The cause of religious freedom took a step forward last week with the re-introduction of the “Workplace Religious Freedom Act,” or WRFA, in the United States Senate, the upper house of the Congress. Lead sponsors are Sens. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, and John F. Kerry, D-Massachusetts.

If passed by Congress and signed into law by the president of the United States, the WRFA would override several court decisions that narrowly interpret earlier U.S. civil rights legislation favoring the “reasonable accommodation” of employee’s religious beliefs. Such decisions often chip away at attempts by Sabbath-keepers and others to successfully balance their faith practices with their work responsibilities.

“The issue of religious accommodation in the workplace is far and away the most frequent religious liberty problem faced by Seventh-day Adventists,” notes Mitchell Tyner, associate general counsel of the Seventh-day Adventist world church. “The WRFA would significantly improve the member’s situation in seeking accommodation by redressing much of the negative effect of court decisions over the last 25 years. Its passage should be a very high priority for the church and its members.”

The Seventh-day Adventist Church alone receives more than a thousand requests a year for help from members who have been fired or mistreated because their employers have refused to take the simple steps necessary to accommodate their faith. Sabbath observance is an issue for workers from many backgrounds: observant Jewish believers, other Sabbatarians and Adventists have each been involved in recent legal cases involving the United States Postal Service, Sears, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York, among others.

James Standish, director of legislative affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist world church, co-chairs the coalition of 44 religious groups and denominations who support the WRFA. The diverse coalition includes representatives from a broad spectrum of religious organizations and faiths.

“While we disagree on many things,” notes Standish, “we all agree that people of faith must be accorded respect in the workplace. The current legal landscape provides insufficient protection. The Workplace Religious Freedom Act will be an important step towards rectifying the current legal imbalance. It is therefore our sincere hope that people of good faith across the United States join to support the bill and that it will be passed in this Congress.”

The enactment of the WRFA can aid religious liberty causes in other nations, Standish adds. His office has already been asked to draft a model act for use in the South Pacific region of the church, as members in many nations confront serious Sabbath problems in the workplace. Adventist Christians in many other areas of the world are also interested because of their own domestic concerns.