1. Factsheet: Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA)
- Author:
- Bridge Initiative Team
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
- Abstract:
- The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1993 to prohibit the federal government from burdening a person’s free exercise of religion. Currently, twenty-one states have also passed religious freedom restoration acts. The use of the RFRA in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby (2014) drew concerns about the law being used to permit discrimination against communities such as religious minorities, nonreligious people, people of color, women, and the LGBTQ community. In February 2019, Representative John Kennedy III and then-Senator Kamala Harris reintroduced the Do No Harm Act to ensure that the RFRA would not be used to permit discrimination.
- Topic:
- Discrimination, Legislation, and Freedom of Religion
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America