ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two recent United States Supreme Court cases, (Christian Legal Society) v. Martinez and (Hosanna-Tabor) v. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, involving conflicts between equality and religious freedom. The Supreme Court's analysis was relatively straightforward. These cases send conflicting signals. In Christian Legal Society, the Court found that the government's interest in promoting equality trumps religious freedom. In contrast, in Hosanna Tabor, the Court decided that religious freedom prevails over the government's efforts to enforce equality. Against this backdrop, the chapter examines the status and possible future of religious autonomy amid state efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination. In the context of religion, the truths of equality and freedom often are in tension. If equality means anything, it surely means prohibiting discrimination based on immutable characteristics, even where such discrimination is an essential tenet of religious faith. If religious freedom means anything, it surely means that religious organizations have exclusive authority to define both membership and leadership.
