The U.S. Supreme Court’s October 2022 term kicked off Oct. 3 with a schedule that may include several cases of concern to Christians over the next few months.

As Kelly Shackelford of the First Liberty Institute law firm notes in this month’s Decision magazine, the term “promises to be another important term for the future of our republic.”

The court has agreed to hear 303 Creative v. Elenis, in which Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative design studio, is challenging a Colorado law that would require her to create designs that violate her beliefs about marriage. Smith is being represented by the law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, which has played a role in 61 Supreme Court victories and hundreds more in the lower courts.

In 303 Creative v. Elenis, the Supreme Court has agreed to consider the question of “whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the free speech or free exercise clauses of the First Amendment.”

Shackelford notes that although the court is only considering the free speech aspect of that case, the outcome will affect religious liberty as well.

First Liberty Institute has also asked the court to review the case of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, in which the state of Oregon drove a bakery out of business because Melissa Klein declined to make a custom cake for a same-sex wedding; and Groff v. DeJoy, in which postal worker Gerald Groff was forced to work on Sundays in violation of his religious beliefs.

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