July 6, 1999
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
The Religious Liberty Protection Act is legislation of
critical importance to the Orthodox Jewish community. "RLPA" will prohibit
state and local governments from substantially burdening the free exercise of religion,
even unintentionally, unless the government can demonstrate that it possesses a compelling
reason to limit religious activity.
It will enable synagogues and other houses of worship to get a fairer hearing when they
seek a zoning variance. It will enable those who object on religious grounds to
"loyalty oaths" to seek and obtain jobs that would otherwise require such oaths
as a condition of employment. It will, in short, protect minority faiths and their
adherents in a variety of situations.
This new legislation has been drafted with the Supreme Court decisions about religious
liberty in mind, so that it will withstand constitutional scrutiny.
It is supported by a broad coalition of religious communities and civil rights groups.
The coalition unanimously supports the Religious Liberty Protection Act in its
current format, and strongly urges that there be no amendments to this critical
legislation. There are those, on the political extremes, who will be working to
defeat this legislation.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to debate and vote upon the RLPA on July 13,
1999. Please contact
your Representative between now and then to convey your opinion on this critical
legislation.
Richard Stone
Chairman, IPA
Nathan J. Diament
Director
The Institute for Public Affairs of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is the non-partisan public policy research and advocacy center created to represent and mobilize the world's largest Orthodox Jewish community.
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