The Satanic Temple sued the city of Scottsdale, AZ for religious discrimination after one of its members was not allowed to give an invocation at a city council meeting. The plaintiffs claimed this violated their First Amendment rights to exercise their religious beliefs. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It is illegal for employers to make employment decisions based on religion or segregate employees based on their faith. Private religious schools can consider religion in admissions and hiring, but public schools are protected from religious discrimination under the Civil Rights Act. The Office for Civil Rights investigates complaints of students experiencing discrimination, harassment, or stereotyping due to their religion or ethnicity.

1. The Law Offices of John D. Halepaska
113 Ardmore Street, Castle Rock, Colorado
80104
(720) 499-9291
s
Religious
Discrimination: A Look
at the Legal Provisions
for Workplace and
School Settings

2. Just recently, the Arizona Chapter of the Satanic Temple filed a federal lawsuit against the city of
Scottsdale, AZ. The complaint stemmed from the city council's decision not to allow one of the
members of the organization to give the invocation in a 2016 meeting.
The plaintiffs claimed that the city council members allegedly commented it was “absurd” to have
a satanist lead an invocation. However, the council said the rejection was not based on religious
grounds but on the fact that the member “did not have any substantial connection to the
Scottsdale community.”
If found guilty of discriminating based on religious beliefs, the city council officials will be
violating the satanists’ First Amendment rights, which states that American citizens can exercise
their religious beliefs.
Religious Discrimination in the Workplace
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination in the workplace for a number of
reasons, one of which is religion. Religious discrimination and harassment include severe and
repetitive offensive remarks about a person’s religious beliefs.
In a workplace setting, it is illegal for an employer to make employment-related decisions based
on an employee's religion. The Act also prohibits an employer from segregating an employee due
to their faith.

3. Additionally, employers should reasonably accommodate flexibility in schedules and dress code
exceptions so that employees can practice their religion.
Religious Discrimination in Schools
Private schools run by religious organizations or orders are not legally obliged to admit or hire
anyone from a religion outside of theirs. These schools are allowed to consider religion in their
admission and hiring process.
For state-funded schools, the Department of Education established the Office for Civil Rights
(OCR) to protect all students from racial, gender, age, or disability-based discrimination.
Although there is no explicit information on religious discrimination in schools, the Civil Rights
Act protects students from harassment due to their faith.
The OCR investigates complaints from students who have experienced discrimination,
harassment, or stereotyping because of their ethnicity or religion.
Religious discrimination is a problem that goes back thousands of years ago. But today, the law
protects everyone from being harmed, hurt, or harassed because of their religious beliefs.
Ideally, with these laws, anyone from any religion should be able to lead an invocation for a
public meeting.

4. Sources:
https://halepaskalaw.com/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/satanists-sue-scottsdale-religious
discrimination/story?id=53362606
https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/fs-religion.cfm
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/religion.html