Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

August 9, 2024

Why This Orthodox Rabbi Supports an Adoption Agency’s Right to Discriminate against Jews

Protecting religious freedom.

In 2022, a Jewish couple in Tennessee sued the Holston United Methodist Home for Children for refusing to enroll them in its certification program for parents planning to adopt children—on the grounds that it only offers its services to fellow Christians. The suit aims to challenge a 2020 state law that permits denominational adoption agencies to discriminate on religious grounds. Avi Shafran, an Orthodox rabbi and activist, explains why he believes the law should be upheld:

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