How to protect your faith-based nonprofit in the next America

Religious liberty wins at the Supreme Court can have little effect if an organization does not take the essential steps required to claim these protections. The courts—including the court of public opinion—have proven that they are not afraid to analyze whether an organization is “religious enough.” In a culture that has proven its increasing willingness to cancel organizations for their beliefs, organizations that lack an authentic and legally sound religious identity are not just soft targets for cancel culture and accusation, they may inadvertently have waived religious liberty protections to which they are entitled. This Napa Legal webinar discusses the concrete steps an organization can take to secure its religious identity amidst cancel culture.

The distinction between “the spiritual” and “the religious” is just one example of how culture tries to limit moral formation to personal experience—independent of religious practice and institutional devotion. As a consequence, we lose perspective on what is required for moral formation, and thus fail to understand the necessity of virtue.

Most faith-based nonprofit employers (“Employers”) are pleased by the United States Supreme Court’s recent opinions strengthening legal protections for religious employers. Given the alternative possibility, that reaction is quite understandable. Employers may have already begun to update their policies and practices to ensure that the organization does not inadvertently waive these protections. Now is the time to do a more thorough audit of employment practices so that Employers comply with the many applicable state and federal laws.

The American ideal of freedom encompasses the protection of individuals’ rights to live out a variety of faiths and world views, according to each person’s conscience. Even with diversity in our animating beliefs, we are united in commitment to building a society that respects the humanity and dignity of its members. Acts of service—such as feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and visiting the sick—honor our collective belief in the dignity of each person. These acts can be thought of as “the public good,” whether a person’s conception of the “good” is rooted in theology, in personal conscience, or in civic virtue. When faith-based organizations work to bring about the public good, the greater community can and should support these activities. Even those who disagree with the theological motivation behind an act of service should appreciate the objective good being pursued.