Written by Don Byrd
Speaking at a gathering of CBF pastors in Gainesville, Georgia, Baptist Joint Committee General Counsel Holly Hollman discussed the religious freedom legislation pending in the Georgia House of Representatives. SB 129 is a version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a 1993 law that allows the government to substantially burden a person’s religious exercise only when necessary to achieve a compelling state interest.
The language of RFRA creates a judicial standard that carefully balances religious freedom interests with those of the government. Hollman warned that changes in the federal law’s language, like those in the Georgia bill, undermine that careful balance.
Aaron Weaver at CBFblog.com reports on the meeting and offers some great quotes from Hollman:
Hollman pointed to the inclusion in SB 129 of new language that diverted from the federal RFRA standard, calling for the government’s compelling interest to be of the “highest magnitude.”
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“We at the Baptist Joint Committee oppose state RFRAs where states monkey with the language to make sure the religious adherent wins,” Hollman said. “We’re not ready to throw out the standard of RFRA. We continue to stand by that federal standard and watch closely what courts do.”
Hollman also highlighted the public rhetoric surrounding the religious freedom legislation in Georgia, pointing out exaggerated assertions that the Georgia bill would help abusers and the Ku Klux Klan.
“These claims are wild hyperbole and unhelpful to religious freedom conversations in Georgia,” Hollman said. “Unfortunately, this is what gets people’s attention and this is a starting point, rather than having a helpful conversation.”
Read Aaron’s entire post for more. To keep up with different RFRA proposals in different states, don’t forget to check out the State RFRA Bill Tracker.
