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November, 2005
Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations Urges
Supreme Court to Promote Religious
Liberty and Enforce The Religious
Freedom Restoration Act
Today, the
U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a critical case
involving the free exercise of religion in which the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations joined with a broad and diverse
coalition of religious groups as “friends of the court.”
The case,
Gonzales v. O Centro Espirito, involves a sect, known as
Uniao Do Vegetal (UDV) or the Union of the Plants, preaches a
brand of "Christian spiritualism" that combines traditional
Brazilian beliefs with contemporary Christian teachings. A
"central and essential" tenet of the UDV faith is a belief that
hoasca, a tea containing the illegal hallucinogenic drug
diemethyltryptamine (DMT), is sacred and that its use connects
members to God. UDV sued the government in U.S. District Court
for the District of New Mexico and received a preliminary
injunction preventing the confiscation of imported hoasca or the
arrest of any UDV members using the drug while the district
court trial was pending. The Court of Appeals for the 10th
Circuit upheld the injunction. UDV claims that the 1993
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) exempts them from any
laws prohibiting the importation and use of hoasca. RFRA states
that no federal law shall "substantially burden a person's
exercise of religion" unless the government proves the law
furthers a "compelling governmental interest" and that it has
been implemented in a way that is "least restrictive" to
religious practices. The federal government counters that the
courts cannot grant UDV an exception to the nation's drug laws —
in this case the 1970 Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which
prohibits the use of DMT for any purpose. Furthermore, the
government argues, the 1971 United Nations Convention on
Psychotropic Substances (to which the United States is a party)
requires the government "to prevent and combat abuse of
[psychotropic] substances and the illicit traffic to which it
gives rise."
The UOJCA,
and its coalition partners, filed briefs with the Supreme Court
defending RFRA and its application to this religious practice
and the Controlled Substances Act. UOJCA public policy director
issued the following statement after arguments in the case
concluded:
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations joins with all those
who cherish religious liberty in urging the Supreme Court to
recognize that we are a nation of diverse faiths and that
different faiths require different accommodations for their
religious practice. Congress recognized this when it enacted
RFRA with broad bipartisan support. The Court ought to defer to
Congress’ wishes here and make the United States demonstrate
that its compelling interest in drug enforcement cannot allow
any exception in this kind of context.
In an essay
published on Beliefnet.com [http://www.beliefnet.com/story/171/story_17132.html],
Diament noted that this case will be the first to reveal newly
appointed Chief Justice John Roberts’ views on religious liberty
issues.
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