The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on whether Catholic Charities should be considered a religious entity. I’ll say that again, slightly differently. The Wisconsin State Court of Appeals determined that (Roman) Catholic Charities, an official caregiving arm of the Catholic Diocese of Superior, is not a religious organization. The Wisconsin Supreme Court will now consider that decision on appeal. …

While it would be fair to assume intentional malice behind the government so flippantly rejecting the initial and central part of the First Amendment, an even scarier explanation is more likely. They may be sincere. Wisconsin officials may be claiming that the clearly religious acts of a clearly religious organization are not religious because they assume that anything that takes place outside church walls cannot be religious.

This explanation would be consistent with how religion is increasingly spoken of in the public square. During past and present presidential administrations, rather than using the customary phrase “freedom of religion,” top officials have instead referred to the “freedom of worship.” This is more than a mere vocabulary preference. It is the considered opinion of many North American elites.

[Indeed, and this is a dangerous strain of suppression of religious activities. This has been an ongoing battle for the last two decades, especially after ObamaCare and its contraception/abortion coverage mandates. It took years before the Supreme Court ruled in Hobby Lobby that the First Amendment protected religious expression in all facets, and not just that worship that takes place within a church/temple/mosque/synagogue. It’s disturbing that Wisconsin courts won’t recognize that. — Ed]