In today’s News:
Supreme Court rules ‘sex’ included sexual identity
The Supreme Court today issued its ruling on a historic case about LGBT employment discrimination, with the majority deciding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, also applies to gay or transgender people. It was a 6-3 decision. One of the cases involved was Harris Funeral Home. This family-run funeral home fired one of its male employees when the employee changed gender to female. Although the court ruled that gender identity is sex as described by law and therefore may not face discrimination, it noted that Harris did not claim religious exemption in the firing. The court further noted that its ruling does not impact those with religious or moral objections.
Boston accused of religious discrimination
Liberty Counsel filed an opening brief to the First Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Boston resident Hal Shurtleff and his christian civic organization, Camp Constitution, arguing that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment by censoring a private flag in a public forum merely because it contained a cross. The city refers to its flagpole as a “public forum” and allows private organizations to temporarily raise their own flags on the flagpoles. Never has Boston censored any flag until the Christian flag. The city’s records show Boston has allowed at least 284 applications by private organizations on the city hall flagpoles without denial except for the Christian flag.
Religious protection extended to healthcare workers
The Department of Health and Human Services has just finalized a new rule that protects patients, aligns with current medical research, and complies with rulings from two federal courts. An older rule, imposed in 2016, had required doctors to perform gender transition procedures even if doing so would violate their religious beliefs and potentially harm their patients. That rule was struck down in two lawsuits brought by nine states, several religious organizations, and an association of more than 19,000 healthcare professionals. The new rule, finalized Friday, complies with those court decisions and ensures that sensitive medical decisions are kept between patients and their doctors without government interference.
Christian giving remains strong
When the U.S.economy shut down in March due to covid-19, financial predictions for churches and other ministries were dire. But a new survey suggests those predictions may have been overblown. Most evangelical churches and ministries saw giving remain steady or grow during the height of stay-at-home restrictions, according to a survey of more than 1,300 christian ministries released last week by the Evangelical Council For Financial Accountability. Among those surveyed, total cash giving in April 2020 equaled or surpassed April 2019 giving levels at 66 percent of churches and 59 percent of nonprofits. An even greater percentage of churches, 72 percent, and other Christian nonprofits, 61 percent, said their April 2020 cash gifts met or exceeded January 2020 levels, when the economy was booming and the stock market’s Dow Jones industrial average was approaching its all-time high.
