On Monday, January 13th, RFI participated in a summit in Washington, D.C., convened by the Center for Public Justice. The gathering aimed to assess the prospects for U.S. faith-based service organizations in the incoming presidential administration, and to examine key developments likely to affect them in the new era.

The summit addressed key questions such as: How might the new administration treat institutional religious freedom and the faith-based initiatives? In what ways could the new Congress safeguard, promote, or hamper the public-serving roles of faith-based organizations? What should such organizations know, and how should they change their practices in order to remain free to serve as governments and courts change their policies and rules?

Ismail Royer, RFI’s Director of Islam and Religious Freedom, moderated a panel discussion on trends in federal and state courts. Participating in the discussion were Steve McFarland, Director of the Center for Law and Religious Freedom at the Christian Legal Society; Dan Balserak, Assistant General Counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C.; and Tim Schultz, President of the 1st Amendment Partnership. 

The panelists offered their analysis of the threats and opportunities facing faith-based organizations in state and federal courts. The panel’s consensus was that religious institutions continue to face both threats and opportunities with respect to their ability to carry out their religious missions. Such threats come from the political left, where activists continue to press for government interference in religious institutions’ ability to use religious ethics as a factor in employment decisions; and from the right, where anti-immigration sentiment manifests in court challenges to faith-based organizations’ attempts to aid immigrants and the homeless.

Most panelists agreed that religious institutions need to remain vigilant and take prudent precautions to safeguard themselves from legal challenges.

Watch the panel Royer moderated below: