The United States is home to numerous religions. In order of popularity, the top five are Christianity, Judaism, Mormonism, Islam, and Buddhism, the religiously unaffiliated outnumber all groups except for Christians. Although these top five religions dominate headlines when it comes to legal developments, they are not the oldest in the United States. Native Americans Read More

The United States is home to many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and many more. But perhaps the “original” religion of the United States is best represented by Native American culture. Native Americans occupied the land long before the European settlers arrived, and they are still engaging in their traditional cultural practices to this day. Read More

In August 2019, the Trump Administration received substantial criticism when it proposed a policy that would grant some federal contractors the right to discriminate against individuals who do not share the employers’ religious views.  Many organizations who fight for LGBTQ rights have responded that this policy is dangerous, shameless, and unconscionable. This decision also substantially Read More

  At the beginning of July 2018, President Trump announced his decision to appoint Brett Kavanaugh to fill the spot left by the retirement of Justice Kennedy, and last month, Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in to the Supreme Court. While Justice Kavanaugh previously served on the US Court of Appeals for Read More

A directive was recently issued by the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that allows federal contractors to raise religious freedom as a defense when they are charged with job discrimination. The Federal Contract Compliance Program, which is the government agency tasked with making sure that businesses that contract with the federal Read More

  In May of 2018, Democratic senators introduced a bill to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which according to the original sponsors of the law has been misappropriated and used to discriminate against numerous individual including those who identify as LGBTQ. This bill is significant because it has the potential to change a twenty-five-year-old Read More

As American citizens, we know that our most basic constitutional rights protect freedom of religion as outlined in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The First Amendment contemplates the separation of church and state, as we have discussed before, and ensures our absolute right to practice a faith of our choosing. The government Read More

In 1993, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was passed. The reasons put forth in support of this legislation included a growing fear among people that the provisions in the Constitution protecting citizens’ religious freedom were being ignored and slowly encroached upon by other laws. Through its passing, church leaders could continue to act Read More

The American Constitution guarantees that those who are subject to the laws of the United States have the freedom to practice, or not to practice, any religion as part of their first amendment rights.  The first amendment also carries with it the prohibition on Congress promoting or establishing one religion over others or restricting an Read More