Act. Major state politicians, LGBT groups, and tech companies have all spoken out against

the bill, saying it will lead to discriminations against gays and lesbians in the name of religion.

So what’s going on? How much religious freedom do we have in the US? And does this bill protect

that or is it just discriminatory?

So, first amendment things, first. American citizens are guaranteed freedom of religion,

expression, assembly, and the right to petition. That’s at the CORE of this entire country’s

political system. But over the years, asterisks have been added to this principle. Like - you

don’t have the freedom to yell “fire” in a crowded theatre. And, in terms of religious

freedom - after a landmark 1878 Supreme Court case, the Chief Justice declared that you

can’t express your religion at the cost of “social duties” and “good order”.

Okay, so human sacrifices are out, but what about refusing to work on Saturdays because

it’s against your religion? Or choosing to withdraw your children from school due

to religious conflicts? A number of supreme court cases in the last century focused on

narrowing the gray area of legally-acceptable religious freedoms. Many cases hinged on something

called “compelling interest”. This means that if the government doesn’t have a strong

constitutional reason to protect the public’s interests, then any interference in an individual’s

religious practices could be deemed unconstitutional.

The 1993 FEDERAL Religious Freedom Restoration Act reflected this sentiment. It was passed

following two lawsuits publicly considered to unnecessarily violate the religious rights

of Native Americans. It said that even though a law is religiously neutral, it can still

have a negative effect or “burden” on religious practices. So the RFRA clarified

that a law may only constitutionally “burden” one’s religious practices when doing so

both advances a compelling government interest, and there is no “less restrictive” way

to do so.

However, the law did provide legal standing for unintended forms of discrimination.

Take for instance, the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court Case from 2014, wherein a company refused

to offer their employees birth control on religious grounds. Based on the argument that

corporations can be considered “people” due to an earlier Supreme Court ruling, the

government wasn’t allowed to significantly burden the company's religious practices,

and upheld their refusal.

Similarly, Indiana’s recent passage of their own Religious Freedom Restoration Act has

been especially incendiary for fear that it could allow businesses the right to discriminate

against gay people in the face of a looming landmark Supreme Court decision regarding

same sex marriage.

So, is Indiana’s new religious freedom act discriminatory? Experts say yes; in its current

form, the law could be used to discriminate on the basis of religious freedom.

There are quite a few other places across America that have no legal protection from

discrimination for the LGBT community. To learn about this issue in more detail, watch

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