Kerby Anderson

Last week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a case that will have quite an influence on religious liberty. Lawyer David French was in my radio studio the other day and said that he has “never seen a case more mischaracterized in my entire legal career.” He has seen lots of cases, so that is quite a statement.

The case involves Christian baker Jack Phillips. When two men visited his Masterpiece Cakes bakery in 2012 and asked for a same-sex wedding cake, he refused. The men filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and launched a campaign against Phillips. Lower courts ruled that Jack Phillips discriminated against the two men and was ordered to make cakes for homosexuals.

The case has been mischaracterized because he does serve homosexual customers and even offered a cake but balked at the message the men wanted to put on the cake. Unfortunately, some commentators have made it seem like Jack Phillips is comparable to Southern segregationists.

The Supreme Court decision won’t come down until next year, but will have a far-reaching impact in other cases. The court’s decision may also determine the fate of Aaron and Melissa Klein (Sweet Cakes) in Oregon and Barronelle Stutzman (Arlene’s Flower) in Washington and other such cases.

In the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, Justice Kennedy did make room for religious disagreement with same-sex marriage in what some have called “the golden paragraph.” His opinion seemed to provide some assurance to religious groups that the First Amendment gives proper protection to their beliefs.

Next year we will find out how serious he is and the court is about religious liberty. This cake case out of Colorado will set a precedent that will be quoted many times in the coming years. That’s why I believe it may be the most important case to come before the High Court this year.