Identity and Procedural Subordination in LGBTQ Religious Exemption Cases

This Article proceeds in four Parts. Part I summarizes the legal literature on procedural injustice. Part II briefly describes the white Christian nationalism movement, its connection with the LGBTQ civil rights movement, and contends that it is an identity-based movement akin to traditional identity-based civil rights movements. Part III summarizes the holdings of the Religious Exemptions Trilogy [Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis] and makes the argument that they are strongly procedural decisions.

Part IV contends that the Court has engaged in identity-based procedural subordination to reach its preferred outcome in these cases, namely elevating the interests of white Christian nationalism identity at the expense of protecting SOGI [sexual orientation and gender identity] identity from discrimination. Part IV also describes the value and importance of considering the Religious Exemptions Trilogy through the lens of procedural subordination. This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.