SCOTUS RLUIPA Ruling Seen as Favoring Conservative Christians

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Damon Landor, a Rastafarian, could not sue Louisiana prison guards for forcibly shaving his dreadlocks under RLUIPA, limiting damages against individual officials and prompting Justice Jackson’s dissent that the ruling twists the statute and erodes rights for non-Christians; TPM frames the decision as part of a broader pattern of religious exemptions that have increasingly favored conservative Christian interests, dating back to Hobby Lobby and continuing alongside other political developments.