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faith and conviction. Examples of this include the Catholic Missionaries of Charity who serve the homeless, the Christian adoption agencies who find permanent homes for children who remain in foster care for years, the Jewish day school instructing the next generation in the faith, and the Islamic food aid program that provides meals and shelter to refugees forced by violence from their homes. The First Amendment Defense Act affirms that individuals still have the right to act according to their faith and deepest convictions even when they leave the four walls of their church or home.
Would religious schools benefit from the protections in this legislation?
A central aspect of academic and religious freedom means deciding how to operate, which faculty to hire, which students to admit, including decisions on the basis of their religious beliefs. Universities or schools with religious missions must be free to select those who will teach and receive their beliefs because a religious group’s faith and mission is shaped through its appointments and community. And yet,
in 2015, when asked whether a religious school could lose its tax-exempt status for continued belief that marriage is the union of a man and woman, the Solicitor General of the United States represented to the United States Supreme Court that “[i]t’s certainly going to be an issue”.
Part of our rich tradition of academic freedom in this country includes the rich diversity that comes about as a result of religious education. It’s clear that religious schools, particularly, need the freedom to choose who will pass on religious teachings. All this bill does is preclude politically motivated retribution from federal bureaucrats because the school acts in accordance with its faith tradition.
Why does the bill include moral convictions in addition to religious beliefs?
Federal statutes recognizing and protecting moral convictions are not new. Over the past forty years, numerous federal laws and regulations have been enacted to protect, among other things, the rights of conscientious objectors and aliens, and to prevent doctors and nurses from being forced to assist in the performance of abortions and correctional officers from being forced to participate in executions. The same sincerely held standard that is used when investigating religious beliefs will be applied to claims based on moral conviction. This means that a judge would examine the sincerity of moral conviction of any person who seeks recourse under the First Amendment Defense Act, just as a judge would ensure that a person’s religious beliefs are genuine and honestly held.
Why does the bill also protect the belief that sexual relations are reserved for marriage?
Many religious universities and colleges maintain honor codes that reflect not only their understanding of marriage, but also their understanding of human nature and the purpose and proper place for sexual relations. This phrase is essential to protect the religious freedom of universities and schools with faith-based missions to determine the identity and faith of their communities and to select who will pass on religious teachings.