Policy
Religious Freedom
Respecting human dignity requires that we respect the core elements of how people and groups identify themselves, including their religious beliefs. Religious belief has been a powerful motivation for protecting the rights and liberties of others; it kindled movements to abolish slavery and protect Americans’ civil rights. For millions of Americans, religion is the source of the values required in a free society, such as understanding, respect and sacrifice for others. Additionally, religious institutions provide irreplaceable care for the most vulnerable people in society.
For all of these reasons, the right to exercise religion is a fundamental human right. The law should respect the independence of religious institutions, defend the right of conscience, and protect the right of individuals to act on their religious beliefs, while establishing reasonable protections for public health and safety in a spirit of fairness for all.
Religious Freedom
Respecting human dignity requires that we respect the core elements of how people and groups identify themselves, including their religious beliefs. Religious belief has been a powerful motivation for protecting the rights and liberties of others; it kindled movements to abolish slavery and protect Americans’ civil rights. For millions of Americans, religion is the source of the values required in a free society, such as understanding, respect and sacrifice for others. Additionally, religious institutions provide irreplaceable care for the most vulnerable people in society.
For all of these reasons, the right to exercise religion is a fundamental human right. The law should respect the independence of religious institutions, defend the right of conscience, and protect the right of individuals to act on their religious beliefs, while establishing reasonable protections for public health and safety in a spirit of fairness for all.
Published Research
Conversations
Religious liberty is essential to our freedoms
Religious institutions are essential to freedom
Government needs to stay in its lane
It's a bad idea for government to violate religious liberty
Religious liberty is good for everyone – not just religious people
Religion doesn't need a permission slip from the government
Religious freedom and conscience in higher education
Religious freedom, courts, and federalism in Utah | Bill Duncan
The benefit of religious contributions to society
Religious liberty is essential to our freedoms
Religious institutions are essential to freedom
Government needs to stay in its lane
Insights & Takeaways
InsightsAre religious universities safer for Jewish students than secular schools?
​It is a tragic reality that for centuries, many people tried to justify their antisemitism with religious beliefs. This may explain a reaction reported by Naomi Shaefer Riley, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, in a Deseret News article...
Insights2024 in the courts: What’s on the docket for religious freedom
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court made two important religious freedom decisions. In the first, the court clarified that employers must accommodate the religious practice of their employees unless doing so would create substantial increased costs. In the second, the...
CommentaryIn Washington, religious groups fight for their conscience
Originally published in the Washington Examiner. In recent years, the Supreme Court has repeatedly and clearly ruled that the law must accommodate religious beliefs and expression. Still, some states continue trying to ignore or subvert the clear constitutional...
InsightsMore good news from the courts on religious freedom
​A post last month highlighted positive developments for religious liberty in state courts. Lower federal courts, too, have recently issued important decisions extending protection to Catholic organizations providing social services in their communities. Sisters of...
TakeawaysThe impact of Sandra Day O’Connor
With the recent passing of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, it’s worth remembering the impact she had on several foundational issues that are priorities for Sutherland Institute. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan,...
LegalCedar Park Assembly v. Kreidler
Abortion has been at the center of a religious, moral, political, and judicial firestorm for decades. It has deeply divided our Nation. Centuries-old faith traditions and tens of millions of their adherents consider terminating the life of an unborn child to be a...
ReportReligious Contributions to Mental Health: Social Benefits of Religion, Volume 4
This is the next report of a series of publications about contributions of people of faith and religious organizations to society. Previous reports have focused on these contributions to social services, constitutional rights, and education. This publication will...
InsightsHow faith bolsters mental health
Utah Governor Spencer Cox recently explained that religion provides a shortcut to building communities of connection and trust. This is confirmed in a recent report from Sutherland Institute which describes the protective effects of religious participation for...
InsightsForced to facilitate abortion? A church challenges Washington’s health coverage law
A church in Washington is challenging a state law that requires it to provide abortion coverage in employee health care plans. That challenge is now being considered by a large panel of appeals court judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit....