The Office of the Utah Attorney General Supports Religious Organizations’ Ability to Engage in Service 

April 3, 2025

The Office of the Utah Attorney General (OAG) has signed an amicus (or ‘friend of the court’) brief in support of Catholic Charities as it appears before the U.S. Supreme Court to defend its charitable activities, arguing that they are protected by the First Amendment.  

Utah is not only the most religious state in the U.S., but it also has a robust history of charitable works that dates back to its founding.  

The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion as a core, fundamental right that all Americans have. The OAG signed this brief after Catholic Charities was denied a religious exemption, as the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and, later, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the organization’s charitable activities were not primarily religious.  

Catholic Charities Bureau is a service-oriented organization dedicated to reducing poverty. The efforts stem from tenets of the Catholic faith, and the organization engages volunteers in activities such as feeding the hungry, providing shelter to the homeless, and offering immediate relief to communities devastated by natural disasters.  

For as long as the Catholic faith has existed, charity has been an integral part of the religion. Charitable activities and endeavors have always been and remain a core part of many religions and religious practices.   

The case began in 2016 when a Catholic Charities chapter requested that the state of Wisconsin exempt the organization from paying unemployment taxes. Catholic Charities argued that it should qualify for the exemption because the state law included an exception for individuals working at organizations operating primarily for religious purposes.  

This religious exemption is given to religious schools, churches, and other religious groups.  

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development denied the exemption. While these state officials acknowledged that Catholic Charities was motivated by faith, they stated that the organization’s charitable activities were secular.  

Catholic Charities filed a lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin in response to this decision.  

The case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after Catholic Charities received an unfavorable decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That court ruled the organization does not primarily operate for religious purposes.  

Catholic Charities went to the U.S. Supreme Court and asked the justices to take up its case. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed and said it would examine one question the group had asked: Does Wisconsin’s criteria for religious behavior violate the First Amendment’s protections of religious freedom? 

Supreme Court Justices considered this question on Monday while hearing oral arguments.  

Utah had previously joined a friend of the court brief in support of Catholic Charities. Ohio Attorney General David Yost led the coalition of states, which included: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia.  

The states argue the Wisconsin Supreme Court misinterpreted the First Amendment and that religious organizations have a long history of engaging in charity directly because of their beliefs. “The government may not erase that heritage by defining away religion’s relationship to charity,” the brief stated. “… in the end, the damage to the religious institutions does nothing to advance First Amendment principles.”