The Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0 that Wisconsin violated the First Amendment by denying a tax exemption to Catholic Charities Bureau because the organization serves people of all faiths rather than only Catholics. Writing for the Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said an exemption that requires proselytizing or serving only fellow believers "establishes a preference for certain religions based on the commands of their religious doctrine."
The ruling reverses a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that had denied the exemption on the grounds that Catholic Charities' work was not primarily religious, since it employed non-Catholics and did not proselytize the people it served. The decision could affect how other states evaluate religious exemptions for faith-based charities.