Religious Liberty

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr urging him to immediately file suit in federal court to protect religious liberties in states placing unconstitutional restrictions on houses of worship. Senator Hawley writes that a number of states are violating the First Amendment in strictly limiting attendance at religious services while allowing other businesses, like restaurants and gyms, to operate at up to 50 percent capacity.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver blasting the league’s apparent decision to strictly limit messages players can wear on their jerseys to a few pre-approved, social justice slogans while censoring support for law enforcement officers or the military and any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Senator Hawley writes that, as the NBA is now sanctioning political messages, they must stand up for American values and make clear where they stand on China’s human rights abuses.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr calling for a civil rights investigation into violations of the First Amendment by state officials who have continued to impose strict caps on religious gatherings and religious speech after allowing thousands of people to gather to attend protests. Senator Hawley writes that Americans have a constitutional right to peaceably protest but state officials are restricting religious speech and religious exercise while encouraging protests, giving preference to one form of speech or gathering over another.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined his colleagues in passing the “Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act,” introduced by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to confront the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) abuses of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, China. The bill requires that U.S. policy toward China be explicitly linked to human rights violations in Xinjiang by directing the President to impose sanctions related to the CCP’s treatment of Uyghurs and requiring the FBI to report on efforts to protect Uyghurs and Chinese nationals living in the U.S. from CCP intimidation and harassment.

“In a time when religious freedom is denied in so many parts of the world, it is an honor to celebrate the right to worship freely as Americans,” Hawley said. “Across our history, religious freedom has been at the core of who we are, and today we reaffirm our commitment to preserve and protect that freedom for generations to come.”

“I request that your Department protect the rights of these students by monitoring closely the changes Yale is making to its policy and by taking all appropriate legal action to strip Yale of federal funding should it—as an institution that is supposed to be neutral about religion—target religious students for special disfavor.”

Today Senator Josh Hawley delivered a floor speech on Yale Law School’s policy of discriminating against students of faith. The speech comes after Hawley sent letters to Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos this morning asking them to ensure that Yale Law School reverses its misguided policy or strip their federal funding.

Following reports that Yale Law School will now deprive religious students of funding opportunities if they work for organizations that require statements of faith, Senator Josh Hawley issued this statement: “Yale’s new policy, as first announced, targets religious students for special disfavor. Under this policy, a student saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt can’t access Yale’s loan repayment program if they choose to work for certain faith-based organizations....

“Yale’s new policy, as first announced, targets religious students for special disfavor. Under this policy, a student saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt can’t access Yale’s loan repayment program if they choose to work for certain faith-based organizations. Depriving a student of resources available to everybody else because of her religion isn’t just wrong. For schools receiving federal funds, it’s illegal. Now Yale has suggested it may abandon or alter this discriminatory policy. If it does not, the federal government should strip funding from Yale under appropriate statutes and review Yale’s tax-exempt status.”