First Amendment
Faith, Abstinence, and Federal Funds: The Evolving Scope of the Church Autonomy Doctrine in Tassinari v. The Salvation Army
The Tassinari decision will undoubtedly serve as a crucial benchmark for future litigation concerning faith-based non-profits and federal funding. By focusing squarely on the nature of the space and program rather than the defendant’s global corporate identity, the court established a functional, context-dependent test for church autonomy. If a religious organization maintains a program where the primary, non-severable objective is evangelism, and where participants are explicitly required to engage in religious life as a condition of entry, that program will likely receive the highest level of First Amendment protection—even if the parent organization receives federal support elsewhere.
July 12, 2026
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