Award Abstract # 1918020
Religious Exemption Laws and Minority Rights

NSF Org: SES
Division of Social and Economic Sciences
Recipient: BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
Initial Amendment Date: August 16, 2019
Latest Amendment Date: August 3, 2022
Award Number: 1918020
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Antwan Jones
aajones@nsf.gov
 (703)292-4973
SES
 Division of Social and Economic Sciences
SBE
 Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Start Date: August 15, 2019
End Date: July 31, 2023 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $324,228.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $328,582.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2019 = $324,228.00
FY 2022 = $4,354.00
History of Investigator:
  • Emily Kazyak (Principal Investigator)
    ekazyak2@unl.edu
  • Kelsy Burke (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2200 VINE ST # 830861
LINCOLN
NE  US  68503-2427
(402)472-3171
Sponsor Congressional District: 01
Primary Place of Performance: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
151 Prem S. Paul Research Center
Lincoln
NE  US  68583-0861
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
01
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): HTQ6K6NJFHA6
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): GVF - Global Venture Fund,
Sociology
Primary Program Source: 01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01001920DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 9150, 9178, 9179
Program Element Code(s): 054Y00, 133100
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.075, 47.079

ABSTRACT

Public debates over the civil rights of minorities have evoked questions about whether individuals may be exempt from adhering to nondiscrimination laws based on the claim that to adhere would violate their religious beliefs. This project will study the laws related to religious exemption and Americans' reactions to religious exemption laws related to minority rights. The project will address the following questions: (1) How and when do state and case laws related to religious exemption implicate minorities? (2) How do individuals evaluate religious exemption claims as they relate to minorities? and (3) To what extent does the language of state and case laws overlap or diverge with individual interpretations? The project will advance scientific understanding about the relationship between public opinion and state and federal laws. It will benefit society by generating empirical knowledge that can inform legislation and policies related to minority rights and religious exemption, thus contributing to health and well-being of individuals and our democracy in the United States.

The issue of whether individuals may be exempt from adhering to nondiscrimination laws owing to religious beliefs is a complex question involving legal institutions as well as individual beliefs. This project addresses this issue with a mixed-methods study that uses quantitative and qualitative analysis of legal data and qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews to understand processes of cultural interpretations at both the institutional and individual level. In Phase 1 of the project, the project will create and analyze an original database of all U.S. court cases and state laws related to religious exemption over a 21-year period. In Phase 2, the project will conduct and analyze in-depth interviews with 180 participants in four U.S. cities. In Phase 3, the project will compare legal initiatives with interview data. Findings from the project will inform the literature in cultural sociology, the sociology of religion and the sociology of law, with focus on the intersection of cultural schemas and legal institutions surrounding religious exemption and minority rights.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Public debates over the civil rights of sexual and gender minority (SGM) people have evoked questions about whether opponents may be exempt from serving and accommodating SGM people based on the claim that to do so would violate their religious beliefs. Our project used cultural sociology and the concept of cultural schemas to study meanings surrounding religious freedom and SGM rights in order to advance law and society scholarship that examines shifts in public opinion, shifts in state and federal laws, and the relationship between the two.

We conducted a mixed-methods study that used quantitative and qualitative analysis of legal data and qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews. First, we created and analyzed an original database of all U.S. federal court cases related to religious exemption over a 21-year period (n=1,281). Second, we conducted and analyzed in-depth interviews with 91 participants in four U.S. cities who are evangelical Christian, affiliated with some other religion, or not religiously affiliated and who are SGM and non-SGM. Third, we compared federal cases with interview data to understand processes of meaning-making at both the institutional and individual level.

In three peer-reviewed journal articles, our quantitative and qualitative analyses of federal case laws provide insights into the process by which the law is applied to new social issues at the institutional level. Our analysis of the interview data extends scholarship by utilizing a cultural sociological perspective that attends to the processes by which individuals form political opinions and make sense of the law. Overall, our analyses provide a model for how to integrate institutional and individual level data to examine political controversies. The project also generates new empirical insights into the intersections between religion and sexuality in contemporary America.

Along with advancing social science, our project achieves several broader impacts. First, we advanced discovery and understanding and added clarity to a tumultuous political issue by providing empirical evidence about individual meaning-making alongside analysis of legal discourse. We achieved maximum impact by making our research findings publicly available and accessible in two publications in public-facing venues. Second, we enhanced the infrastructure for research and education by providing training for graduate and undergraduate students. Research assistants are co-authors on publications that resulted from the study. We also integrated project findings into our undergraduate and graduate courses on sexuality, law, and religion. Third, we advanced data infrastructure and sharing. Our study resulted in two data sources that will be publicly available to researchers: a searchable database and codebook of federal case laws related to religious exemption and de-identified questionnaire responses and interview transcripts. Both forms of data will be made available five years following the completion of the project.


Last Modified: 08/10/2023
Modified by: Emily A Kazyak

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