First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is a Texas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that advocates for religious liberty and related First Amendment rights in the United States. The organization describes its work as protecting the freedom to live out religious beliefs in public life, employment, education, military service, government programs, and other institutional settings. It provides legal representation, litigation, public education, policy analysis, and communications support rather than selling conventional consumer products. The organization was founded in 1997 by attorney Kelly Shackelford under the name Liberty Legal Institute. It initially developed a profile through cases involving religious expression in public schools, government institutions, and veterans’ settings. The group later operated as Liberty Institute, adopting that name in 2009, before becoming First Liberty Institute in 2016. Its headquarters are in Plano, Texas, and its litigation generally concerns disputes arising under the First Amendment, federal religious-accommodation laws, constitutional protections for religious exercise, and related civil-rights statutes. First Liberty has represented individuals, families, religious institutions, service members, public employees, and organizations. Its cases have included school-distribution and prayer disputes, religious accommodations for employees and students, veterans’ memorials, religious objections to workplace duties, and challenges involving military vaccine requirements. The organization has participated in multiple cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, including American Legion v. American Humanist Association, Carson v. Makin, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, and Groff v. DeJoy. Several of these matters resulted in rulings that expanded or clarified protections for religious expression or accommodation, although the organization’s role in each case varied and some matters were remanded or settled rather than finally resolved in its clients’ favor. The institute is associated with the Christian conservative legal movement and has taken positions opposed to some LGBT-rights claims when those claims conflict with the religious convictions of its clients. Its litigation and public advocacy have therefore attracted both support from religious-liberty advocates and criticism from civil-rights organizations that view some of its cases as attempts to establish broad exemptions from nondiscrimination laws. The organization has also been involved in public debates over military service, abortion-related workplace accommodations, education policy, and the place of religious symbols in public settings. Beyond litigation, First Liberty operates or supports educational initiatives. Its Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy serves as a research and educational division addressing religion, civil society, constitutional government, and religious freedom. The center publishes research and essays, organizes events and educational programs, supports fellowships, and produces the Religious Liberty in the States index, which compares state-level legal protections for religious exercise. First Liberty has also been identified as a member of the advisory board of Project 2025, a conservative policy initiative associated with the Heritage Foundation. It remains an active U.S. legal-advocacy organization whose influence is primarily measured through litigation, legal education, and public policy rather than commercial sales or market share.

First Liberty Institute began in 1997 when attorney Kelly Shackelford established Liberty Legal Institute in Texas. The organization was created as a public-interest legal group focused on constitutional and religious-liberty disputes, particularly cases involving religious expression in schools, public institutions, and government programs. Its work placed it within the emerging network of conservative nonprofit legal organizations that use litigation to shape the interpretation of the First Amendment and statutory religious-accommodation protections. The organization later adopted the name Liberty Institute in 2009. During this period it pursued cases involving student religious expression, government treatment of religious speech, veterans’ ceremonies, and conflicts between religious convictions and public-sector policies. The so-called Candy Cane Case concerned a Texas student who was prevented from distributing candy canes accompanied by a religious message at a school Christmas event. Although the litigation did not produce a Supreme Court merits ruling favorable to the organization, it helped establish the group’s public profile in disputes over religious speech in schools. First Liberty also represented clients in disputes involving veterans’ memorial crosses and alleged restrictions on religious language in veterans’ services. The organization changed its name again in 2016 to First Liberty Institute. Its subsequent litigation became increasingly national in scope. It represented Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, in litigation arising from their refusal to create a custom wedding cake for a same-sex wedding. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated an earlier state-court decision and ordered reconsideration in light of Masterpiece Cakeshop, after which the Oregon Court of Appeals again found a violation of state nondiscrimination law while directing reconsideration of damages. The matter illustrated the tension between religious objections to particular services and public-accommodations laws. First Liberty also represented Dr. Eric Walsh, who alleged that Georgia’s public-health department dismissed him after reviewing sermons associated with his Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. The dispute ended in a reported settlement. In another employment-related matter, the organization represented Gerald Groff, a postal worker who objected on religious grounds to Sunday work. Groff’s case reached the Supreme Court in 2023. The Court rejected the older, highly permissive understanding of employer burden and supplied a more demanding framework for evaluating undue hardship under Title VII. Several of the organization’s most consequential matters involved public schools and religious practice. First Liberty represented Joseph Kennedy, a former high-school football coach in Washington state whose post-game prayer practice led to a dispute with his school district. In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled for Kennedy, holding that the district had violated his rights to free speech and religious exercise. First Liberty also participated in Carson v. Makin, in which the Court held that Maine’s tuition-assistance scheme could not exclude religious schools from an otherwise generally available benefit. In American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Court upheld a World War I memorial cross in Bladensburg, Maryland, concluding that its historical context did not make it unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause. Military and veterans cases have become another important part of the organization’s practice. First Liberty represented Navy SEALs and other service members who sought religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination requirements. A federal district court issued preliminary relief in early 2022, although the Supreme Court separately recognized the government’s authority to consider vaccination status in deployment decisions. Related litigation involved Air Force personnel and religious-exemption requests. A 2024 Navy settlement reportedly provided for record review, correction of certain adverse entries, and safeguards against discrimination in promotion processes. The institute has also represented federal employees and veterans in accommodation disputes. Stephanie Carter, an Army veteran and Veterans Affairs nurse practitioner, challenged the absence of a process for employees with religious objections to participating in abortion-related services. The litigation resulted in a nationwide accommodation process for VA employees. Earlier litigation concerning religious references in veterans’ services ended through mediation and settlement in 2012. In addition to litigation, First Liberty developed an educational and research arm, the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy. The center studies the relationship among religion, civil society, and democratic governance, and supports publications, public events, fellowships, and seminars. Its Religious Liberty in the States project compares state constitutional and statutory protections for religious exercise. Through these activities, First Liberty presents itself not only as a litigation organization but also as a policy and intellectual institution in the American religious-conservative movement. Its positions, particularly in cases involving LGBT rights, abortion-related services, and public religious expression, remain politically and legally contested.

• 2024

  Navy vaccine litigation settlement

  [7]Navy vaccine litigation settlementfirstliberty.org

  The Navy reached a settlement addressing records and employment consequences for service members who sought religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

• 2023

  Groff v. DeJoy ruling

  [5]Groff v. DeJoyen.wikipedia.org

  The Supreme Court clarified the Title VII standard for evaluating undue hardship in religious-accommodation cases.

• 2022

  Major Supreme Court religious-liberty victories

  [1]First Liberty Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  The Court ruled for the coach in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District and for families challenging Maine’s exclusion of religious schools in Carson v. Makin.

• 2019

  American Legion memorial-cross ruling

  [6]American Legion v. American Humanist Associationen.wikipedia.org

  The Supreme Court upheld the Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial under the Establishment Clause.

• 2016

  Renamed First Liberty Institute

  [1]First Liberty Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  The organization changed its name to First Liberty Institute.

• 2012

  Veterans Affairs religious-expression case settled

  [1]First Liberty Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  A lawsuit concerning alleged restrictions on religious language in veterans’ services ended after mediation.

• 2009

  Renamed Liberty Institute

  [1]First Liberty Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted the name Liberty Institute as its legal-advocacy work expanded.

• 1997

  Organization founded as Liberty Legal Institute

  [1]First Liberty Instituteen.wikipedia.org

  Kelly Shackelford founded the Texas nonprofit under the name Liberty Legal Institute.

A Christian conservative public-interest legal organization presenting religious liberty as a core constitutional right and litigating disputes involving religious expression, accommodation, and institutional neutrality.

• Legal services · 1997

  Religious-liberty litigation

  First Liberty represents individuals, families, religious organizations, employees, students, veterans, and service members in constitutional and statutory disputes. Its docket includes First Amendment speech and religious-exercise claims, Title VII accommodation matters, education cases, public-sector disputes, and appellate litigation.

• Research and education

  Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy

  The center is First Liberty’s research and educational division. It produces scholarship and public programming concerning religion, civil society, constitutional government, and religious freedom, and supports fellowships and seminars for students and early-career professionals.

• Index and publication

  Religious Liberty in the States

  This annual research project compares state constitutional and statutory protections for religious exercise. It is designed as a reference for policymakers, researchers, advocates, and members of the public interested in the legal conditions affecting religious liberty across the United States.

• Fellowship and professional education

  Shaftesbury Fellowship

  The fellowship provides instruction and mentorship concerning religious liberty, natural law, church–state relations, and constitutional government as part of the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy’s educational programming.

• Religious Liberty in the States

  United States

  An ongoing research and public-education initiative measuring and comparing state-level legal protections for religious exercise.

  Outcome. The project provides comparative research and policy information rather than a commercial campaign.

  Source

• 2023

  Representation in Groff v. DeJoyOther

  Background

  Postal worker Gerald Groff objected to Sunday work because of his Christian beliefs and challenged the denial of a workable religious accommodation.

  Action taken

  First Liberty represented Groff before the Supreme Court under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

  Aftermath

  The unanimous ruling clarified that religious accommodations must be evaluated under a more substantial undue-hardship standard than the previously applied de minimis approach.

  Source

• 2022

  Representation in Carson v. MakinOther

  Background

  Maine’s tuition-assistance program excluded schools that provided religious instruction, prompting families to challenge the exclusion under the Free Exercise Clause.

  Action taken

  First Liberty and the Institute for Justice represented families before the Supreme Court.

  Aftermath

  The Court ruled that Maine’s exclusion violated the Constitution and remanded the case for further proceedings.

  Source

• 2022

  Representation in Kennedy v. Bremerton School DistrictOther

  Background

  High-school coach Joseph Kennedy challenged disciplinary action connected to his practice of praying after football games.

  Action taken

  First Liberty represented Kennedy through Supreme Court litigation.

  Aftermath

  The Supreme Court ruled for Kennedy, holding that the school district violated his constitutional protections for speech and religious exercise.

  Source

• 2021

  Challenge to military COVID-19 vaccine requirementsStrategy

  Background

  Service members represented by First Liberty sought religious exemptions from Department of Defense vaccination requirements and alleged that disciplinary measures threatened their careers and service.

  Action taken

  First Liberty filed litigation for Navy SEALs and other service members, seeking injunctions and religious accommodations.

  Aftermath

  A district court issued preliminary relief in 2022; later proceedings included Supreme Court consideration of deployment authority and a Navy settlement in 2024.

  Source

1. 1First Liberty Instituteen.wikipedia.org
2. 2First Liberty Institute official websitefirstliberty.org
3. 3Kennedy v. Bremerton School Districten.wikipedia.org
4. 4Carson v. Makinen.wikipedia.org
5. 5Groff v. DeJoyen.wikipedia.org
6. 6American Legion v. American Humanist Associationen.wikipedia.org
7. 7Navy vaccine litigation settlementfirstliberty.org