Congressman Blake Moore Introduces Bill to Protect the Tax-Exempt Status of Religious Organizations

Congressman Blake Moore Introduces Bill to Protect the Tax-Exempt Status of Religious Organizations

WASHINGTON - Congressman Blake Moore introduced legislation to protect religious beliefs and practices and preserve the tax-exempt status of faith-based organizations.

The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act ensures faith-based organizations can continue applying religious standards to employees without jeopardizing their eligibility for federal funding and contracts. The legislation prevents federal agencies from conditioning tax benefits or funding eligibility on a religious organization's willingness to modify its positions on marriage, sexual conduct standards, or gender identity policies.

Additional original co-sponsors of the bill include Representatives David Schweikert (AZ-01), Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Nathaniel Moran (TX-01), Ben Cline (VA-06), Lance Gooden (TX-05), Russ Fulcher (ID-01), and Burgess Owens (UT-04).

"I'm immensely proud to represent one of the most religious and charitable states in the nation-and that overlap is no coincidence. Churches across our state and country contribute billions of dollars to the economy by providing health care, housing, and a wide range of social services. They also strengthen our communities by helping Americans find purpose and meaning," Congressman Moore said. "The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act builds on that foundation by establishing clear, enforceable standards that protect religious beliefs and practices and prevent the government from weaponizing tax-exempt status or federal funding eligibility against these organizations."

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appreciates the leadership on the Fair Treatment of Religious Organization Act. The bill addresses gaps in federal law and affirms the First Amendment's requirement of equal treatment for religious and secular organizations. Faith-based organizations provide vital services nationwide and should not be penalized for sincerely held beliefs. We urge Congress to enact it," said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

"The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is sincerely grateful for Congressman Moore's leadership in introducing the Fair Treatment for Religious Organizations Act - a necessary remedy to protect religious liberty. Faith-based organizations are important partners in the public square, often providing crucial services, like disaster relief or health care, at great scale and speed. The government should not be able to revoke a religious organization's tax-exempt status for holding to their beliefs on issues of marriage and sexuality, punishing them at the expense of the people they serve. The Fair Treatment for Religious Organizations Act would ensure that religious groups are allowed to remain true to their convictions and retain the opportunity to participate in public-private partnerships," said the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

"On behalf of Christian Employers Alliance and our network of 30,000 business leaders, I thank Congressman Moore for introducing this critical legislation to protect religious liberty," said Margaret Luculano, President, Christian Employers Alliance. "The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act is urgently needed, especially because future administrations may not defend people of faith as the Trump administration has. Our members are already under constant assault from frivolous litigation and Soros-backed lawfare designed to force compliance with radical gender ideology. Congress must act now to ensure those same attacks do not metastasize within the federal government - denying faith-based organizations and business owners' access to contracts, threatening their tax-exempt status, and punishing them for living and operating according to their faith."

"Radical Democrats and unelected bureaucrats have spent years weaponizing the IRS and federal agencies to punish churches, Christian schools, and faith-based organizations simply for defending the family. The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act will finally end partisan persecution and lawfare campaigns, so millions of religious believers and the communities they serve can operate freely according to their faith. APP urges Congress to pass these long overdue protections," said Terry Schilling, President, American Principles Project.

"This bill will prevent any future administration from weaponizing the tax code against churches or religious organizations whose message they do not like. Religious communities should never have to fear the U.S. government's power to destroy through taxation," said David Nammo, President and CEO, Christian Legal Society.

Background:

In 2025, the Trump administration initiated an IRS investigation to revoke the tax-exempt status of Harvard University, due in part to fostering an environment of antisemitism. The administration argued that the university should be required to follow its executive orders, including E.O. 14188, "Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism," and froze $2.2 billion in the university's federal grants and contracts. Regardless of the substance of the Harvard legal battle, these actions have created concern in the faith-based community. Future administrations could attempt to revoke the tax-exempt status of faith-based organizations over their adherence or non-adherence to executive orders that pertain to marriage and sexuality.

For example, a future administration could reinstate former President Obama's E.O. 13672, which prohibited federal contractors from discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), and attempt to strip a faith-based organization's tax-exempt status or federal funding due to non-adherence to the executive order.

In addition, in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the Supreme Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Justice Gorsuch's majority opinion acknowledged the tension this ruling would create with religious employers: "We are also deeply concerned with preserving the promise of the free exercise of religion enshrined in our Constitution; that guarantee lies at the heart of our pluralistic society." The opinion noted that Title VII's existing religious employer exemptions, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the First Amendment could provide defenses in future cases involving religious organizations.

While the decision acknowledged the importance of religious liberty, Bostock left religious

organizations in legal uncertainty-their traditional beliefs and practices on human sexuality and marriage now potentially characterized as a form of sex discrimination under federal law, with the promised protections relegated to undefined future cases and the goodwill of federal officials in future administrations. Following the decision, federal agencies have moved to apply Bostock's reasoning beyond the employment context, extending SOGI protections to education (Title IX), healthcare (Section 1557 of the ACA), housing (Fair Housing Act), and federal contracting requirements.

These regulatory expansions have heightened concerns among religious organizations that their eligibility for federal partnerships and tax benefits may become contingent on abandoning sincerely held religious convictions regarding human sexuality and marriage.

The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act provides the concrete statutory protections that Bostock's dicta suggested but did not deliver. Rather than leaving religious organizations dependent on case-by-case litigation or shifting administrative interpretations, the bill establishes clear, enforceable standards ensuring that religious beliefs and practices concerning marriage, sexuality, and gender identity cannot be weaponized to strip organizations of their tax-exempt status or federal funding eligibility.

The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act:

• Amends Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the IRS from considering a religious organization's beliefs or practices concerning marriage, sexuality, or gender identity when making tax-related determinations.
  • Protections extend to tax-exempt status under 501(c); eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions; and any other federal benefit or privilege tied to tax-exempt charitable status.
  • An organization's religious beliefs on these matters cannot be used against it even if those beliefs are otherwise inconsistent with public policy.
• Prohibits federal agencies from discriminating against religious employers in grants, contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders, or cooperative agreements based on the organization's religiously motivated employment decisions.
  • Religious corporations, associations, educational institutions, and societies may not be disadvantaged for exercising their existing statutory rights to employ individuals who share the organization's religious beliefs and to require employees to comply with religious standards of conduct.
  • The bill explicitly anchors these protections to existing federal law that Bostock acknowledged but did not interpret: Title VII religious employer exemptions, ADA religious organization provisions, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the First Amendment.

Read the full bill here.

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