We are excited to update you on an important legal victory for churches and religious organizations within the Commonwealth. Last week, Attorney General Jason Miyares entered into a settlement agreement with two churches, a Christian school, and a pro-life organization, who had joined together to initiate a critical lawsuit challenging various parts of the so-called "Virginia Values Act" passed by the Democrat majority in 2020 that significantly threatened the rights of religious organizations.
In the settlement, negotiated by the Plaintiffs' attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom, the Attorney General formally agreed that:
- Because all the plaintiffs are religious entities, they are not subject to state regulation as "places of public accommodation" with regards to any of their services, the use of their facilities including bathrooms, and the publication of their religious beliefs about marriage, sexuality, and gender. (i.e. They won't be targeted by the state as committing "discrimination" in these ways simply by acting consistent with their religious tenets.)
- These churches and religious entities are not subject to the Virginia Human Rights Act provisions about who they can hire and retain as employees, which includes their ability not only to hire people claiming to be of the same faith, but to actually hold employees accountable to live in accordance with the church's beliefs – including on abortion, marriage, sex, and gender.
- These churches and religious entities do not have to pay for or provide any insurance plans that cover any gender "transition" drugs or procedures if doing so would violate their religious beliefs.
This is fantastic news that bodes well for every church and religious organization in Virginia. Even though the settlement technically only applies to the organizations in the lawsuit, the practical impact is that the Attorney General has provided assurances that his administration won't be going after religious entities for acting consistently with Biblical sexuality. And with this settlement agreement, he has created a blueprint signaling how the Virginia Human Rights Act should legally be understood and applied as protecting religious groups and their ability to freely exercise their beliefs about marriage, sexuality, and gender.
"Overall, it is a further protection of our religious freedom rights as a church," said Purvis Dawson, who serves as chairman of the trustee board at Calvary Road Baptist Church (lead plaintiff) – and also is a member of The Family Foundation's Speak Up! Fairfax volunteer civics team. "We were one of the first to come forward because we were willing to stand for religious freedoms for all Virginians," he said. "The biggest thing for us was basically perseverance. ... We were not going to be discouraged from our convictions and beliefs or forced to take actions that are contrary to our religious convictions."
We can all be grateful for courageous individuals like Purvis Dawson and churches like Calvary Road Baptist who are willing to step up and help vindicate the fundamental rights of us all. And we can also be grateful for the Attorney General for such an important statement of protection for religious organizations.
While religious organizations in Virginia can rest easy for now and celebrate this good win for religious freedom, we must remain vigilant, as new administrations could devise new applications of the law. For legal help with matters involving religious freedom, we encourage you to reach out to our attorneys at our Founding Freedoms Law Center who are ready to serve your needs.
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