Depending on your point of view, the court could be said to have decided the case “narrowly” because it cautioned lower courts not to generalize the finding to all cases where religious belief and LGBT rights conflict. Or it could be said to have made a clear decision because the justices voted 7-2 in favor of the majority opinion. Take your pick.
—————
The notion, now taken as a given, that those with non-binary or non-cis sexuality are guaranteed equal rights under the law is very recent. Across the sweep of human history, it has happened in the last minute of a 24 hour day. Established religions, typically, are rooted in the past and enshrine its less flexible beliefs.
That the two should come into conflict is unsurprising, in the extreme. Reconciling religion’s long-standing behavioral prescriptions and proscriptions with current civil rights CW is a tough call.
Reaching an answer should not be viewed as “obvious to anyone with a good heart.” It is difficult to see how it can be accomplished without somebody losing big.
