The Status of Smith and Yoder After Mahmoud

Making Sense of <em>Mahmoud v. Taylor</em>

The Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27 was cheered by conservatives and religious liberty advocates. The 6–3 ruling found that a Maryland public school district violated the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause by refusing to let parents opt their elementary school children out of lessons featuring LGBTQ-themed storybooks. The Court reaffirmed a bedrock principle going back a century to Pierce v. Society of Sisters: Paren…

The Status of Smith and Yoder After Mahmoud

A few days ago, I asked if the moment for overruling Smith had passed. At the time, I had not yet read Mahmoud. (I am still making my way through the opinions.) Now, having read Mahmoud, I see a Court that is desperately trying to stay away from the resolving the validity of Smith. Let me lay out some salient facts from Mahmoud. The government initially allowed parents to opt-out their children from being exposed to certain books. However, that …