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In summer 2014, passions were already running hot. The Supreme Court was about to hand down a ruling that the federal government could not force a family-run business to pay for free birth control for its workers if the owners had religious objections to doing so. The left would cry out that this amounted to allowing employers to force their beliefs on everyone else. The right would hail the decision as a landmark blow for faith-based freedom. Little did we know then that Burwell v. Hobby Lobby was more prologue than main event.
In 2015, the tension around what is meant by "religious liberty" and where its limits should be drawn came to a head. One after another, controversies boiled over. Ink was spilled. Protests were organized. Arguments were made. Decisions were written. At least one person went to jail, and more than one small business was forced to shut its doors. Below is a chronological roundup of the many times this year when people and institutions clashed on the battlefield of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
Read on for more.
