Committee on Religious Liberty

Committee on Religious Liberty

Freedom Forum is home to the Committee on Religious Liberty, a nonpartisan roundtable that convenes representatives of some 60 religious and civil liberties organizations as well as leading scholars and lawyers in the field for dialogue and debate about religious freedom issues in the United States and abroad.

The Committee on Religious Liberty was founded in 1967 at the National Council of Churches by the Rev. Dean M. Kelley, NCC executive for civil and religious liberty and one of the nation’s foremost experts on the religion clauses of the First Amendment. In 2013, NCC formally transferred the committee to Freedom Forum.

By uniting groups and individuals from across the religious and ideological spectrum, the Committee on Religious Liberty fosters civil dialogue, builds trust across deep differences, and educates constituents of member groups about the latest developments in religious freedom.

The Freedom Forum Committee on Religious Liberty meets three times annually. The following organizations are current members of the committee:

  • 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative
  • ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion & Belief
  • Agudath Israel of America
  • Alliance Defending Freedom
  • American Center for Law and Justice
  • American Humanist Association
  • American Jewish Committee
  • American Muslim Institution
  • Americans United for Separation of Church & State
  • Amicus Communitations
  • Anti-Defamation League
  • Assemblies of God
  • Bahais of the United States
  • BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
  • Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
  • Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
  • Believe First LLC
  • Catholic University of America Law School
  • Center for American Progress
  • Center for Inquiry
  • Center for Islam and Religious Freedom
  • Center for Peace and Spirituality - USA
  • Center for Pluralism
  • Center for Public Justice
  • Christian Legal Society
  • Christian Post
  • Christian Science Committee on Publication
  • Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Church of Scientology
  • Civil Rights Research Center
  • Convergence on Campus
  • Copnciencia Nacional Por La Libertad Religiosa
  • Council for Christian Colleges & Universities
  • Council of Religious Leaders of Metro Chicago
  • Disciples Center for Public Witness
  • Enlightened Buddha Temple
  • Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  • First Amendment Partnership
  • First Church of Christ, Scientist
  • First Liberty Institute
  • Freedom Forum
  • Friends Committee on National Legislation
  • General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
  • Global Peace Foundation
  • Hindu American Foundation
  • Hispanic American Freethinkers
  • In Defence of Christians
  • Indian American Muslim Council
  • Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance
  • Interfaith Alliance Foundation
  • International Center for Law and Religion Studies
  • International Center for Rights and Justice
  • International Christian Concern
  • International Commission on Freedom of Conscience
  • International Society for Krishna Consciousness
  • Islamic Society of North America
  • London School of Economics and Political Science
  • Muslim Advocates
  • Muslim Legal Fund of America
  • Muslim Public Affairs Council
  • National Association of Evangelicals
  • National Council of the Churches of Christ in USA
  • Native American Rights Fund
  • Navigators on Capitol Hill
  • New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
  • Open Doors International
  • Order of St. Martin of Tours
  • PARITY
  • People for the American Way
  • Pew Research Center, Religion and Public Life
  • Politics and the Common Good
  • Presbyterian Church USA Office of Public Witness
  • Progressive National Baptist Convention
  • Queens Federation of Churches
  • Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
  • Religious Freedom & Business Foundation
  • Religious Freedom Institute
  • Religious of Sacred Heart of Mary
  • SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
  • Secular Coalition for America
  • Secular Policy Institute
  • Secular Student Alliance
  • SGI-USA Buddhist Association
  • SikhNet
  • Sutherland Institure
  • UMC General Board of Church and Society
  • Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
  • Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
  • United Church of Christ
  • United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance
  • United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
  • Wilson Center
  • World Vision