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 freedom and conscience in higher education
Religious freedom, courts, and federalism in Utah | Bill Duncan
The benefit of religious contributions to society
How facts help provide a more positive perception of religion
How to persuade religious skeptics without preaching
Advice to the younger generation on the benefits of religion
Is religion good for society?
The facts about religion in America
What the data reveals about America’s religious drift
Religious freedom and conscience in higher education
Religious freedom, courts, and federalism in Utah | Bill Duncan
The benefit of religious contributions to society
Insights & Takeaways
InsightsWhat political hot takes miss about the Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear a case brought by an Orthodox Jewish man who was harassed by the city when he sought to hold a religious gathering in his home. Disputes over property use are common scenarios for religious freedom issues to arise. The...
LegalSutherland Institute files amicus brief in Mid Vermont Christian School v. Saunders
Sutherland Institute has filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in the case Mid Vermont Christian School v. Saunders. This case challenges a state law in Vermont that effectively excluded all private religious schools from a...
InsightsU.S. Supreme Court will hear case on home worship
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case brought by an Orthodox Jewish man, who claims city officials harassed him when he sought to hold a religious gathering in his home. Sutherland Institute joined a coalition on an amicus brief in the case. The Court...
InsightsWhen city rules chill home worship, courts should step in
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear a case brought by an Orthodox Jewish man who was harassed by the city when he sought to hold a religious gathering in his home. Disputes over property use are common scenarios for religious freedom issues to arise. The...
CommentaryPrayer, Pluralism, and Public Schools
Originally published by Public Square Magazine. Education policy observers are carefully watching a renewed debate about religion in public schools. With new federal guidance on school prayer and state laws about religious symbols or texts in schools popping up,...
CommentaryGeographic mobility: Its promises and discontents
Originally published in American Habits. Americans are a remarkably mobile collection of people. You might argue it’s in our DNA. By the time of our nation’s founding, the Western Hemisphere had already been swarmed by restless settlers who left their more...
InsightsWhy parental authority and religious freedom go hand in hand
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear a case brought by an Orthodox Jewish man who was harassed by the city when he sought to hold a religious gathering in his home. Disputes over property use are common scenarios for religious freedom issues to arise. The...
ReportReligious Freedom and Parental Authority
In 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important religious freedom decision, Mahmoud v. Taylor, concluding that a Maryland school district could not prevent parents from opting their children out of classroom discussions about gender and sexuality. In the past...
InsightsThree religious freedom cases to watch at the Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to hear a case brought by an Orthodox Jewish man who was harassed by the city when he sought to hold a religious gathering in his home. Disputes over property use are common scenarios for religious freedom issues to arise. The...