Pitting religious freedom against Sunday mail goes back to the founding

A familiar battle in the struggle between church and state in the United States is making headlines again — one that dates to the founding of the nation. While the cast of characters has evolved over two centuries, the themes remain the same.

On April 18, the Supreme Court heard the case of former U.S. Postal Service employee Gerald Groff, an evangelical Christian who was pushed out of his job for refusing to work on Sundays because it conflicted with his Sabbath. Groff contends that the Postal Service did not reasonably accommodate his religious practices as mandated by the 1964 Civil Rights Act and seeks to reverse almost 50 years of legal precedent — further dismantling the perceived “wall” between church and state.