WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) has introduced legislation in the 119th Congress to protect the tax-exempt status of faith-based organizations against federal infringement on their religious beliefs and practices.
As proposed by Moore on Mar. 27, the Fair Treatment of Religious Organization Act would ensure that faith-based organizations can continue applying religious standards to employees without jeopardizing their eligibility for federal funding and contracts.
That goal would be achieved by preventing federal agencies from conditioning tax benefits or funding eligibility on a religious organization’s willingness to modify its positions on marriage, sexual conduct standards or gender identity policies.
“Churches across (Utah) and our country contribute billions of dollars to the economy by providing health care, housing and a wide range of social services,” according to Moore. “They also strengthen our communities by helping Americans find purpose and meaning.
“The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act builds on that foundation by establishing clear, enforceable standards that protect religious beliefs and practices while preventing the government from weaponizing tax-exempt status or federal funding eligibility against these organizations.”
Moore’s staff in Washington say that the impulse behind the Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act can be found in thorny questions left in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County (2020).
In that decision, the Supreme Court held that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In the High Court’s majority opinion, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch openly acknowledged the tension this ruling would create with religious employers.
The Bostock ruling left religious organizations in legal uncertainty because their traditional beliefs and practices on human sexuality and marriage were now potentially characterized as a form of sex discrimination under federal law.
Moreover, during the Biden administration, federal agencies moved to apply Bostock’s reasoning beyond the employment context, extending those sexual orientation and gender identity protections to education, healthcare, housing and federal contracting requirements.
These regulatory expansions have heightened concerns among religious organizations that their eligibility for federal partnerships and tax benefits may become contingent on abandoning sincerely held religious convictions regarding human sexuality and marriage.
The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act provides the concrete statutory protections that the Bostock ruling suggested were needed, but did not deliver, Moore explains.
Rather than leaving religious organizations dependent on case-by-case litigation or shifting administrative interpretations, the bill establishes clear, enforceable standards ensuring that religious beliefs and practices concerning marriage, sexuality and gender identity cannot be weaponized to strip organizations of their tax-exempt status or federal funding eligibility.
Specifically, Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act would prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from considering a religious organization’s beliefs or practices concerning marriage, sexuality or gender identify when make tax-related determinations.
The proposed legislation would also prohibit federal agencies from discriminating against religious employers in grants, contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders or cooperative agreements based on the organization’s religiously motivated employment decisions.
Moore was joined in proposing by Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act by seven Republican colleagues in the U.S. House, including Representatives David Schweikert of Arizona; Nathaniel Moran and Lance Gooden, both hailing from Texas; Claudia Tenney of New York; Ben Cline from Viriginia; Russ Fulcher of Idaho; and Burgess Owens from Utah.
“This bill addresses gaps in federal law and affirms the First Amendment’s requirement of equal treatment for religious and secular organizations,” according to a spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Faith-based organizations provide vital services nationwide and should not be penalized for sincerely held beliefs. We urge Congress to enact it.”
Moore’s proposed legislation is also supported by national advocacy groups including the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the Christian Employers Alliance, the American Principles Project and the Christian Legal Society.