Policy / Oppose attacks on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Oppose attacks on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Southern Baptists recognize the importance of religious liberty, which is the preeminent right included by our Founders in the Constitution. The Baptist Faith & Message states “a free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.” Stretching back generations, Southern Baptists have a rich heritage of affirming the importance of and fighting to maintain protections for religious liberty for people of all faiths, while acknowledging that God extends salvation to all who believe and actively working to share the gospel with all.

In 1993, the near-unanimous passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by Congress ushered in a new certainty in religious liberty protections by the federal government. The RFRA ensures that in cases where the federal government is exerting a requirement upon religious and faith-based employees and employers, the government must meet the highest standards of scrutiny instead of forcing employees and faith-based employers to needlessly sacrifice their deeply held religious convictions. RFRA also provides individuals with a right to private action, thereby holding the federal government accountable for violations of these protections.

Despite the bipartisan origin of RFRA, in recent years, there has been a concerted push to undermine RFRA’s effectiveness through federal rulemaking and legislative proposals, often in an effort to promote harmful “gender ideology.” While RFRA protections remain strong, some legislators from both parties have included exemptions to RFRA in proposed bills, meaning that RFRA would not apply to new statutes created. For example, the Do No Harm Act seeks to weaken religious freedom protections for millions of Americans by amending the RFRA to provide exemptions to various parts of federal law, including statutes governing equal employment and nondiscrimination standards, health care, federal contracts and grants, and government services. Another bill, the Equality Act, would gut religious freedoms in America by steamrolling conscience objections to abortion and “gender transition” procedures in healthcare, threatening faith-based adoption and foster care agencies, and punishing faith-based nonprofits that hold to their biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.

In another example, debate about the military dress code and RFRA has sparked controversy at the Department of Defense, with some advocating against certain religious accommodations for military servicemembers in the name of uniformity. We oppose efforts to carve out provisions or weaken RFRA, whether at the Department of Defense or otherwise.

The ERLC continues to advocate against any attempts to weaken or undermine RFRA protections and on behalf of the concerns of Southern Baptists who depend on RFRA to live out their beliefs in service to others. A government that can pave over the consciences of some can steamroll over dissent everywhere. RFRA stands as the pivotal support pillar to our First Amendment rights, preventing the erosion of our foundational constitutional freedoms.