Free Exercise of Religion — related Supreme Court cases
This page groups Supreme Court cases that involve the constitutional concept “Free Exercise of Religion”. Use it to explore related decisions and see how the same idea shows up across different cases.
“Free Exercise of Religion” is:
Government burdens on the practice or exercise of religious beliefs.
Source: First Amendment Where this concept definition/label comes from (for example, a constitutional provision or a reference framework).
Cases
These are cases where this concept was identified as relevant. Click a case to view its summary, holding, and supporting syllabus excerpts.
-
Mahmoud v. Taylor
27th June 2025
The case primarily concerns whether the Board's policy burdens the parents' right to the free exercise of religion.
-
Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Comm’n.
5th June 2025
The case addresses whether the denial of an exemption based on religious criteria burdens the free exercise of religion.
-
Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist.
27th June 2022
The Court held that the Free Exercise Clause protects Mr. Kennedy's right to engage in a personal religious observance.
-
Carson v. Makin
21st June 2022
The Court held that Maine's exclusion of religious schools from its tuition assistance program violated the Free Exercise Clause.
-
Shurtleff v. Boston
2nd May 2022
The case involved the denial of a request to raise a religious flag, implicating the Free Exercise Clause.
-
Ramirez v. Collier
24th March 2022
The case primarily concerns whether Texas's restrictions on religious practices during execution violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which protects religious exercise.
-
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru
8th July 2020
The case involves the application of the 'ministerial exception' which is rooted in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, protecting religious institutions' decisions about their ministers.
-
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania
8th July 2020
The case involves exemptions from contraceptive coverage based on religious beliefs, implicating the Free Exercise Clause.