How religious liberty became the Roberts court's North Star

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : During the nearly two-decade tenure of Chief Justice John Roberts, the nation's high court has in many ways redefined the meaning of religious freedom in America.
50% : It's a question that has rankled the country even before the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage a constitutional right eight years ago in Obergefell v. Hodges.
49% : In Friday's ruling in 303 Creative, however, Justice Neil Gorsuch was clear: "The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees. ...
49% : In his opinion, Justice Gorsuch wrote, "The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands."
48% : But in the case concerning the free speech rights of the Colorado website designer, in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, the Supreme Court addressed one of the most divisive cultural questions in the country: May those with sincere religious beliefs against same-sex marriage be able to refuse to provide service when it comes to same-sex weddings?
47% : The Roberts court has redefined the meaning of the First Amendment's establishment clause, often referred to as the basis of "the separation of church and state," by opening the door for public funds directed to private religious schools and allowing the public religious expressions of public school employees.
46% : As a legal matter, their claims involve only refusing service for the ritual aspects of same-sex nuptials, as a matter of religious belief and conscience, but not LGBTQ+ people in general, proponents say.
46% : Religious conservatives have based many of their legal arguments on both the provisions of the First Amendment that guarantee the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech.
46% : Taking account of the broader landscape, however, William Eskridge, professor of jurisprudence at Yale Law School and one of the nation's leading scholars on the legal aspects of same-sex marriage, says that today's decision will not necessarily thwart the many gains of LGBTQ+ Americans over the past decade.
46% : It also allowed religious adoption agencies receiving public funds to decline to work with same-sex couples.
46% : And while the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a year ago was not a religious liberty case, opposing the constitutional right to abortion had long been a top priority for most religious conservatives.
42% : Then on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of a Colorado website designer who argued that creating a wedding website for same-sex couples would violate her First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
42% : But if you'd refuse to facilitate a certain message no matter who asked for it, the First Amendment protects your choice."
31% : The Roberts court, whose conservative majority is itself dominated by religious conservatives, provided their decadeslong efforts to erase the right to abortion with a resounding legal victory.

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