The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity in a case about religious tax exemptions, finding that the state engaged in unconstitutional ‘unnecessary entanglement’ with religious freedom rights.
The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity group in a case centered on unemployment tax credits for religious institutions – delivering a victory for faith-based institutions, who argued that the state’s decision had violated the religious clauses under the First Amendment.
In a unanimous opinion, the justices agreed that the state had engaged in an « unnecessary entanglement » in attempting to define whether religious groups should be entitled to an otherwise-available tax exemption based on the state’s criteria for religious behavior.
« When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny », Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, writing for the majority.
