The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday backed a bid by an arm of a Catholic diocese in Wisconsin for a religious exemption from the state's unemployment insurance tax in the latest ruling in which the justices took an expansive view of religious rights.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court denied Catholic Charities the same tax exemption that the Catholic Church receives, saying its programs are primarily secular.

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled that Catholic Charities can opt out of participating in a state unemployment compensation program in Wisconsin.