Dear Friend,

The Supreme Court continues to accept cases that involve issues of religious freedom. In January the Court agreed to hear Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, in which it will decide whether the First Amendment protects a high school football coach who, joined by students, prayed after football games. The school district says he was acting as a school employee at the time and was therefore speaking/praying as a public employee, not a private citizen. The Secular Coalition for America will sign an amicus brief favoring the school district. 

Late last month the Court agreed to hear a case in which a Colorado web designer wants to produce websites for weddings, but wants to post on her business website that her religious beliefs preclude her from designing a website for a same-sex wedding. Posting that disclaimer would run afoul of Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws. 

With the majority on the Supreme Court showing continued interest in First Amendment and religious freedom cases, it is more important than ever that Congress pass the Do No Harm Act. In recent years the courts have misapplied the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in cases like Hobby Lobby and Bostock v. Clayton County to allow people to discriminate based on their religious beliefs. The Do No Harm Act restores the Religious Freedom Restoration Act’s original purpose to provide protections for religious exercise while ensuring that RFRA is not used to erode civil rights under the guise of religious freedom.