Louisiana ranks #13 overall out of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions for its friendliness towards faith-based nonprofit organizations. Louisiana has several laws that facilitate the contributions of faith-based nonprofits, including a broad automatic exemption from charitable registration requirements for religious organizations, no audit requirement to solicit donations in the state, and a RFRA statute. Louisiana, however, has some policies that are burdensome to faith-based nonprofits operating in the state, such as state sales tax with only narrow exemptions on religious organizations’ sales and purchases, and no protections for religious exercise during a state of emergency.
The Louisiana Constitution follows in lockstep with the federal constitution’s protections, meeting but not exceeding the required minimum protections of the First Amendment (as currently interpreted by the US Supreme Court).
Louisiana has enacted a RFRA that protects the religious free exercise of all individuals and entities by requiring government burdens on religious exercise to satisfy strict scrutiny. Since the RFRA is a statute rather than a state constitutional provision, Louisiana does not receive the highest score for this factor.
Louisiana’s nondiscrimination laws generally restrict religious freedom for religious organizations that offer public programming and facilities and provide no meaningful religious accommodations or exemptions.
Louisiana’s nondiscrimination laws related to employment protect religious freedom by excluding organizations operated exclusively for religious purposes from the definition of “employer.”
The Louisiana Constitution does not contain a Blaine Amendment but also does not expressly protect faith-based organizations’ freedom to participate in public benefit programs on the same terms as similarly situated secular institutions.
Louisiana nonprofit corporation law includes certain provisions to protect religious nonprofits’ right to self-government in internal affairs in some situations but does not include comprehensive laws specific to nonprofit religious corporations.
Louisiana law permits a director, in the fulfillment of the director’s fiduciary duties, to rely only on the opinions of certain individuals retained by the corporation and does not expressly allow a director to rely on guidance from religious figures within his or her faith tradition.
Louisiana imposes property tax but, upon application, generally provides an exemption to religious organizations for property used for religious and/or charitable purposes.
