Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. The Indiana RFRA, the text of which is here, is substantially the same as RFRAs elsewhere in the country. And it is similar to the federal RFRA as well.

And that’s part of the problem.

Some circuits have read the federal RFRA in the way that the Indiana RFRA is written. They have extended a defense to private actors (individuals and businesses) to discriminate on “religious” grounds. More here.

The fact is that these laws as a whole are giving individuals and businesses the right to discriminate against others for “religious beliefs” and the question of sincerity of those beliefs is a BS cover. Depending on the circuit, the law can and will be used to discriminate against others.

The 6th and 7th Circuits have ruled that the RFRA can’t be used as a defense by private entities unless the government is involved, but other circuits that have addressed this issue have not. Now that Indiana has its own RFRA, the state courts will have a path to rule and allow discrimination (even though the federal circuit courts have ruled the opposite).

In sum, the RFRA from the federal law enacted back in 1993, all the way to the current Indiana law, is problematic and enables discrimination on grounds of “religious freedom”.