Department of Justice Steps Up to Protect Religious Liberty

Attorney General Jeff Session’s Department of Justice has assumed an important leadership role in protecting and promoting religious freedom here at home, giving the cause for religious liberty renewed vigor. 

Last October, in response to an executive order on religious liberty, the Department issued a “20 principles” guidance to all executive departments and agencies setting forth federal legal protections for religious liberty.

According to this guidance:

Religious liberty is not merely a right to personal religious beliefs or even to worship in a sacred place. It also encompasses religious observance and practice. Except in the narrowest circumstances, no one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law.

The guidance highlights a variety of protections provided by federal laws including the strict scrutiny over federal actions that substantially burdens religious observance as well as workplace accommodations for religious practice.