Eric Kniffin

Fellow

Eric Kniffin is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he works on a range of initiatives to protect and strengthen religious liberty as part of EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project.

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Eric Kniffin is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he works on a range of initiatives to protect and strengthen religious liberty as part of EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project.

Kniffin has been an attorney focusing on religious liberty for almost 20 years. As an attorney in Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice during the George W. Bush Administration, he helped enforce the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons (CRIPA), and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). As legal counsel at the Becket Fund, he contributed to landmark religious liberty decisions including Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.

In private practice, Kniffin has protected hundreds of religious employers from the HHS contraception and abortifacient mandate and the HHS gender transition mandate. He has represented the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Knights of Columbus, and the Assemblies of God, among others, in amicus briefs before the Supreme Court. His work helping religious organizations understand, maximize, and defend their religious liberties has made him a nationally recognized expert in the field.

Kniffin is a sought-after commentator on religious liberty issues and has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Huffington Post, National Catholic Register, Inside Higher Ed, and Washington Times, and has spoken regularly for The Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation.

Kniffin holds a B.A. in philosophy from Wheaton College and received a M.A. in theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary before earning his J.D. at Notre Dame Law School. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Bonnie, and their seven children.

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EPPC Scholar Urges Washington State Not to Pressure Clergy to Violate Seal of the Confessional

Eric Kniffin

On February 4, 2025, EPPC Fellow Eric N. Kniffin of the Administrative State Accountability Project offered public testimony before the Washington State…

Articles

PDF / March 7, 2025

EPPC Files Amicus Brief Defending Religious Employer’s Right to Faith-Based Hiring 

Eric Kniffin

On February 3, 2025, EPPC fellow Eric Kniffin filed a Ninth Circuit amicus brief in Union Gospel Mission v. Ferguson…

Articles

PDF / February 24, 2025

EPPC Scholars Call Agencies’ Attention to Biden-Era Proposals that Conflict with Trump Executive Orders  

Eric Kniffin, Rachel N. Morrison

In the early weeks of the Trump Administration, EPPC Administrative State Accountability Project scholars Rachel N. Morrison, Eric Kniffin, and…

Articles

 

Trump Ends Government Promotion of Gender Ideology and Child Mutilation

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson, Theresa Farnan

Trump’s ban on gender transitioning has turned the tide on an indefensible cult,” writes Telegraph columnist Suzanne Moore. “The pretense that sex can…

Articles

First Things / January 31, 2025

EPPC Scholars Oppose Proposed Speech Code for DC Attorneys

Eric Kniffin, Rachel N. Morrison

On January 13, 2024, EPPC scholars Rachel N. Morrison and Eric Kniffin submitted a comment letter to the District of…

Articles

PDF / January 14, 2025

EPPC Scholars Submit Comment Opposing Proposed Rule Mandating OTC Contraception Coverage 

Eric Kniffin, Jamie Bryan Hall, Natalie Dodson

On December 27, 2024, EPPC Scholars Eric Kniffin, Natalie Dodson, and Jamie Bryan Hall submitted a public comment opposing a…

Articles

PDF / January 7, 2025

Resisting the deep state

Eric Kniffin, Natalie Dodson, Rachel N. Morrison

How a small team of attorneys is beating back federal agency overreach.

Articles, Interviews

WORLD / December 1, 2024

EPPC Scholars File Supreme Court Brief in Support of Texas’ Pornography Website Age Verification Law

Brad Littlejohn, Clare Morell, Eric Kniffin, Rachel N. Morrison

On November 22, 2024, EPPC fellows Eric Kniffin and Rachel N. Morrison filed a Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of EPPC…

Articles

PDF / November 25, 2024

EPPC Scholars Ask HHS to Withdraw Rule Standardizing Gender Ideology Terms in Medical Records and…

Eric Kniffin

On Friday, October 4, 2024, EPPC scholar Eric Kniffin submitted a public comment on a proposed rule by the Department of Health and Human…

Articles

PDF / November 6, 2024

EPPC Scholars Submit Comment Opposing HHS’s Interim Final Rule That Unlawfully Rewrites Sex Discrimination Regulations

Eric Kniffin, Rachel N. Morrison

On November 1, 2024, EPPC scholars Eric Kniffin and Rachel Morrison submitted a public comment opposing an interim final rule (IFR)…

Articles

PDF / November 6, 2024

EPPC Scholars Meet with Government Officials to Urge Respect for Religious Exercise and Rights of…

Eric Kniffin

On Thursday, September 26, 2024, EPPC scholar Eric Kniffin met with government officials in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) to…

Archives

PDF / November 6, 2024

EPPC Scholars Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Law Protecting Minors from Harmful “Gender Transitions”

Eric Kniffin, Mary Rice Hasson

On October 16, 2024, EPPC scholars filed two amicus briefs in United States v. Skrmetti, in support of Tennessee’s right…

Articles

PDF / October 22, 2024