March 27, 2025
ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia courts would have to give more weight to religious custom and preference when applying the law in disputes about individual rights if legislation adopted by the state Senate Tuesday becomes law.
The Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which passed 32-23 along party lines, reignites a fight in the General Assembly dating back a decade.
In 2016, lawmakers passed another such measure, but business organizations fretted over the risk of convention and sporting event boycotts, and then-Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the bill.
Mike Griffin, public affairs consultant with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said, "RFRA will bring Georgia into line with 38 other states that have taken action to restore a full level of legal protection for people of faith."
The current iteration, Senate Bill 36, says government “shall not substantially burden” a person’s exercise of religion except “in furtherance of a compelling government interest.”
Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, the chief sponsor, said the need is demonstrated by examples from other states that already have such a law — of a Native American youth who wanted to wear his hair long though the school wanted him to cut it and of a Muslim woman who refused to remove her veil for a photo in front of men while applying for a driver’s license.
The boy got to keep his locks, and the woman got her photo taken by a female photographer in a room with no men present, Setzler said, explaining that the courts had to balance their religious rights against local and state policies.
“People from all of your communities, no matter where you come from, need this basic protection in place,” Setzler said.
The measure now moves to the Georgia House of Representatives, which declined to consider a similar Senate measure last year.
