Bob Jones case: A Roadmap for Religious Persecution

Race is special under the US Constitution, so on its facts Bob Jones is understandable. But consider how tax status can be used to persecute religious institutions in the world we live in today.

Bob Jones University is a Christian college that had a policy forbidding students to engage in interracial.marriage & dating.

The IRS decided to deny the school's tax-exempt status as an educational institution as a result of this policy.

How much of a burden is this on a non-profit educational institution?

Issue: Does this decision violate the Free Exercise Clause?

This is a pre-Smith case, so Bob Jones clearly had a free exercise claim, but the Court held that the government's compelling interest in eradicating racial discrimination in education justified the IRS's decision to deny tax-exempt status?

What happens now if the IRS decides to deny tax-exempt status to churches and private schools that have policies based-upon the Biblical view of marriage and sexuality?

Notice RFRA would apply to a federal policy burdening religious exercise.