Hosanna-Tabor: A Big Victory for Religious Freedom Print PDF

Written by IRFA | 20 January 2012

The US Supreme Court announced on January 11, 2012, a stunning victory for religious freedom.  Unlike most church-state decisions, this one was unanimous.  The nine justices together administered a sharp rebuff to the federal government, which had argued against the principle upheld by the Supreme Court.  That principle is the right of religious organizations to choose their own leaders.   Thus the decision vindicated the religious freedom of religious organizations—distinct from the usual focus on the religious rights of individuals.  And here the freedom of religious organizations was upheld against a claim of discrimination.

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Religious Leaders to the President:  Don't Curtail Our Religious Hiring Freedom Print PDF

Written by IRFA | 07 September 2011

Activists are again pressing the Obama administration to curtail religious hiring by religious organizations that receive government funding.  In response, IRFA in July organized a letter from faith leaders to the President, asking him to stand up against the pressure and to maintain current policy.

 

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Faith Leaders Protest Narrow Religious Exemption Print PDF

Written by IRFA | 21 December 2011

On December 21, 2011, some sixty leaders of faith-based organizations or who work with faith-based organizations wrote to President Obama and HHS Secretary Sebelius protesting the very narrow exemption to the health insurance contraceptives mandate and asking that the administration not adopt in its place a different definition that would still only protect some faith-based organizations.  An alternative definition has been proposed that would still leave unprotected many faith-based service organizations.

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Misleading ABA Guide to Workplace Law Print PDF

Written by IRFA | 22 April 2011

The American Bar Association says that its Guide to Workplace Law (2nd ed., 2006) is "the most comprehensive guide of its kind" and "essential reading for anyone who wants to know their legal rights and responsibilities in the workplace."  But the book is entirely misleading for faith-based organizations—surely a major audience of employers.

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ADVICE TO THE PRESIDENT

The federal faith-based initiative, extending back into the Clinton administration, has always been about improving the government's relationship with private organizations--secular and faith-based, large and small--that serve needy people and communities. It has involved many program innovations, organizational changes, and reforms of rules. At the center has always been action to ensure that faith-based organizations can collaborate with government programs without having first to suppress or hide their religious identity and faith-shaped practices.

President Barack Obama has promised an expanded and improved faith-based initiative. At a minimum, his initiative must not backtrack on the gains that have been made to ensure equal opportunity for faith-based organizations to participate in federally funded programs.

Equally important, the President should work with Congress to ensure that other federal rules and regulations--in areas that do not necessarily involve government funds, such as accreditation, employment rules, and tax-exempt status--are fair to faith-based organizations, safeguarding their religious identity and characteristics.

For the Coalition to Preserve Religious Freedom's advice to candidate Barack Obama,  go here .