Oklahoma became the eleventh state to enact a religious freedom restoration act last week when Governor Keating signed the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act into law. Passage of the bill, which is intended to provide a higher level of legal protection for religious freedom, was supported by a broad range of religious and civil rights organizations in the state.
“This is a significant development,” says Richard Fenn, associate director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide. “Americans are taking action to protect our country’s most precious freedom–the right to worship according to the dictates of conscience.” Fenn notes, however, that the Oklahoma law is not as strong as it could be. Before the bill passed the Senate, language was added that varied the level of protection available both to prisoners and to churches involved in land zoning disputes.
Other states that have enacted religious freedom restoration acts in response to lowered federal protection of religious liberty are Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Texas.
Throughout its 150-year history, the Adventist Church has been active in supporting international, national, and local initiatives that promote religious liberty and freedom of conscience for all people of faith.