Church leaders still have questions about the Respect for Marriage Act — the federal law signed by President Joe Biden on December 13, 2022 — and what it means for the religious liberty of their congregations. Church Law & Tax, whose explainer was republished by ChurchLeaders this week, offers a clear summary of what the Act does and, just as important, what it does not do.

The Act, passed in 2022, requires the federal government to recognize a marriage when it was valid in the place where it was entered into, and it repealed the remaining provisions of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. It also requires every state to recognize legally valid marriages from other states, regardless of the sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of the spouses. In short, it put the federal government's recognition of same-sex and interracial marriage into federal statute.

But Congress also wrote explicit protections for churches and other nonprofit religious organizations into the same law. Under Section 6 of the Act, no church or qualifying religious nonprofit can be required to perform or host a marriage celebration under the law's provisions. And a refusal covered by that protection does not create a civil claim or cause of action — in plain terms, the Act itself cannot be used as the legal basis for a lawsuit against a church that declines to host or officiate a wedding on religious grounds.

Section 6 goes further. It states that the Act cannot be interpreted to diminish or eliminate religious-liberty or conscience protections already available under the First Amendment or other federal law. Congress did not replace the Constitution's protections, the article explains; it expressly left them in place. The Act also says it cannot be used to deny or alter a church's tax-exempt status or certain other benefits that do not arise from marriage.

There are limits church leaders should understand. The Act does not erase every legal question a church may face. It does not resolve federal, state, or local issues involving employment, facilities, public accommodations, or other activities — areas where other laws and court rulings still apply. The law's protections are specific, and wisdom calls for churches to know both what the Act covers and what it leaves untouched.

The bottom line offered by the explainer is this: the Respect for Marriage Act recognizes certain marriages under federal law while preserving specified protections for churches and nonprofit religious organizations. Churches remain free to order their own houses of worship according to their faith.

For Christians, the lesson is twofold. First, give thanks that religious-liberty protections were written into the law — a reminder that vigilance in the public square bears fruit. Second, do not mistake a single statute for the whole shield. The Church's freedom ultimately rests not on any act of Congress but on the Lord, and pastors are wise to know the law, keep good records, and govern their churches in open fidelity to Scripture so that every position they take is plainly and visibly a matter of faith.