The Center for Law and Religious Freedom has been a respected voice in the First Amendment arena since 1975. The Center's primary mission is to defend and advance the religious freedom of all Americans. In 1993, the Center expanded its mission to include defending the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.

The Center pursues its mission through "test case" litigation, friend-of-the-court briefs, governmental affairs advocacy, and providing information to CLS members and the general public.

The Center’s current primary goal is to favorably resolve unsettled but important questions of law through test case litigation.  Those unsettled but important questions of law are as follows:

• To what extent does the Constitution protect religious organizations from the government’s application of religion and sexual orientation non-discrimination rules;
• To what extent does the Constitution forbid government from discriminating against religion in the funding context; and
• To what extent does the law protect the consciences of pro-life health care providers.

The Center is pursuing favorable resolution of these questions through test case lawsuits primarily on behalf of the following groups:

• Faith-based social service providers;
• Religious educational institutions;
• Religious student groups at public universities; and
• Pro-life health care providers.

In these test cases, Center attorneys often represent the Association of Faith-Based Organizations, an association of religious schools, social service providers, denominations, and other religious groups that cherish the freedom to organize around shared religious commitments.