytizing religion. Roth replied that such a Jewish charity would have to engage in worship or religious education.
 
What the Wisconsin Supreme Court overlooked is that in Judaism and Christianity, as well as in Islam and Eastern religions, charity is a religious obligation. Jesus said we should feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked. He did not add, “unless, of course, they’re not members of your congregation. Then they’re on their own.”
 
An adverse ruling for Catholic Charities would enable government inspectors and bureaucrats to decide which religious practices are religious. Based on the tenor of today’s oral arguments, that does not seem likely. This was a good day for religious liberty.

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