Case in Point January/February 2026
January/February 2026Round Two for State-Funded Religious Charter Schools?
A Jewish organization is reviving the push for publicly funded religious charter schools months after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked on a similar Catholic case. The National Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation has notified Oklahoma officials that it will apply to open a statewide virtual high school combining state-approved academics with daily Jewish religious studies.
The group expects the state to deny the application—a rejection they plan to challenge in federal court to force a new Supreme Court test of whether religious charter schools can receive public funds. The effort seeks to bypass an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that found religious charter schools unconstitutional. If approved, the school aims to launch in 2026 with about 40 students.
The move has divided Jewish leaders. Nationally, Orthodox- and Conservative-leaning groups support expanded public funding for religious education, while major Jewish organizations and church-state separation advocates warn that the strategy could undermine minority protections and bolster Christian nationalism.
The Ben Gamla effort follows the high-profile case of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which in 2023 became the first openly religious charter school approved by Oklahoma’s statewide board before being swiftly challenged in court. The state attorney general argued that charter schools are “state actors” required to remain secular, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed, blocking the school as unconstitutional. When the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024, the justices deadlocked 4-4 after Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself, leaving the state ruling in place and the central question—whether states must permit publicly funded religious charter schools—unresolved.
Justices Punt on Pregame Prayer Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear Cambridge Christian School v. Florida High School Athletic Association, leaving in place an 11th Circuit ruling that a Christian school had no First Amendment right to use a public address system for a pregame prayer at a state championship football game. The appellate court held that announcements over the stadium PA system constitute government speech, giving the state broad discretion to control the content without violating private religious freedoms. The denial of certiorari means the 11th Circuit’s decision stands, reinforcing limits on religious expression in settings in which the government is deemed the speaker.
Quebec Tightens Secularism Laws, Restricting Public Prayer
The government of the Canadian province of Quebec has unveiled unprecedented measures limiting religious expression in public life. The new Bill 9 would bar daycare workers from wearing religious symbols, restrict face coverings for students and staff, and forbid public prayer in parks without municipal approval.
The proposed law builds on the controversial 2019 Bill 21, which banned religious symbols and clothing for many government employees. Critics say these new restrictions disproportionately target religious minorities and threaten fundamental freedoms. Canada’s Supreme Court is set to review Bill 21 next year, amid growing concern over the province’s sweeping secularism agenda.
European Union States Must Recognize Same-Sex Marriages
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that EU member states must recognize same-sex marriages lawfully concluded in another member state—even if their own laws don’t allow such marriages. The case concerned two Polish citizens who married in Germany and were denied recognition when returning to Poland. Refusing recognition, the court found, violates their rights under EU law—notably freedom of movement, family life, and prohibition of discrimination. The ruling does not force countries to legalize same-sex marriage internally; it simply requires that foreign same-sex marriages be recognized.
In the United States similar reciprocity requirements exist between U.S. states under a law passed by Congress in 2022—the Respect for Marriage Act. This law, however, explicitly protects religious liberty by ensuring that churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith-based organizations cannot be required to perform or host same-sex marriages or provide services for them. It also bars the federal government from stripping tax-exempt status or other benefits from religious groups that adhere to traditional beliefs about marriage, balancing nationwide marriage recognition with robust safeguards for conscience.
Americans’ Slide Away From Faith Stalls, for Now
The latest Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study (2023-2024) finds that the share of U.S. adults identifying as Christian has stabilized after years of decline, while the growth of the religiously unaffiliated has also leveled off. Currently 62 percent of adults are Christian (40 percent Protestant, 19 percent Catholic, 3 percent other), 29 percent are unaffiliated, and 7 percent belong to other religions, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.
Religious practices have remained steady in recent years: 44 percent pray daily, and 33 percent attend services monthly. Most Americans continue to hold spiritual beliefs, with 86 percent believing in a soul, 83 percent in God or a universal spirit, 79 percent in a spiritual reality beyond the natural world, and 70 percent in heaven, hell, or both.
U.S. to Restrict Visas to Nigerians Accused of Anti-Christian Violence
The U.S. State Department announced it will begin denying visas to Nigerians and their family members believed responsible for “mass killings and violence against Christians.” The move, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is based on a new policy under the Immigration and Nationality Act, aimed at punishing individuals who “directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom.” The restrictions follow recent reports of attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria attributed to radical Islamic terrorists, ethnic militias, and other violent groups.