Georgia becomes 30th state to enact Religious Freedom Restoration Act
April 8, 2025
Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp has signed the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, making them the 30th state to enact clear legal protections of the free exercise of religion.
The Christian Post reports that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, also known as Senate Bill 36, was passed by the state Senate 32-23 on March 4 and by the state House of Representatives last week in a 96-70 vote.
Though the Republican Party controls both the House and Senate in Georgia, the vote fell almost entirely along party lines with virtually all Republicans casting votes in favor of the measure and nearly all Democrats voting against.
The Act states that “Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability,” adding that the government may “substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is” either “in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest” or “the least restrictive means of furthering such compelling governmental interest.”
According to the newly enacted law, entities that are prohibited from interfering with an individual’s “exercise of religion” include “any branch, department, agency, instrumentality, and official or other person acting under color of law of this state, or any political subdivision of this state.”
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Greg Chafuen said in a statement, “Our laws should protect the freedom of every person to live and worship according to their faith. This law provides a sensible balancing test for courts to use when reviewing government policies that infringe upon the religious freedom rights of Georgians.”
Chaufen added that the new law would guarantee that “every person — regardless of their religious creed or political power — receives a fair hearing when government action burdens a person’s freedom to live out his or her religious beliefs.”
29 other states have enacted similar legislation to protect religious freedom, including 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, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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