WASHINGTON — Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City says it is encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in favor of a Wisconsin-based Catholic Charities branch, calling it an affirmation of their right to provide social services without compromising their religious identity.
On June 5, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Catholic Charities, holding that for First Amendment purposes, the Catholic Charities Bureau of Wisconsin should be viewed as a religious entity integrated with the Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, not as a separate, secular legal corporation. Therefore, the agency can also enjoy certain tax exemptions.
This story was reported by Gaylord News, a Washington reporting project of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma.
The ruling could have broader implications for religious nonprofits nationwide, including Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
“This (ruling) does help protect our right to continue our services going forward,” said Patrick Raglow, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
Catholic Charities USA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the poor and vulnerable through programs rooted in the Catholic Church’s mission. It is made up of a network of Catholic Charities agencies across the U.S., each operating under the leadership of its diocese‘s bishop or archbishop. According to the organization’s website, it provides services with an emphasis on justice and charity, without discrimination based on race, sex or religion.
In addition to its own internal charitable operations, the Catholic Charities Bureau of Wisconsin oversees four affiliated nonprofit organizations: Barron County Developmental Services, Black River Industries, Diversified Services and Headwaters. These groups provide a range of social services such as job placement and daily living support for individuals with disabilities.
Though these entities operate largely through government funding and do not promote religious instruction or require religious affiliation, they remain under the umbrella of Catholic Charities and are considered part of the Catholic Church’s broader social mission.
“We’re grateful the court unanimously recognized that improving the human condition by serving the poor is part of our religious exercise and has allowed us to continue serving those in need throughout our diocese and beyond,” Bishop James Powers said in a statement.
In 2016, Wisconsin’s Catholic Charities sought a religious exemption from state unemployment insurance contributions. The exemption was denied by Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development, a decision ultimately upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Justices there ruled the organizations were not operated primarily for religious purposes under state law.
The central legal question involved whether the state violated the First Amendment by denying a religious organization a tax exemption that was otherwise available, solely because the organization did not meet the state’s specific criteria for what constitutes religious conduct.
The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately found that Wisconsin’s interpretation of its unemployment law discriminated against certain religious groups by privileging specific theological practices. In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court stated that the law “facially differentiates among religions based on theological choices.”
The court emphasized that states cannot favor certain religious beliefs or practices, such as requiring an organization to proselytize or serve only its own members, in order to qualify for a religious exemption. They wrote that doing so would violate the Constitution’s guarantee of religious neutrality by privileging some theologies over others.
“It is fundamental to our constitutional order that the government maintain ‘neutrality between religion and religion,'” Sotomayor wrote. “When the government distinguishes among religions based on theological differences in their provision of services, it imposes a denominational preference that must satisfy the highest level of judicial scrutiny.”
Raglow reiterated Powers’ stance that charity is a Catholic “religious exercise.”
“Our operation as a social service agency is a direct expression of our faith, even if 80 percent of those we serve and 60 percent of those on our staff are not practicing Catholics,” Raglow said.
