Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

October 17, 2025

Does Religion Need a Legal Definition?

Protecting its free exercise is essential to the American project.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled on the case of Catholic Charities Bureau v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission, which hinged on the definition of a religious organization—and, by extension, the definition of religion itself. The justices ruled unanimously that Wisconsin’s understanding was so narrow as to be discriminatory. But, Richard Garnett observes, the Court did not attempt to define what exactly religion is: 

SaveGift