Religion & Law

"Religious hiring by faith-based institutions is not illegal job discrimination," argues the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance.  And, they are right.  Joseph Knippenberg has an excellent post on the issue, here, in which he takes issue with this piece, written by Marci Hamilton. The occasion for all this is an important hearing, scheduled for tomorrow, before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties of the House Committee on the Judiciary.  My fervent hope is that the views of Doug Laycock (one of the witnesses) will carry more weight with the relevant legislators than those of Barry Lynn (another). 

As the IRFA explains:

The religious hiring freedom is a vital "tool" for faith-based organizations determined that their services, practices, and staff should exemplify the religious convictions that inspired the creation of the organization. And faith-based organizations are vital "tools" by which people of various religions put "hands" on their convictions -- ways to put their convictions into practice in serving the needy, caring for the sick, contributing to the renewal of their neighborhoods, or responding to disasters, disease, or poverty overseas. Putting religious convictions into practice is the heart of the "free exercise of religion" that is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. So leaving faith-based organizations free to consider religion when hiring staff, whether or not a service will be funded by government, is a key instance of the First Amendment's religious freedom, as applied to organizations. . . .