religious freedom

Louisville to Pay $800,000 for Violating Christian Photographer’s Free Speech Rights

The city of Louisville, Kentucky will pay $800,000 in attorneys’ fees for violating the First Amendment rights of a Christian photographer and blogger.

“The government cannot force Americans to say things they don’t believe,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel Bryan Neihart. “For almost six years, Louisville officials tried to do just that by threatening to force Chelsey to promote views about marriage that violated her religious beliefs.”

Chelsey Nelson, owner of Chelsey Nelson Photography, uses her passion for photography to celebrate marriage. She believes that God created marriage as a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman.

While Chelsey works with clients of all different faiths and backgrounds, she can’t in good conscience use her talents and abilities to celebrate ceremonies she disagrees with – like “same-sex weddings.”

However, the city of Louisville, invoking its public accommodation law (Metro Ordinance § 92.05), used the threat of “limitless damages, compliance reports, posting of notices, and court orders to force Chelsey to create photographs for, blog about, and participate in” same-sex weddings.

The city also made it illegal for Chelsey to explain why she believes marriage is between a man and a woman on her own business website. Can you imagine a more direct attack on free speech than that?

To protect her own conscience, business and constitutional rights, Chelsey filed a lawsuit alleging Louisville’s law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Chelsey is represented by attorneys with ADF.

The organization published a video sharing more of Chelsey’s story, which you can watch below:

On August 30, 2022, the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Kentucky issued a permanent injunction barring Louisville from enforcing its public accommodation law against Chelsey.

The court said laws like Louisville’s “coerce” Americans into “betraying their convictions.” Indeed, “The First Amendment exists to …  keep the artist’s expression truly free,” it added.

Now, the city of Louisville has agreed to settle the lawsuit and pay $800,000 in attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses. The city decided to finally settle after a September 2025 ruling from the court, stating, “Nelson suffered a First Amendment injury.”

“Louisville’s threats contradicted bedrock First Amendment principles which leave decisions about what to say with the people, not the government,” Neihart added. “This settlement should teach Louisville that violating the U.S. Constitution can be expensive.”

No Christian should be forced by the government to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs and celebrate a ceremony they believe is sinful.

We congratulate Chelsey on her victory and applaud her for standing up for her faith and constitutional rights.

The case is Chelsey Nelson Photography v. Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

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Photo from Alliance Defending Freedom.

Religious Liberty Commission Hears Testimony From Healthcare Workers

President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission held its sixth hearing at the Museum of the Bible on Monday to discuss religious liberty in health care and social services.

President Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission via executive order on May 1, 2025, tasking the 14-member commission with creating a comprehensive report:

  • Exploring the foundations of religious liberty in America.
  • Considering the impact of religious liberty on American society.
  • Identifying current threats to domestic religious liberty.
  • Developing strategies to preserve and enhance religious liberty protections for future generations.
  • Recommending programs to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism.

Trump appointed Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick to chair the commission alongside Vice Chair Dr. Ben Carson. Other commission members include:

  • Ryan T. Anderson
  • Bishop Robert Barron
  • Cardinal Timothy Dolan
  • Pastor Franklin Graham
  • Allyson Ho
  • Dr. Phil McGraw
  • Eric Metaxas
  • Kelly Shackelford
  • Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
  • Paula White

Since its establishment, the Religious Liberty Commission has held regular meetings to hear from experts on religious freedom and witnesses whose religious liberty has been violated.

On March 16, the commission heard testimony from Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor in Colorado, who spoke about Colorado’s law that unconstitutionally censors the speech of licensed counselors.

“Counseling is about uncovering the roots, the fears, the wounds, the questions underneath the surface, so real healing can happen,” Chiles shared. “In 2022 … I discovered Colorado had passed a law dictating which counseling conversations my clients and I are allowed to have.”

Colorado’s HB19-1129, the “Prohibit Conversion Therapy for a Minor Act,” prohibits licensed mental health professionals from offering therapy to help those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction or sexual identity confusion.

Chiles, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, sued to prevent enforcement of the state’s law. The U.S. Supreme Court took up Chiles’ case and heard oral arguments in October. A ruling is expected by June 2026.

You can watch Chiles’ testimony below:

Alliance Defending Freedom President and CEO Kristen Waggoner, who attended the meeting with Chiles and serves on the commission’s Advisory Board of Legal Experts, posted about the hearing on X:

The commission also heard testimony from Valerie Kloosterman, a First Liberty client, who was fired by the University of Michigan Health System for her religious beliefs.

Kloosterman worked as a physician assistant for 17 years and had “exemplary performance reviews” and a “stellar” reputation with patients.

Nevertheless, Michigan Health fired Kloosterman after she asked for a religious accommodation from affirming statements that violated her Christian faith and medical judgement. A Michigan Health diversity representative called her “evil” and blamed her for gender dysphoria-related suicides, telling her she could not take the Bible or her religious beliefs to work.

Kloosterman filed a lawsuit against Michigan Health with First Liberty’s help. Her case remains ongoing.

Kloosterman told the commission, “I’m praying that God would use my case to protect religious liberty for my children and for the next generation so they can freely live out their faith in the workplace.”

“It’s bad medicine to force religious healthcare professionals like Valerie to choose between their faith and their job,” said First Liberty President, CEO and Chief Legal Counsel Kelly Shackelford in a statement, adding,

It is disgraceful and unlawful to ask any person to violate their conscience rights and religious beliefs that are protected by the Constitution.

Americans’ First Amendment right to religious freedom has come under assault in recent years, especially since the Supreme Court concocted a constitutional right to “same-sex marriage” in its 2015 Obergefell decision.

Thankfully, the Religious Liberty Commission is serving an important role in restoring Americans’ constitutional rights by examining the myriad threats to religious freedom.

The commission will hold its capstone hearing to discuss the past, present and future of religious liberty in America on April 13 at the Museum of the Bible. A livestream will be available.

Related articles and resources:

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Photo from First Liberty.

Moody Bible Institute Wins Religious Freedom Case for Student Teachers

The Chicago Board of Education settled a lawsuit with the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago that allows student teachers from Moody to train in the city’s public schools.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) had excluded Moody’s elementary education students from its student teaching program unless the college agreed to hire employees who disagreed with the school’s biblical views on sex, sexuality and marriage.

The school district asked Moody to sign a “Vendor Agreement” and a “Student Teaching Internship Agreement” saying the college would not discriminate in hiring on the basis of “gender identity/expression (or) sexual orientation.”

This would have violated the college’s religious beliefs, which include that God made humans in His image male and female, marriage is between a husband and wife, and sexual activity outside of marriage is prohibited.

Attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), who had filed the lawsuit on Moody’s behalf in November 2025, announced the settlement in a press statement, with ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus explaining the importance of the victory:

Chicago desperately needs more teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies, but public school administrators are putting personal agendas ahead of the needs of families.
Moody holds its faculty and students to high standards of excellence and is more than qualified to participate in Chicago’s student-teaching program. By excluding Moody for its religious beliefs, Chicago Public Schools is illegally injecting itself into a religious non-profit’s hiring practices, which the Constitution and state laws expressly forbid. 

The lawsuit explained that the Christian college hires people who agree with and live by its religious beliefs. It stated that the Illinois State Board of Education had approved the school’s teacher preparation program in January 2024, so graduates could sit for the state’s teaching licensure exam.

It’s not like CPS can afford to turn away good teachers.

The Illinois Policy Institute reported at the start of the 2025-2026 school year that Chicago’s schools are failing to educate students:

The most recent test scores for Chicago Public Schools show fewer than 1-in-3 students could read at grade level. Fewer than 1-in-5 could do math at grade level.
Each year the district gets more money to educate fewer [students], and proficiency is still far behind where it should be compared to spending.

Moody tried to work with the Chicago Board of Education, asking it to accommodate the school’s religious beliefs, since “the United States Constitution and federal, state, and local laws all permit and protect Moody’s employment practices.”

The suit also pointed out that the district seemed to single out Moody and did not enforce its policies evenhandedly:

Chicago Public Schools has allowed other universities and colleges to participate in the Pre-Service Teaching Program even though they have similar hiring practices to Moody.

ADF attorneys argued that such favoritism toward other religious schools violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause.

Public government programs cannot discriminate against participants because of their religion, the suit explained, pointing to the 2022 U.S. Supreme court decision Carson v. Makin, a case from Maine where the state created a tuition assistance program for families to send their children to private schools, prohibiting the money from being used at religious schools.

The court ruled that this violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.

Similarly, CPS cannot exclude Christian students from participating in the teaching program because of their or their college’s religion.

As a result of the settlement, ADF said that the school district “modified its Student Teacher Internship Agreement” and “has now listed Moody as an approved university partner on its website.” The Board also agreed to pay $100,00 in attorney’s fees.

Moody Provost Dr. Tim Sisk applauded the agreement, saying:

We are deeply grateful that a resolution has been reached affirming our constitutional right to hire individuals who are aligned with our core mission and biblical values.

The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago was founded in 1886 by evangelist Dwight L. Moody as a training center “where men and women could be transformed by the clear, practical teaching of God’s Word.”

In addition to its Chicago undergraduate campus, the college started a seminary in Chicago with a satellite campus in Plymouth, Michigan, and it operates Moody Aviation, in Spokane, Washington.

The Daily Citizen is grateful for this important victory.

Related articles and resources:

Arizona Christian University Settles with School District That Rejected Student Teachers – Because of Their Commitment to Christ

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Coach Joe Kennedy Finally Rehired After Religious Liberty Win at Supreme Court

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HHS Tells States Not to Remove Children From Parents Who Affirm Biological Reality

The Trump administration is protecting parental rights and warning states not to remove children from their parents’ custody solely because they do not affirm their child’s self-professed “gender identity.”

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a letter to all 50 states reminded them that “state child welfare agencies must base child removal decisions on objective evidence of abuse or imminent risk of harm” under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.

The letter warns states “not to interpret federal definitions too broadly in ways that infringe on parental rights or lead to unnecessary foster placements by removing children for reasons that do not constitute abuse and neglect.”

Furthermore, the letter informs states “that removing a child based solely on a parent’s sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions” may violate the Constitution’s free exercise clause and that “removing a child for these reasons may harm both the child and the parents.”

ACF Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams said in a statement announcing the letter, “Parents have the right to raise their children according to their sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions.”

Assistant Secretary Adams and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brian Christine released a video announcing the letter.

Assistant Secretary Adams also appeared on Newsmax to discuss the development.

HHS said the letter is a part of the Trump administration’s effort to “defend parental rights and children’s health.”

“Acknowledging biological reality and exercising sincerely held religious beliefs should not constitute child abuse or neglect under federal law,” the agency said.

Think ACF’s letter is unnecessary? Think again.

Two years in a row, Colorado lawmakers have introduced legislation threatening parents’ rights if they don’t immediately support their child’s “transition” to a new “gender identity.” California lawmakers introduced similar legislation in 2023.

Colorado’s Senate Bill 26-018, in its original form, would have required courts to consider whether or not a parent supports a child’s “identity as it relates to a protected class” when “determining parenting time and allocation of decision-making responsibilities.”

These protected “identities” include a child’s “gender identity” and “gender expression.”

The bill is so radical that Colorado Governor Jared Polis intervened to kill the provision for a second year in a row. But if past is prologue, the legislation will surely be introduced again.

Across the nation, children have already been removed from their parents’ custody solely because they affirmed biological reality and would not affirm their child’s “gender identity” – even in red states like Indiana, Montana, Texas and Arizona.

Mary and Jeremy Cox, residents of Indiana, had their 16-year-old son – who began identifying as a female – removed from their custody because the state’s Department of Child Services argued he needed to be in a home that accepted his “gender identity.” One where “she [would be] accepted for who she is,” the state claimed.

So yes, states kidnapping children from parents who won’t affirm their sexual identity confusion is a large and growing evil. One that, thankfully, ACF is paying attention to and addressing.

The agency said it “will continue to monitor states’ compliance with federal child welfare requirements” and “ensure federal funds are used consistent with the law.”

Assistant Secretary Adams said,

When states overstep their bounds, ACF will take action to deter inappropriate policies that drive unnecessary interactions with child welfare systems.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Related articles and resources:

Colorado Bill Would Force Parents to Accept Child’s New ‘Gender Identity’

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Photo from Getty Images.

Teacher Wins $650,000 After Being Fired for Refusing to Use ‘Trans’ Pronouns

An Indiana school district will pay $650,000 for firing a music teacher who refused to use students’ incorrect and antiscientific “preferred pronouns” in violation of his sincerely held religious beliefs.

John Kluge taught orchestra and music theory at Brownsburg High School for several years, until the school district demanded he use students’ names and pronouns that aligned with their “gender identity,” rather than biological reality.

Kluge is a Christian, and he can’t in good conscience affirm “transgenderism” or speak in a way that violates his faith. His religious beliefs “are drawn from the Bible” and he believes “God created mankind as either male or female” and that “he cannot affirm as true ideas and concepts that he deems untrue and sinful.”

He requested a religious accommodation under Title VII, volunteering to refer to all students by their last name as a compromise. His accommodation was granted – at first.

The arrangement went smoothly until a few students and teachers complained about the compromise. As a result, the school district decided no exceptions would be allowed. The district revoked Kluge’s accommodation and forced him to resign, ending his teaching career.

Kluge filed a lawsuit arguing that Brownsburg Community School Corporation officials violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination against employees based on their religion. Kluge is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom.

Last August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that Kluge’s case should go to a jury trial. However, Brownsburg decided to settle the lawsuit and agreed to a joint stipulation of dismissal.

Brownsburg agreed to pay $650,000 in the settlement and will also train its senior staff on how Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on their religious beliefs.

“After almost five and a half years, common sense has prevailed at Brownsburg,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman. “This settlement confirms what the law has always said: Public schools cannot force teachers to violate their religious beliefs.”

Cortman added,

Title VII requires employers to accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs and practices. When they fail to do so – or worse, announce that they will grant no religious accommodations, as Brownsburg did – they can be held accountable.

You can learn more about the case below:

Kristen Waggoner, president and CEO of ADF, celebrated the settlement, saying, “One case at a time, we’re taking free speech back from the pronoun police.”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita also lauded the decision.

Brownsburg isn’t the first school district that has had to learn the hard way teachers don’t forfeit their free speech rights or freedom of religion after stepping on school grounds. And it probably won’t be the last.

Last year, Oregon’s Grants Pass School District 7 agreed to pay over half a million dollars for violating two educators’ free speech, religious freedom and equal protection rights. After the educators, Rachel Sager and Katie Medart, publicly opposed the district’s “Gender Identity, Transgender, Name, and Pronoun Guidance,” the school district fired them.

Hopefully, school districts nationwide will soon learn they must protect their employees’ constitutional rights.

Cortman said,

We hope this settlement shows teachers that they do not have to bow the knee to ideological mandates that violate their religious beliefs. And schools should learn that refusing to accommodate religious employees can be illegal and expensive.

The case is Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corporation.

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

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Photo from Alliance Defending Freedom.