Written by Don Byrd
Ohio state representatives have proposed a version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. If adopted, it would make Ohio the 18th state with such a law. Generally, RFRA statutes (which have some small but significant variations from state to state) allow government to substantially burden a person’s religion only if a compelling reason requires it. The idea is to protect citizens from the neutral laws of the state that happen to impact their faith.
As the BJC has argued in the past in opposition to legislation similar to Ohio’s proposal, RFRA works, but it works best when only substantial burdens on faith receive such protections. According to this report from the Columbus Dispatch, the Ohio version would require exemption from laws that place any burden on faith – substantial or not.
Then again, the Dispatch report starts this way:
A portrait of Jesus and prayer could return to public schools if two state representatives persuade fellow lawmakers to pass the Ohio Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
RFRA laws do a lot of things, but they do not protect school-sponsored prayer or Christian displays by school officials, as that lede suggests.
