In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that churches and religious organizations are exempt from employee discrimination laws when hiring or firing their own employees and leaders. Many are heralding this decision as key in reinforcing the separation between church and state, while others worry that this will allow these organizations far too much power. The initial complaint that motivated Hosanna-Tabor Church v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stemmed from a teacher at an elementary school who felt she was being fired for pursuing a disability claim. 

On Wednesday, Michael Enright, 21, a college student who had just returned from doing volunteer work in Afghanistan, was charged with using a tool to slash the neck and face of a New York City taxi driver after the driver told Enright he was a Muslim.

Police have deemed the attack a hate crime — and the suspect is being held without bail on charges of attempted murder and assault. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance has recommended that its members refrain from talking about religion with their customers, and Muslim cab drivers aren't the only ones worried that the debate over the Islamic Cultural Center, Park 51, has brought on a new wave of "Islamophobia."

A rabbi, a priest and a pastor are all looking for a job … It sounds like the set-up to a joke we’ve all heard before. But due to shifts in our culture and economy, it turns out that this set-up has no punchline. The unemployment rate among clergy has doubled from ten years ago. And institutions ranging from churches to College chaplains have enacted hiring freezes and clergy lay-offs.