City of Boerne v. Flores - Religious Freedom Restoration Act

Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993. The act was a response to a 1990 ruling by the Supreme Court that effectively ended the Court's established procedures for free-exercise protection. RFRA required federal courts to reinstate earlier and broader free-exercise standards.

RFRA was used to restore and defend a variety of religious freedoms, such as Muslims' wearing of head coverings. As part of RFRA, a state government had to provide a compelling justification for laws that substantially interfered with an individual's religious practices. When the Supreme Court was ruling on the constitutionality of RFRA, a 90-member coalition of religious groups spoke out in support of the act. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was deemed unconstitutional with the Supreme Court decision in City of Boerne v. Flores (1996).