Our History

Since its beginning in 1975, the Center for Law & Religious Freedom has been a passionate, yet measured, voice for religious freedom in the courts, the legislatures, and the Executive Branch.

Christian Legal Society established the Center at the urging of Christopher Hall and Skeeter Ellis, who both saw the need for Christian attorneys to be better equipped to defend our religious freedoms, which are threatened by an increasingly secularized society. Through the years, the Center has not only provided appellate advocacy, but also has provided public education and legislative counsel in Congress and various state legislatures. Since 1996, Center attorneys have also provided direct trial court and administrative agency representation for persons or organizations whose religious freedoms are at stake.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
— Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

Judicial

The Center defends First Amendment rights at all levels of the American judicial system, from state courts all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Center does this in two ways: (1) by directly representing people whose religious freedom has been trampled and (2) indirectly representing them by filing amicus (“friend of the court”) briefs with the courts on their behalf. Since its inception, the Center has been involved in critical religious freedom and life cases at all levels of the judicial system, including filing an impressive array of amicus briefs.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court
The Center has directly represented parties in three cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Center represented a religious student group that was penalized by a public law school for requiring its leaders and members to agree with its religious beliefs.

The Center represented a group of religious students who were denied the right to meet for prayer and Bible study even though other student groups met on campus. The case became the basis for the federal Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 4071-4074.

The Center secured a religious student group’s right to meet under the federal Equal Access Act for prayer and Bible study at their high school.

Before the U.S. Courts of Appeals
The Center represented parties before federal courts of appeals in the following precedent-setting cases:

The Center represented a religious student group after a university said the group violated its nondiscrimination policy because it required its leaders to agree with its religious beliefs. The court ruled in favor of the religious student group.

California challenged as unconstitutional a federal law passed to protect doctors and nurses from forced participation in abortions. The Center intervened on behalf of a group of Christian doctors and other pro-life medical associations. The Ninth Circuit agreed with the Center that the federal law’s protection for pro-life healthcare workers was constitutional.

A pro-abortion group attacked a federal law protecting medical professionals from forced participation in abortions. The Center intervened on behalf of pro-life medical associations. The federal appellate court ruled that the pro-abortion group could not challenge the law.

The Center represented a Christian university in challenging state laws that excluded its students from a scholarship program because the state had deemed the college to be too religious. The Tenth Circuit struck down the laws as unconstitutional.

A public school district refused to distribute fliers to parents about a religious after-school program that taught children about God, even though fliers for nonreligious community groups frequently were sent home to parents. The Center sued on behalf of the Child Evangelism Fellowship chapter and won.

A public school district refused to distribute fliers to parents about a religious after-school program that taught children about God, even though fliers for nonreligious community groups frequently were sent home to parents. The Center sued on behalf of the Child Evangelism Fellowship chapter and won a ruling that distribution of religious community groups’ fliers would not violate the Establishment Clause.

After the ruling, the school district adopted a new policy and continued to refuse to distribute fliers to parents about a religious after-school program that taught children about God, even though fliers for nonreligious community groups frequently were sent home to parents. The Center again sued on behalf of the Child Evangelism Fellowship chapter and won a ruling that the new policy violated the Free Speech Clause.

School district officials revoked its recognition of student FCA groups, falsely asserting that FCA clubs require both leaders and members to agree with FCA’s religious beliefs. The Center filed suit, asking the courts to order the district to allow FCA equal access to meet on campus just like other student clubs. The Ninth Circuit found that the school district violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, meaning FCA and similar religious clubs do not have to give up their faith to have equal access to campus.

To observe the National Day of Prayer, a religious community group asked to meet in the town hall on the same basis as other civic groups. The town denied the request because the group’s speech was religious. After a lengthy court fight, the Center won the group’s right to observe the National Day of Prayer.

Legislative

The Center seeks legislative solutions when necessary to protect religious freedom and human life. The Center is known for its collaborative work with organizations of all faiths and across the political spectrum. The Center tracks legislation that threatens First Amendment rights and provides legal analysis and commentary on critical issues.

Federal Legislation

The Center was instrumental in the drafting of the Equal Access Act, a federal law that has protected the right of millions of public secondary school students to meet for prayer and Bible study for over 33 years. The Center provided guidance to 14,000 school superintendents nationwide as to how to implement the Act.

The Center helped lead a coalition of nearly 60 organizations from across the political and religious spectrum to protect Americans’ free exercise of religion from substantial burdens imposed by the government with the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Center led a coalition to secure passage of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which protects freedom of religion for churches threatened by onerous zoning restrictions, as well as prisoners’ religious exercise.

State Legislation

In the early 1990s, the Center initiated the movement to pass Religious Freedom Restoration Acts in the states. Since then, the following states enacted Religious Freedom Restoration Acts: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Center has also supported legislation to protect religious student groups from being excluded from college campuses because the groups require their leaders to agree with the groups’ religious beliefs. The following states have laws that explicitly protect religious student groups: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,  Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Executive

The Center works in a bipartisan manner to advance religious freedom, regardless of the political party in the White House. Because the federal agencies and departments, as well as the independent commissions, affect the health of religious freedom in a myriad of ways, the Center tracks administrative developments and participates as appropriate in the process. The Center speaks on behalf of religious freedom through the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, by attending listening sessions with agency staffs, and by sending coalition letters to officials to bring religious freedom concerns to their attention.

The Center assisted in drafting the guidelines that formed the basis for the Department of Education guidance letter sent to all school superintendents by both the Clinton and Bush Administrations.

The Center helped craft guidelines that President Clinton issued as guidance for all federal agencies to protect two million federal workers’ religious expression in the workplace. In October 2017, the Trump Department of Justice reaffirmed the validity of the Clinton guidance as having the “force of an executive order.”

Do You Need Help?

Christian Legal Society offers legal assistance for those in need through CLS’ network of Christian Legal Aid clinics and Christian Attorneys’ directory. CLS’ Center for Law & Religious Freedom is also available to address issues related to the infringement of religious freedom.

Find a Christian Attorney
Get Help with Religious Freedom
Find a Legal Aid Clinic