Conservatives who have moral and theological objections to same-sex marriage saw Friday’s Supreme Court decision as reassurance that they would be able to defend their faith in a public square they say is becoming increasingly hostile.
In a 6-to-3 vote, divided along ideological lines, the judges agreed with a web designer in Colorado who said she had the First Amendment right to refuse to provide same-sex marriage services despite a state law prohibiting discrimination against same-sex couples. gays.
“If the government can force an individual to speak a certain way or create certain things, that’s not freedom — it’s submission,” Brent Leatherwood, the head of policy at the Southern Baptist Convention, said in a statement after the pronounciation. He described the decision as granting freedom to all Americans to speak consistently with their beliefs, “even when those beliefs are considered culturally unpopular.”
According to 2021 polls by the Public Religion Research Institute, majorities from most major religious groups — including Catholics, Jews, and Muslims — oppose small business owners refusing to serve gays and lesbians on religious grounds. Notable exceptions are white evangelical Protestants and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Friday’s ruling comes a day after another Supreme Court decision, applauded by religious conservatives, in which the court ruled in favor of a postman who refused to work on the Sabbath. The court has now handed down a series of recent rulings in favor of religious conservatives, including overturning a national right to abortion last year.
In the Colorado case, Ms. Smith and her lawyers have stressed that her objection is not to working with same-sex or gay couples, but to designing same-sex marriage websites. Several similar cases have targeted conservative Christian small business owners who object to working specifically on same-sex marriages, including a Colorado baker, two Arizona invitation designers, and a Kentucky-based photographer.
In a press conference shortly after the ruling was made, Alliance Defending Freedom general counsel Kristin Waggoner, who represented Ms. Smith, compared her client to a Muslim baker who was asked to make a cake that criticized Islam, or to a Democratic speechwriter who was was advertising a Republican candidate.
Seated next to Ms. Waggoner, Ms. Smith said she was grateful to the court, which “affirmed today that Colorado cannot force me or anyone else to say anything we don’t believe.” She said her consideration when accepting work as a website designer was the “message” of the site, not the client’s identity.
Ms. Smith’s portfolio includes websites for churches, real estate companies and political candidates.
While many conservative Christians applauded Friday’s decision, it drew criticism from some progressive Christians and interfaith groups, including those serving religious gays.
“Broad waivers to allow discrimination based on religion also harm people of faith,” Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for gay Catholics, said in a statement. “The court’s exemption will further fuel violence against religious minorities, especially against non-Christian adherents, which continues to poison our national lives.”
