A Tennessee court is considering a religious-freedom
dispute involving a Jewish couple who says a
state-funded Christian adoption provider declined to
work with them because of their faith.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram
are challenging Tennessee's child-placement system
after a Christian organization declined to provide
services they needed while seeking to adopt a child.
The dispute began in 2021, when the couple sought to
adopt a child with a disability from Florida.
To complete the adoption, they needed foster-parent
training and a home-study certification in Tennessee.
The couple contacted Holston United Methodist Home
for Children, a Christian organization that received
state funding and provided the certification services
they needed in their area.
According to the couple's lawsuit, Holston initially
agreed to work with them but later declined after
learning they were Jewish.
The organization has maintained that its adoption
services are provided in accordance with its Christian
beliefs and that prospective families must share its
religious convictions.
At the center of the dispute is a Tennessee law
enacted in 2020 that protects licensed child-placement
agencies from being required to provide services that
conflict with their written religious or moral
convictions or policies.
The Rutan-Rams are challenging Tennessee officials
rather than seeking to force Holston directly to
change its religious beliefs.
Their attorneys argue that Tennessee should not use
taxpayer funds to administer child-placement services
in a way that allows prospective parents to be denied
services because of their religion.
Supporters of protections for faith-based adoption
providers argue that religious organizations should
not be forced by the government to abandon their
religious convictions as a condition of participating
in adoption and foster-care programs.
The case therefore raises competing religious-liberty
questions: whether families should receive equal
access to publicly funded services regardless of
their faith, and whether faith-based organizations
should remain free to operate according to their
religious beliefs while working with the state.
The couple later became foster parents directly
through Tennessee and reportedly cared for nearly
40 children over four years. They also adopted one
of their long-term foster children in 2025.
The latest proceedings continue a legal battle that
could help determine how Tennessee balances religious
freedom, equal access to government-funded services
and the participation of faith-based organizations
in its child-placement system.
