Discrimination on the Taxpayer's Dime? The Fight to Curtail the Overreach of RFRA

[cbayer]

http://religiondispatches.org/discrimination-on-the-taxpayers-dime-the-fight-to-curtail-the-overreach-of-rfra/

BY SARAH POSNER APRIL 30, 2015



At a Congressional briefing on religious freedom last week (4/23) Rep. Bobby Scott, a Virginia Democrat, fired an opening salvo in what promises to be an uphill battle for civil liberties, church-state separation, women’s, and LGBT rights advocates: amending the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act to reverse the ways in which it has been used to undermine the rights of third parties and avoid compliance with anti-discrimination laws.

Citing the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the proliferation of expanded RFRAs at the state level, and a Department of Justice policy that permits taxpayer-funded, religious social services providers to discriminate based on religious beliefs in hiring and firing staff, Scott worried that RFRA “could be used to trump anti-discrimination laws.”

“It’s clear,” said Scott, “that it’s time for Congress to examine the overreach of RFRA.”

RFRA, enacted in 1993 as a fix to protect the rights of religious minorities, has now been expanded beyond its original intent, these critics say. As interpreted by the Supreme Court, particularly in Hobby Lobby, and by federal government agencies that use RFRA to grant religious exemptions to federally-funded faith-based social service providers, the application of RFRA has now exceeded its purpose—to protect citizens from government actions that “substantially burden” their religious practice.

more at link

[trotsky]

1. A tough fight that's made tougher by the privilege religion and religious beliefs enjoy. n/t