Amicus Brief SIGNED: Protecting Religious Liberty
Our exceptional country was founded on essential principles including religious liberty. The Founding Fathers explicitly declared religious freedom a God-given right, knowing it was necessary for the survival of the United States. Thankfully, Americans have continued to protect religious liberty against power-hungry government leaders through state and federal laws. However, many unelected administrative agencies have not respected the law and our right to religious freedom. Allowing these agencies too much power endangers religious liberty across the nation.
In order to address this issue, the Indiana Family Institute recently signed onto an amicus brief that was filed with the Supreme Court of the United States. The SCOTUS case at hand involves the federal government’s attempt to impose a nationwide vaccine mandate on many employees to be enforced by their own employers. The sweeping mandate also attempts to bypass Congress and typical agency rulemaking procedures. Arguments for this case will be heard this Friday, January 7.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a regulatory government agency, supports the mandate by pointing to a rarely used emergency provision that has never been used to impose a nationwide law such as this. OSHA has refused to address religious exercise questions and asked the courts to defer to its own interpretation of its authority. This undermines the rule-of-law, however, and allows unelected bureaucrats to make important policy decisions, instead of the elected representatives whose job it is to support the will of their constituents. Further, it undermines the constitutional authority of the judicial system to rule over such cases.
Agencies such as OSHA view religious freedom as an afterthought rather than an inalienable right. This is why we must promote the traditional legislative process and fight back when agencies are granted unwarranted power.
IFI is working hard to preserve religious liberty and to protect the future of Indiana from distant federal bureaucrats. We would be honored to receive your support which allows us to continue amplifying your voice and working to protect your liberties.
Thank you for your continued prayers. We are immensely hopeful for the success of this initiative and many more to come in 2022!