Donald Trump announced his presidential run on June 16, 2015.[1]
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
In March 2015, Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R), who was considered a possible 2016 presidential candidate at the time and who later became Donald Trump's running mate on July 15, 2016, was at the center of a controversy about protecting religious rights and the rights of gays and lesbians. The controversy in Indiana spread nationwide, prompting the 2016 presidential candidates to comment on Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and share their broader views on the First Amendment and same-sex marriage.
On March 26, 2015, Pence signed Senate Bill 101, better known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), into law.[2][3] The law "prohibits a governmental entity from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless the governmental entity can demonstrate that the burden: (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering the compelling governmental interest."[2]
After signing the bill, Pence said, "[t]he Constitution of the United States and the Indiana Constitution both provide strong recognition of the freedom of religion, but today, many people of faith feel their religious liberty is under attack by government action."[4]
According to Reuters, "Supporters of the bill, which was passed overwhelmingly by both chambers of the Republican-controlled state legislature, say it will keep the government from forcing business owners to act against strongly held religious beliefs. Opponents say it is discriminatory and broader than other state religious freedom laws."[3]
After receiving significant backlash, the Indiana State Legislature proposed changes to the RFRA. The clarification bill stated that a provider cannot "refuse to offer or provide services, facilities, use of public accommodations, goods, employment, or housing to any member or members of the general public on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or United States military service." The bill also clarified that the law cannot be used to "establish a defense to a civil action or criminal prosecution for refusal by a provider to offer or provide services, facilities, use of public accommodations, goods, employment, or housing to any member or members of the general public on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or United States military service."[5] Pence signed the clarification bill, Senate Bill 50, on April 2. The law took effect on July 1, 2015.[6]
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, "Since 1993, 21 states have enacted state RFRAs. These laws are intended to echo the federal RFRA, but are not necessarily identical to the federal law."[7]
See below what Donald Trump and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Trump on RFRA
| The 2016 Republican Party Platform on religious freedom
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The First Amendment: Religious Liberty
The Bill of Rights lists religious liberty, with
its rights of conscience, as the first freedom to be
protected. Religious freedom in the Bill of Rights
protects the right of the people to practice their
faith in their everyday lives. As George Washington
taught, “religion and morality are indispensable
supports” to a free society. Similarly, Thomas
Jefferson declared that “No provision in our
Constitution ought to be dearer to man than that
which protects the rights of conscience against the
enterprises of the civil authority.” Ongoing attempts
to compel individuals, businesses, and institutions
of faith to transgress their beliefs are part of a
misguided effort to undermine religion and drive it
from the public square. As a result, many charitable
religious institutions that have demonstrated
great success in helping the needy have been
barred from receiving government grants and
contracts. Government officials threaten religious
colleges and universities with massive fines and
seek to control their personnel
decisions. Places of worship
for the first time in our history
have reason to fear the loss
of tax-exempt status merely
for espousing and practicing
traditional religious beliefs
that have been held across the
world for thousands of years,
and for almost four centuries
in America. We value the right
of America’s religious leaders
to preach, and Americans to
speak freely, according to their
faith. Republicans believe the
federal government, specifically
the IRS, is constitutionally
prohibited from policing or
censoring speech based on religious convictions
or beliefs, and therefore we urge the repeal of the
Johnson Amendment.
We pledge to defend the religious beliefs
and rights of conscience of all Americans and to
safeguard religious institutions against government
control. We endorse the First Amendment Defense
Act, Republican legislation in the House and Senate
which will bar government discrimination against
individuals and businesses for acting on the belief
that marriage is the union of one man and one
woman. This Act would protect the non-profit
tax status of faith-based adoption agencies, the
accreditation of religious educational institutions,
the grants and contracts of faith-based charities
and small businesses, and the licensing of religious
professions — all of which are under assault by
elements of the Democratic Party. We encourage
every state to pass similar legislation. We likewise
endorse the efforts of Republican state legislators
and governors who have defied intimidation from
corporations and the media in defending religious
liberty. We support laws to confirm the longstanding
American tradition that religious individuals and
institutions can educate young people, receive
government benefits, and participate in public
debates without having to check their religious
beliefs at the door.
Our First Amendment rights are not given to
us by the government but are rights we inherently
possess. The government cannot use subsequent
amendments to limit First Amendment rights. The
Free Exercise Clause is both an individual and a
collective liberty protecting a right to worship God
according to the dictates of conscience. Therefore,
we strongly support the freedom of Americans to
act in accordance with their religious beliefs, not
only in their houses of worship, but also in their
everyday lives.
We support the right of the people to conduct
their businesses in accordance with their religious
beliefs and condemn public officials who have
proposed boycotts against businesses that support
traditional marriage. We pledge to protect those
business owners who have been subjected to hate
campaigns, threats of violence, and other attempts
to deny their civil rights.
We support the public display of the Ten
Commandments as a reflection of our history and
our country’s Judeo-Christian heritage and further
affirm the rights of religious students to engage in
voluntary prayer at public school events and to have
equal access to school facilities. We assert the First
Amendment right of freedom of association for
religious, private, service, and youth organizations
to set their own membership standards.[9]
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”
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| —2016 Republican Party Platform[10]
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Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Donald + Trump + Religious + Freedom + Restoration + Act
See also
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Enters 2016 Presidential Race," June 16, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Indiana General Assembly, "Senate Bill 101," accessed April 15, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Reuters, "Indiana governor signs religious freedom bill that could affect gays," March 26, 2015
- ↑ CBS Chicago, "New Indiana ‘Religious Liberty’ Law Could Legalize Discrimination Against Gay People, Opponents Say," March 26, 2015
- ↑ Indiana.gov, "Senate Enrolled Act No. 50," accessed April 17, 2015
- ↑ Indiana.gov, "Actions for Senate Bill 50," accessed April 17, 2015
- ↑ NCSL.org, "State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts," accessed April 17, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Trump 2016: Deal or no deal?" April 8, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Republican Party, "The 2016 Republican Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016
| 2016 United States Presidential Election |
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| | Overviews | |  | | | Candidate profiles | | | | Path to the presidency | | | | Policy positions | | | | On the campaign trail | | | | Campaign staff | | | | Debates |  PBS, February 11, 2016 (Milwaukee) • PBS, February 4, 2016 (Durham, N.H.) • NBC News, January 17, 2016 (Charleston, S.C.) • ABC, December 19, 2015 (Manchester, N.H.) • CBS, November 14, 2015 (Des Moines) • CNN, October 13, 2015](Las Vegas)
February 13, 2016 (Greenville, S.C.) • ABC, February 6, 2016 (Manchester, N.H.) • Fox News, January 28, 2016 (Des Moines) • Fox Business, January 14, 2016 (North Charleston, S.C.) • CNN, December 15, 2015 (Las Vegas) • Fox Business, November 10, 2015 (Milwaukee) • CNBC, October 28, 2015 (Boulder) • CNN, September 16, 2015 (Reagan Library) • Fox News, August 6, 2015 (Cleveland) | | | Analysis | The media's coverage of Donald Trump • The media's coverage of Hillary Clinton
Post-debate analysis overview
Democratic: April 14, 2016 (CNN) • March 9, 2016 (Univision) • March 6, 2016 (CNN) • February 11, 2016 (PBS) • February 4, 2016 (MSNBC) • January 17, 2016 (NBC) • December 19, 2015 (ABC) • November 14, 2015 (CBS) • October 13, 2015 (CNN)
Republican: March 10, 2016 (CNN) • March 3, 2016 (FNC) • February 25, 2016 (CNN) • February 13, 2016 (CBS) • February 6, 2016 (ABC) • January 28, 2016 (FNC) • January 14, 2016 (FBN) • December 15, 2015 (CNN) • November 10, 2015 (FBN) • October 28, 2015 (CNBC) • September 16, 2015 (CNN)
Insiders Poll: First Democratic debate (October 13, 2015) • Presidential Nominating Index: Clinton remains choice of Democratic Insiders • Presidential Nominating Index: Bush remains choice of Republican Insiders • Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the Fox News Republican Debate |
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