Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, Director, Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Decided June 26, 2017. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 15-577 · 582 U.S. 449 (2017)

Holding

The Department's policy violated the rights of Trinity Lutheran under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by denying the Church an otherwise available public beneft on account of its religious status.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Locke v. Davey · 540 U.S. 712 (2004)
• McDaniel v. Paty · 435 U.S. 618 (1978)
• Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
• Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah · 508 U.S. 520 (1993)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. Amos · 483 U.S. 327 (1987)
• Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 565 U.S. 171 (2012)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Assn. · 485 U.S. 439 (1988)
• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
• Northeastern Florida Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America v. City of Jacksonville · 508 U.S. 656 (1993)
• County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
• Torcaso v. Watkins · 367 U.S. 488 (1961)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division · 450 U.S. 707 (1981)
• Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
• Cruzan Ex Rel. Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health · 497 U.S. 261 (1990)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue · 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
• Department of Education v. Brown · 600 U.S. 551 (2023)
• Delligatti v. United States · 604 U.S. 423 (2025)

Explore from here

John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2017). Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).