42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-3 : US Code - Section 2000CC-3: Rules of construction

Search 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-3 : US Code - Section 2000CC-3: Rules of construction

(a) Religious belief unaffected
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize any
government to burden any religious belief.
(b) Religious exercise not regulated
Nothing in this chapter shall create any basis for restricting or
burdening religious exercise or for claims against a religious
organization including any religiously affiliated school or
university, not acting under color of law.
(c) Claims to funding unaffected
Nothing in this chapter shall create or preclude a right of any
religious organization to receive funding or other assistance from
a government, or of any person to receive government funding for a
religious activity, but this chapter may require a government to
incur expenses in its own operations to avoid imposing a
substantial burden on religious exercise.
(d) Other authority to impose conditions on funding unaffected
Nothing in this chapter shall -
(1) authorize a government to regulate or affect, directly or
indirectly, the activities or policies of a person other than a
government as a condition of receiving funding or other
assistance; or
(2) restrict any authority that may exist under other law to so
regulate or affect, except as provided in this chapter.
(e) Governmental discretion in alleviating burdens on religious
exercise
A government may avoid the preemptive force of any provision of
this chapter by changing the policy or practice that results in a
substantial burden on religious exercise, by retaining the policy
or practice and exempting the substantially burdened religious
exercise, by providing exemptions from the policy or practice for
applications that substantially burden religious exercise, or by
any other means that eliminates the substantial burden.
(f) Effect on other law
With respect to a claim brought under this chapter, proof that a
substantial burden on a person's religious exercise affects, or
removal of that burden would affect, commerce with foreign nations,
among the several States, or with Indian tribes, shall not
establish any inference or presumption that Congress intends that
any religious exercise is, or is not, subject to any law other than
this chapter.
(g) Broad construction
This chapter shall be construed in favor of a broad protection of
religious exercise, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of
this chapter and the Constitution.
(h) No preemption or repeal
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preempt State law,
or repeal Federal law, that is equally as protective of religious
exercise as, or more protective of religious exercise than, this
chapter.
(i) Severability
If any provision of this chapter or of an amendment made by this
chapter, or any application of such provision to any person or
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this
chapter, the amendments made by this chapter, and the application
of the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be
affected.