A birthday ending with a "0" is bearing down on me. As with other Baby Boomers, thoughts pivot from temporal concerns toward transcendent ones. So, a very recent trifecta of cases involving religion in the workplace snagged my attention: two from SCOTUS and one from the Fifth Circuit. Because headlines lack nuance, this month's column takes a deeper dive into their practical import. Now and into the future.

First up, 303 Creative LLC et al. v. Elenis et al., (June 30, 2023). In Colorado, Lorie Smith offers customized website and graphic design services. For her, weddings are a prime market. Her business model is based on discovering the joyful couple's origin story, employing her creative talents in fashioning a compelling and personalized narrative, and then bringing a story to a wider audience via the web. Like any other proud artist, the end product credits herself as the co-creator. One rub. She is a Christian whose faith considers marriage to be a union between one man and one woman. So, while she provides all her services to those of any sexual orientation, the wedding option is off the menu. But enter stage right, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), which mandates that those who offer services to the general public do so without regard to, among other things, sexual orientation. Her counter? The Free Speech Clause of our First Amendment precludes the government from compelling her to support beliefs with which she disagrees.