Tag: religious freedom restoration act

Washington seeks to reduce clergy-penitent privilege to fight abuse, but critics see it as freedom of religion. American Atheists push for more equal treatment.

Before this week, few people had heard of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act or could even pronounce its acronym, RFRA (Riff-ra), even though there’s a federal version of the law and 20 states have passed their own versions. Is it a “license to discriminate,” as liberals claim, or a “protection of religious freedom,” as conservatives claim?

As soon as the Supreme Court decided for Hobby Lobby and against the Obama administration’s contraception mandate on Monday (June 30), critics called for the repeal of the 1993 law that the justices relied on to make their 5-4 decision.