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Certain employers can refuse to cover contraception, as mandated by President Obama’s healthcare law, because of religious objections, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today.

The ruling applies to “closely held corporations,” where more than 50 percent of the outstanding stock is owned by fewer than five people. The majority opinion, penned by Justice Samuel Alito, states that the mandate in the healthcare law violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993. The ruling states that, while all corporations are “persons,” only closely held ones can have religious beliefs.

“It is not for the Court to say that the religious beliefs of the plaintiffs are mistaken or unreasonable,” Alito wrote in the majority opinion. “Protecting the free-exercise rights of closely held corporations thus protects the religious liberty of the humans who own and control them.”

The case was brought by craft store chain Hobby Lobby, a Christian bookstore chain owned by the same people called Mardel, and furniture manufacturer Conestoga Wood Specialties.

While the ruling is a blow to groups that support contraception coverage for all women, SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein is warning not to read it too broadly:

The first reactions from other news sources overread Hobby Lobby significantly. The Court makes clear that the government can provide coverage to the female employees. And it strongly suggests it would reject broad religious claims to, for example, discriminate against gay employees.

The majority opinion can be viewed here.