Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-995ml Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T06:25:41.816Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - For-Profit Companies, Shops, and Commercial Landlords

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2016

Frank S. Ravitch
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Get access

Summary

A central source of conflict between religious freedom and sexual freedom arises in the context of for-profit entities such as shops, closely held corporations, commercial landlords, and many other venues. Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hobby Lobby, it was unclear whether these entities would be protected under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). As set forth in Chapter 2, prior to Hobby Lobby there were strong legal arguments that for-profit entities are not protected, or even if theoretically protected, they are not able to experience a substantial burden on religion in the same ways as an individual or a religious entity because of the many constituencies involved in operating and patronizing a for-profit entity.

We no longer live in that world. The Supreme Court's decision in Hobby Lobby makes it clear that today closely held for-profit businesses are protected, at least under the federal RFRA. This is not the end of the discussion, however, because some of the biggest issues that arise in the context of for-profit entities involve religious accommodations that conflict with civil rights and antidiscrimination laws. As I have noted repeatedly, even when a RFRA exists to provide protection for religious freedom, there is no guarantee that all religious freedom claims will be successful. Government may still burden religion when it has a compelling (extremely important) interest and the law that burdens the freedom of religion is narrowly tailored to meet that interest. This issue has been analyzed in several cases; in most of these cases, religious exemptions were denied because the exemption would conflict with antidiscrimination laws. In fact, this is the likely result in most cases involving for-profit entities claiming a right to discriminate under a religious freedom law.

Moreover, many states do not yet have religious freedom laws. In these states, it is possible that any future law could exclude for-profit entities – or at least public accommodations such as hotels, restaurants, and catering halls – from the definition of “person” under the law, which would prevent these entities from being protected. This is the approach I advocate because it supports the passage of state RFRAs, which are often essential to protect religious freedom, while protecting against discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and other services available to the general public.

Type
Chapter
Information
Freedom's Edge
Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and the Future of America
, pp. 76 - 133
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×