U.S. Supreme Court Chides Governor Evers and Liberal State Supreme Court

Wisconsin Family Council president Daniel Degner proclaimed, “Religious freedom prevails in Wisconsin after the United States Supreme Court today slapped the hand of Tony Evers and the liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court’s attempt to tell a religious entity what is and isn’t religious.”

Previously, the state of Wisconsin, through Governor Evers’ administration, denied Catholic Charities of Superior a religious exemption from participating in the state’s unemployment tax. Last year, the liberal majority on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the activities of Catholic Charities are not religious in nature. At its most basic level, Governor Evers and the Wisconsin Supreme Court told the Catholic church what was and wasn’t religious.

Thankfully, the United States Supreme Court unanimously reversed this objectionable Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that negatively impacted religious freedom.

Working with Center for American Rights president and attorney Daniel Suhr, Wisconsin Family Council joined with Maranatha Baptist University, Maranatha Baptist Academy, and Wisconsin Association of Christian Schools in filing a friend-of-the-court (amicus) brief as this case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the following in the unanimous ruling:

“It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain ‘neutrality between religion and religion.’ … There may be hard calls to make in policing that rule, but this is not one… Because Wisconsin has transgressed that principle without the tailoring necessary to survive such scrutiny, the judgment of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is reversed….” (Emphasis added.)

Daniel Degner concluded, “Whenever the government impedes religious autonomy for any religious entity, it opens the door for attacks on the churches and parachurch ministries we serve. We are proud to have been involved with this case from its inception and are extremely pleased with this United States Supreme Court decision.

We are grateful the court agreed that the Evers’ administration cannot unilaterally decide what constitutes religious activity for a particular religious entity. This decision is another important step in retaining religious freedom for all Wisconsinites.”