Our legal foundation
The First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act protect the exercise of sincere religious belief—subject to careful, fact-specific legal standards.
Protects religious belief and the free exercise of religion.
Requires the federal government to justify a substantial burden on sincere religious exercise under a demanding legal test.
Sincerity, safety, accountability, and protection against diversion matter.
RFRA claims are evaluated individually. No organization receives an automatic exemption merely by identifying itself as religious.
Religious Freedom Restoration Act enacted.
Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418.
Church of the Holy Light of the Queen v. Mukasey, 615 F. Supp. 2d 1210.
Church of the Eagle and the Condor reached a federal settlement concerning its religious use of ayahuasca.
These matters involved their own records, practices, and legal outcomes.
Divine Science Society is organized as a California religious nonprofit and has received recognition as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
DSS maintains that its sincere religious beliefs and its structured sacramental practices are protected by the First Amendment and RFRA. We approach those practices with intention, member education, safety protocols, accountability, and safeguards against diversion.
This statement describes DSS’s position and general legal framework. It is not a representation that religious status creates an automatic exemption from federal or state law.
We honor our beliefs by practicing them with clarity, responsibility, and care.
Awakening isn’t about escaping reality.
It is about becoming more conscious within it.