Attorney General Ken Paxton today commended the United States Supreme Court for upholding religious liberties for faith-based organizations and their employees by defending the constitutional rights of both Our Lady of Guadalupe, a private Catholic school, and the Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of Catholic nuns who care for the elderly poor.
“Today’s rulings correctly protect the independence of religious institutions from government interference and uphold the religious liberties enshrined in our Constitution. I strongly commend the Supreme Court for recognizing that the First Amendment does not tolerate judicial review of how faith-based schools select educators, nor does it allow any government to force a religious organization to violate its religious beliefs,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Federal law requires the government to respect the religious liberty of its citizens. No violation of those liberties can be allowed to stand.”
Attorney General Paxton previously joined a 14-state coalition in support of Our Lady of Guadalupe School’s freedom to decide who teaches its faith, known as the ministerial exception. Texas also led a 20-state coalition in support of the Little Sisters of the Poor’s right to religious exemption from policies, such as government-mandated contraceptive coverage, that violate their deeply-held beliefs.