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Religion
Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
Decided: 1993
In brief
Struck down a law targeting animal sacrifice as religious discrimination disguised as a neutral rule.
The Court's ruling in depth
Hialeah passed ordinances gerrymandered to prohibit only Santería ritual sacrifice while permitting virtually all secular animal killing. The Court unanimously struck them down: a law that is not neutral or generally applicable must survive strict scrutiny, which Hialeah's ordinances plainly failed. Lukumi is the leading authority against covert religious targeting.