American Jewish Committee Deeply Alarmed By Supreme Court Decision

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 25 June 1997

The following statement was issued today by Richard T. Foltin, Legislative Director and Counsel of the American Jewish Committee, following today's decision of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) as unconstitutional:

"The American Jewish Committee is deeply alarmed by today's Supreme Court decision. It deals the most serious blow to religious liberty this nation has witnessed in recent memory, and leaves us with only a cramped view of the protection to be afforded the free exercise of religion. Further, it leaves minority religions vulnerable to legislators and government officials who may sometimes be oblivious to the impact of their actions on religious observance.

"In a brief filed earlier this year by the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion, AJC joined with dozens of organizations representing almost every major faith group in America, to argue that the separation of powers doctrine does not prohibit Congress from reexamining the practical results of the Supreme Court's constitutional decisions and, if appropriate, addressing them under one of its powers, as it did with the passage of RFRA. It was this coalition - spanning the spectrum of religious diversity in this country - which drafted, lobbied for, and ultimately secured the passage of RFRA, a legitimate, bipartisan effort to protect citizens from governmental interference with their free exercise of religion.

"In light of today's decision, it is crucial that the Court swiftly do as the dissenters urge: reconsider the Smith decision - to which RFRA responded - and restore to the free exercise clause of the Constitution's First Amendment its rightful role as the protector of our First Liberty, religious liberty."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org