Religious Freedom Legislation

            INDIANAPOLIS— Hoosiers of all faith traditions can be assured that government will not infringe upon their constitutional right to freely exercise their religious beliefs.

             In the final week of March, Indiana joined 19 other states to enact a state-level version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, with Governor Mike Pence putting his stamp of approval on it by signing it into law. Indiana’s new law, which takes effect July 1, mirrors the federal RFRA.

            The legislation, Senate Bill 101, received a large majority of support from both chambers. The Senate passed the bill 40-10, and the House approved it 63-31.

             “This bill is not about discrimination,” Gov. Pense said at the March 26 signing ceremony, “and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it. For more than 20 years, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act has never undermined our nation’s anti-discrimination laws, and it will not in Indiana.”

            The governor added, “Indiana is rightly celebrated for the hospitality, generosity, tolerance, and values of our people, and that will never change. Faith and religion are important values to millions of Hoosiers; and with the passage of this legislation, we ensure that Indiana will continue to be a place where we respect freedom of religion and make certain that government action will always be subject to the highest level of scrutiny that respects the religious beliefs of every Hoosier of every faith.”

            Glenn Tebbe, Indiana Catholic Conference executive director who officially represents the Catholic Church in Indiana on matters of public policy said, “This legislation will protect all faith traditions from government interference in the free exercise of religion. The legislation will help resolve disputes rather than create them.”

            While many have raised concerns that RFRA is a vehicle for legal discrimination of homosexuals or others, Indiana University Maurer School of Law Professor Daniel Conkle has repeatedly debunked those claims, citing current legal cases to back up his position. He testified in the House and Senate hearings, and reiterated his position in a recent editorial to the Indianapolis Star.

            Conkle, a constitutional law expert and advocate of gay rights and same-sex marriage, said the RFRA legislation has “little to do with same-sex marriage and everything to do with religious freedom.” Conkle added that “most religious freedom claims have nothing to do with same-sex marriage or discrimination.” Conkle said the law is “anything but a ‘license to discriminate,’ and it should not be mischaracterized or dismissed on that basis.” According to Conkle, even in the narrow setting of wedding-service providers, claims for religious exemptions recently have been rejected in various states, including states that have adopted the RFRA test.

            In addition to explaining what RFRA wouldn’t do, Conkle explained to both the House and Senate members that a state RFRA would establish a general legal standard, the “compelling interest test,” for evaluating laws and governmental practices that impose substantial burdens on the exercise of religion.

            The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993. The Federal legislation, authored by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., does not apply to states. As a result, beginning also in 1993, states began adopting RFRA laws. Counting Indiana, 20 states have passed RFRA legislation, and 11 state constitutions have been interpreted to restore the compelling interest test when cases of the exercise of religion are substantially burdened.

            The Indiana Catholic Conference provides legislative updates via email pushes. To receive the updates join the Indiana Catholic Action Network (ICAN).  These and other public policy resources are available at www.indianacc.org.