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
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
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
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
Insights & Takeaways
InsightsThe love that lets us share a name
In an age of loneliness, declining trust, and institutional erosion, the family remains one of the last places where Americans are still formed in the habits of commitment. In a world that increasingly reduces everything to transaction or performance, faith insists...
CommentaryWhy many religious ‘nones’ are more open than they appear
Originally published in Deseret News. Earlier this month, at the International Religious Freedom Summit held in Washington, D.C., a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that protecting religious freedom will build communities and nations....
FederalDefending faith and families against government overreach
The laws of nearly every State require public schools to accommodate parents’ right to determine how their children are taught about sensitive topics. These laws typically require advance notice of instruction, an opportunity for parents to review instructional...
InsightsWhy Utah’s ongoing religious freedom reforms are worthwhile
Constitutional protections for religious freedom provide a backstop, but clear statutory rules help avoid conflicts and costly litigation Several bills before the Utah legislature extend practical religious freedom protections to higher education, health care...
InsightsLoneliness is not a mystery. We’ve known the cure for decades
Loneliness is not primarily a personal or psychological failure, but the predictable result of weakened families, faith communities, and civic institutions. Belonging is sustained by obligation and participation, not awareness or emotional expression; institutions...
InsightsReligious liberty doesn’t end at the college classroom door
A recent story of a student being penalized for expressing religious beliefs as part of a college assignment raises a related concern about students being required to fulfill assignments that violate their faith or conscience. These situations have arisen in 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,...