Under the new protections, a public university cannot deny a religious, political, or ideological organization any benefit or privilege generally made to other organizations based on a requirement that its leaders or members “affirm or adhere to the organization’s sincerely held beliefs, comply with the organization’s standards of conduct, and further the organization’s mission or purpose.”
Matt Sharp, a senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that the new protection safeguards “the ability of belief-based student organizations to associate with those who align with the organization’s mission and purpose.”
“Religious clubs must remain free to require their leaders and members to adhere to their religious beliefs and values,” Sharp said. “This critical legislation specifically ensures that student groups at public universities can freely choose their leaders and members, and further their mission, absent of discrimination.”
Utah
The new Utah law recognizes religious freedom as “a fundamental right” and sets statewide standards for bringing civil action against a local or state government entity when a person believes that entity has violated his or her religious freedom.
Under the new law, which mirrors some of the federal protections in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, people can bring civil cases against public entities if they substantially burden their religious freedom by withholding a government benefit; assessing civil, criminal, or administrative penalties or damages; or exclude a person from a government program or from access to a government facility or service.
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