“A dangerous movement, undetected by many, is now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week, announcing the formation of a Justice Department task force devoted to defending religious liberty.
The movement “must be confronted and defeated.” Sessions added, painting a grim picture in which ministers were afraid to preach the word of God, religious organizations were labeled as hate groups for espousing traditional morality, and — famously — a baker was sanctioned by Colorado for refusing to create a cake for a gay couple's wedding.
But that baker recently won his case before the Supreme Court (even if the victory was not as sweeping as religious conservatives might have hoped). Indeed, as Vox's Tara Isabella Burton points out, religious plaintiffs seeking religious exemptions have amassed a solid record in the courts in recent years — notably in Hobby Lobby, in which the owners of the craft store chain were freed from the obligation to cover contraception in their health plan.
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