Freedom of religion does not just mean a right to attend a church. It also means the right to hire employees who share your faith and values.

HRLA is active in protecting that right here in Australia, as many Christian schools and other ministries navigate laws that make it difficult to hire Christian staff who share the ethos of the organisation.

This freedom is the central issue in the latest case taken on by our friends at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) in the United States.

Hearings began this week at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown, where the ADF will be arguing that the right of an organisation to hire people who share their Christian faith is constitutionally protected.

Yakima Union Gospel Mission operates in Washington state and exists to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics.

However, they face significant penalties because state law prohibits them from  requiring all employees to share the Mission’s Christian faith and commitment to sharing the Gospel.

It is important to note that the services provided by Yakima Union Gospel Mission are available to everyone, regardless of belief. However, they wish to preserve their Christian purpose and mission of serving the vulnerable by employing Christians who share the Christian faith and serve the homeless with the love of Christ.

“Religious organizations shouldn’t be punished for exercising their constitutionally protected freedom to hire employees who are aligned with and live out their shared religious beliefs,” ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus said.

The overreach of anti-discrimination law is nothing new. The risk this law presents is not that Yakima Union Gospel Mission may be forced to hire people unaligned with their values, it’s that this important service for the vulnerable may cease to exist at all.

HRLA assists Christian organisations navigate similar laws in Australia, helping to ensure that schools, churches, ministries, and other faith-based organisations have their religious freedom protected.