S 578 103th Congress Senate

Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993

Official title: A bill to protect the free exercise of religion.

Introduced: March 11, 1993 See on congress.gov

Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues Administrative remediesCivil actions and liabilityGovernment spendingJudicial review of administrative acts

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LawLegal feesReligionReligious liberty

Everywhere this bill has been 11 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Oct 27, 1993

Indefinitely postponed by Senate by Unanimous Consent.

Oct 27, 1993

Senate passed companion measure H.R. 1308 in lieu of this measure by Yea-Nay Vote. 97-3. Record Vote No: 331.

Oct 27, 1993

Senate incorporated this measure in H.R. 1308 as an amendment.

Oct 27, 1993

Considered by Senate. (consideration: CR S14461-14470)

Oct 26, 1993

Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S14350-14368)

Jul 27, 1993

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 163.

Jul 27, 1993

Committee on Judiciary. Reported to Senate by Senator Biden without amendment. With written report No. 103-111. Additional views filed.

May 6, 1993

Committee on Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

Mar 11, 1993

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Mar 11, 1993

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2822-2824)

Mar 11, 1993

Introduced in Senate

Amendments to this bill 2

Amendments propose changes to this bill. Members vote on amendments separately before the final bill vote. An agreed amendment becomes part of the bill; a failed amendment does not.

1 agreed to 1 failed

Amendment	Sponsor	Purpose	Status	Latest action
SAMDT 1,083	–	To prohibit the application of this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, to an individual who is incarcera…	Failed	Oct 27, 1993
SAMDT 1,082	–	To clarify that the compelling interest test applies in cases in which free exercise of religion is substanti…	Agreed to	Oct 26, 1993

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Latest action October 27, 1993

Indefinitely postponed by Senate by Unanimous Consent.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 - Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the government may burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person: (1) furthers a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

Sets forth provisions pertaining to judicial relief, attorney's fees, and applicability.

Related & companion bills 1

Bill text 2 versions

Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF
Reported to Senate Formatted Text PDF

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 1

Judiciary Committee
Senate

Cosponsors 2

McConnell, Mitch

Kentucky · May 5, 1993

Murray, Patty

Washington · Mar 11, 1993

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APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 578: Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. 103rd Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/103-S-578/

MLA

"S. 578: Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993." 103rd Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/103-S-578/.

Bluebook (legal)

S. 578, 103rd Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/103-S-578/.

Markdown link

[S. 578: Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993](https://openamerica.io/bill/103-S-578/)