On the contrary, they have the constitutional right to proclaim and act on their religious beliefs in the public domain, including in the domain of commerce. Would the fining of Mr. Phillips have been acceptable based purely on a judgment that his refusal to cater same-sex celebrations constituted discrimination based on sexual orientation, and not on the basis of antipathy to Mr. Phillips’s beliefs? In a concurring opinion, Justice Kagan, joined by Justice Breyer, seems to suppose so. If Mr. Phillips was guilty of discrimination based on sexual orientation then surely these bakers were no less guilty of discrimination based on religion — another type of discrimination expressly forbidden by the Colorado law. Because the justices were easily able to award the victory to Mr. Phillips on free exercise of religion grounds, the court didn’t fully grapple with this important issue.

Source: New York Times June 04, 2018 23:10 UTC