This week in Christian history: Keswick Convention, Hobby Lobby decision, Mennonite Church
Hobby Lobby wins at the Supreme Court – June 30, 2014
This week marks the anniversary of when the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a Christian-owned business, did not have to provide employee coverage for birth control or abortion-inducing drugs that they objected to for religious reasons.
The decision also benefitted a company known as Conestoga Wood Specialties, which was founded by two members of the Mennonite Church who believed life began at conception.
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Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, in which he argued that the federal government was violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by forcing Hobby Lobby to provide coverage for the drugs the company was morally opposed to.
“We hold that the regulations that impose this obligation violate RFRA, which prohibits the Federal Government from taking any action that substantially burdens the exercise of religion unless that action constitutes the least restrictive means of serving a compelling government interest,” wrote Alito.
