In the United States, a religious freedom bill is a bill that, according to its proponents, allows those with religious objections to oppose LGBT rights in accordance with traditional religious teachings without being punished by the government for doing so. This typically concerns an employee who objects to abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage,[1] civil unions, or transgender identity and wishes to avoid situations where they will be expected to put those objections aside. Proponents commonly refer to such proposals as religious liberty or conscience protection.[2]
Opponents of such bills frame them instead as "religious refusal bills", "bigot bills", or as a "license to discriminate", highlighting how much legislation allows individuals and businesses to openly espouse prejudice, especially against LGBT individuals.[3][4]