Governor enacts public policy on protection of religious freedom

By The Star Staff

In the context of Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón signed into law on Sunday the measure that establishes as public policy the government’s unwavering commitment to promoting religious freedom as an inalienable human right and establishes the General Principles of Religious Freedom.

Act No. 14-2025, the Fundamental Right to Religious Freedom in Puerto Rico Act (PS 1), was authored by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, Dignity Project Sen.-at-Large Joanne Rodríguez Veve, Arecibo District Sens. Brenda Pérez Soto and Héctor González Lopez of the New Progressive Party (NPP), Aguadilla District Sens. Karen Román Rodríguez and Jeison Rosa Ramos of the NPP, Bayamón District Sen. Migdalia Padilla Alvelo of the NPP and Sen.-at-Large Gregorio Matías Rosario of the NPP.

The bill recognizes that the right to freely exercise religion is protected by the United States Constitution, the Puerto Rico Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, it also indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the lack of knowledge and poor understanding of the scope of the right to religious freedom, and for this reason, the measure was filed to clarify that scope and meaning and to provide guidance to all branches of local government.

The bill seeks to establish as public policy of the government of Puerto Rico the prevailing regulations on religious clauses in both the United States and Puerto Rican Constitutions, and that these should not be viewed as conflicting but rather as complementary.

It clarifies how the legal relationship between the constitutional clauses on religious freedom and the so-called separation clause should be understood, according to the guidelines given by the Supreme Court of the United States in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 597 U.S. 507 (2022).

The law may be used in both judicial and administrative cases and will allow the party claiming religious freedom, should it prevail, to obtain costs and attorney’s fees paid by the government.

It provides express protection against any discrimination and affirms that, due to the preventive and deterrent function of the statute, both public sector employees and employers must seek reasonable accommodations before foreseeable conflict situations arise, thereby avoiding citizens requiring public services from suffering loss of time or lack of understanding regarding their dogmatic beliefs.

Similarly, the act seeks to prevent churches or faith-based organizations from being discriminated against on the basis of religion in government services, the granting of permits, access to funds, materials, proposals, loans, or other programs available to other non-religious entities.

With the signing of the bill into law, the governor said, she fulfilled another campaign promise to the people in last year’s elections.