Religious Exemptions

Targeted exemptions provide a blanket exemption, or license to discriminate, to anyone operating in a specific area, such as medical services and health care. The person or organization does not need to seek out this exemption as with RFRAs; it is a blanket license to discriminate. This map shows targeted exemptions for medical providers, which permit medical providers to refuse to serve LGBTQ people and others, if doing so conflicts with the provider’s (or provider’s employer’s) religious beliefs.

Targeted exemptions provide a blanket exemption, or license to discriminate, to anyone operating in a specific area, such as the provision of marriage-related services. The person or organization does not need to seek out this exemption as with RFRAs; it is a blanket license to discriminate. This map shows two types of targeted, marriage-related exemptions. The first type allows private businesses to deny marriage-related services (such as photography, floral, web design or other services) to LGBTQ people and others, if doing so conflicts with their religious beliefs. The second type applies to public officials and permits state and local government employees and officials to decline to issue marriage licenses or marry couples of whose marriage they disapprove, despite it being part of the job description to provide these marriage services.

Broad state religious exemption laws, sometimes called “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts” or RFRAs, permit people, churches, non-profit organizations, and sometimes corporations to seek exemptions from state laws that they say burden their religious beliefs. The individual person or organization must seek out an exemption, such as through court proceedings.