Also known as: laws of general applicability · generally applicable law · generally applicable laws · neutral law of general applicability
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statute or regulation that applies uniformly to all persons or conduct within its scope without regard to religious motivation.
Logan Lane was fired from his job after ingesting peyote during a religious ceremony. State officials denied his unemployment claim under a criminal prohibition that applied to every resident regardless of faith. The denial stood because the prohibition operated as a law of general applicability.
Lucas purchased beachfront lots intending to build homes. A state statute later barred all construction on the parcels to protect the shoreline. The statute applied equally to every owner and therefore qualified as a law of general applicability.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A city denied a permit to expand a church building under a zoning ordinance that limited all structures in the historic district. The ordinance contained no religious carve-outs and applied to every property owner alike.
Federal law required local sheriffs to perform background checks before handgun sales. The requirement bound every sheriff in every state without exception for local officials.
State law required appointed counsel for every indigent defendant on a first appeal. The rule applied across all criminal cases without regard to the defendant's religious beliefs.
A statute prohibited disclosure of illegally intercepted communications by any person who obtained them. The prohibition reached every broadcaster and publisher without regard to the content's religious character.
A law loses general applicability when it contains a system of individualized exemptions that officials may grant for secular reasons but withhold for religious ones. Once such discretion exists, the government must satisfy strict scrutiny before denying a religious exemption.
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No. A medical exemption addresses objective physical risks rather than personal belief and therefore does not necessarily render the rule non-general. The key inquiry remains whether the exemption mechanism allows case-by-case secular relief while denying comparable religious relief.
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The Free Exercise Clause does not require an exemption. The government may enforce the rule against religious objectors so long as the rule remains neutral on its face and generally applicable in operation.
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Discretionary exemptions convert the policy into one that is not generally applicable. Strict scrutiny then applies, requiring the government to show a compelling interest pursued through the least restrictive means.
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…consistently held that the right of free exercise does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a “valid and neutral law of general applicability on the ground that the law proscribes (or prescribes) conduct that his religion prescribes (or proscribes).” United States v. Lee , 455 U. S. 252, 263, n. 3 (1982) (Stevens, J., concurring…