The Story: The U.S. Department of Education has issued the Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry Final Rule to “help ensure that public institutions uphold fundamental rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that private institutions adhere to their stated institutional policies regarding freedom of speech, including academic freedom.” The Background: The new rule ensures the Department of Education is in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer (2017). In the Trinity Lutheran case, the Court reaffirmed that the government “cannot exclude individual Catholics, Lutherans, Mohammedans, Baptists, Jews, Methodists, Non-believers, Presbyterians, or the members of any other faith, because of their faith, or lack of it, from receiving [public] benefits.” The stated purpose of the rule is to restore religious liberty and prevent discrimination against faith-based organizations and to act in a manner consistent with the government’s obligation to be neutral in matters of religion. It removes and amends regulations that would impose burdens on faith-based organizations, provide special benefits to faith-based organizations, or treat faith-based organizations and religious individuals differently from other organizations or individuals. Some of the effects of the proposed rule public colleges and universities […]
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