At the 1994 conference of the National Order of Women Legislators in November, a panel discussion was held before a roomful of interested state legislators, concerning the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [ RFRA] passed by Congress in 1993 and its impact on state legislatures. Participants included moderator , an attorney who serves as Special Counsel for the National Council of Churches (he's also an ordained Baptist minister); , the Committee on Publication Federal Representative for the Christian Science Church; , director of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A 's Washington office; and , a leading First Amendment attorney and director of the Center for Law and Religious Freedom of the Christian Legal Society. All of the panelists are members of the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion, the organization that shepherded the Religious Freedom Restoration Act's passage into law. The following are excerpts from their discussion.
"New occasions
teach new duties..."
Oliver Thomas: We'll be discussing what many are calling the most important legislation affecting religion since passage of the First Amendment. It's really the best-kept secret in American life .... The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is the most significant legislation affecting religion in the history of the Republic because it provides strong protection for religious liberty for all Americans, conservative and liberal alike.
