Sometimes decisions made in less than thirty seconds, even those in accordance with one’s faith, can alter the course of one’s life, and perhaps the nation.
Such was the case with Jack Phillips, proprietor of Masterpiece Cake Shop in Lakewood Colorado, a Denver suburb. After learning baking skills and honing his artistic craft at several area bakeries, he opened his own shop in 1993, providing baked goods, most notably custom cakes to his customers.
In 2012, two men named David and Charlie asked Mr. Phillips to create them a wedding cake. Mr. Phillips calmly explained he could not honor their request because it conflicted with his religious belief that a marriage is between one man and one woman. Mr. Phillips has also declined to make cakes that disparage groups, lewd bachelor/bachelorette party cakes. He does not make Halloween-themed items, which are lucrative to bakers every October. Mr. Phillips also made it clear he would sell them anything else in his shop. He was firm that his religious beliefs would not allow him to communicate support for same-sex marriage.
The two men, and one of their mothers, made an abrupt exit, but it was hardly the last Jack Phillips would hear of it. In his new book, The Cost of my Faith: How A Decision in My Cake Shop Took Me to the Supreme Court, Mr. Phillips recounts his fateful decision and how he survived the pressures of litigating his beliefs in court and making his case to the American public.
Shortly after his disgruntled customers left, Mr. Phillips was deluged with vulgar phone calls and emails. They filed a complaint against him with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Commission members, who were appointed by Colorado’s governor, referred to Mr. Phillips as a “bigot” and “Nazi” and failed to respect his right to freely exercise his religious beliefs. The Mr. Phillips notes that he never sought to be a symbol for his faith or to set legal precedent. He was fortunate to obtain pro-bono legal representation from the Alliance for Defending Freedom.
As his case wended its way through the legal system, to the Colorado Supreme Court and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Phillips proves to be a willing pupil of learning the legal language, such as writ of certiorari (the order of the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s ruling), and he clearly explains every step in the judicial process. He also developed as a communicator for his beliefs, even in hostile venues such as ABC’s The View.
Mr. Phillips also incorporates numerous Bible verses throughout the text. Each verse neatly sums up his feeling about the aspect of his case that he is describing.
The Supreme Court ruled in his favor by a 7-2 vote in 2018. The important part of the ruling was not about baking cakes, rather, an artist could not be compelled to create a message with which he or she disagrees.
This nuance is often lost in the media and ignored by opponents.
Even though the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, his worries were far from over. A civil rights attorney asked Mr. Phillips to create a cake celebrating her gender reassignment. When he refused on religious grounds, he was again brought before the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Mr. Phillips admits that he thought that once the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, the issue would be settled. There would be no more efforts to intrude on the way he conducted his business. He learned that others would try to find ways around the parameters of the Supreme Court’s ruling to get Mr. Phillips to surrender his religious viewpoint and do as he was told. His legal woes are ongoing.
By Mr. Phillips’ own account, the long process of legal wrangling cost him tens of thousands of dollars, as well as a heavy emotional toll. Sadly, some longtime customers have ceased patronizing his bakery.
The Cost of My Faith is an important first-person account of the ongoing struggle for religious liberty. It is a testament to courage and the American dream of entrepreneurship and the holding of religious values and why they need not be separate.
Mr. Phillips could have “just baked the cake,” as his opponents demanded. His courageous, inspiring story is much more meaningful to American liberty. It is also an eye-opening look at the work of unexamined bureaucrats who are hostile to religion. America needs more people like Jack Phillips.
Kevin P. McVicker is a partner in Shirley & McVicker Public Affairs in Alexandria, Va.
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