Bankrupt Tithers, the Eight Circuit & the Supreme Court: Still Praying for RFRA Relief from Bankruptcy Law

The enactment of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is one of the most important and controversial congressional acts since Congress drafted the Free Exercise Clause. RFRA greatly increases the likelihood that a free exercise of religion claim will succeed by restoring the compelling governmental interest test. Prior to RFRA, the Supreme Court abandoned this test in Employment Division v. Smith Due to the pressure President Clinton brought to bear on the Justice Department in the instant case, it withdrew its brief, which denied that RFRA applied to this bankruptcy case. Without the Justice Department's input, the Eighth Circuit applied RFRA, found it satisfied, and gave RFRA the teeth that it needed.

However, questions remain as to how successfully the court applied RFRA. The Eighth Circuit's application of RFRA in the instant case, essentially a federal bankruptcy case, should remain undisturbed by the Supreme Court's decision in Boerne.