Georgia has become the 30th state to enact a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which aims to protect individuals' religious freedom from undue government burden. The law, signed by Georgia governor Brian Kemp, passed in the Republican-controlled Georgia Senate in a 32-23 vote on March 4 and cleared the Republican-controlled Georgia House of Representatives in a 96-70 vote last Wednesday. The Christian Post reports.

"Government shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability." The government may "substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is" either "in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest" or "the least restrictive means of furthering such compelling governmental interest."

Additionally, the law allows a person to seek legal recourse if their religious freedom has been violated. It states that "'Exercise of religion' means any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief, including, but not limited to, the practice or observance of religion under Paragraphs III and IV of Section I, Article I of the Constitution of this state or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."

The bill forbids "any branch, department, agency, instrumentality, and official or other person acting under color of law of this state, or any political subdivision of this state" from interfering with an individual's "exercise of religion."

The Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act's passing was celebrated by the conservative religious freedom group Alliance Defending Freedom in a statement released Friday.

"Our laws should protect the freedom of every person to live and worship according to their faith. This law provides a sensible balancing test for courts to use when reviewing government policies that infringe upon the religious freedom rights of Georgians," ADF Senior Counsel Greg Chafuen said.

"The law, which is similar to laws in 29 other states, doesn't determine who will win every disagreement, but it does ensure that every person — regardless of their religious creed or political power — receives a fair hearing when government action burdens a person's freedom to live out his or her religious beliefs," he added.

The RFRA has been enacted in 29 other states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Source