FreeBYU is an advocacy organization dedicated to changing

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU) policies such that students can have an environment of religious and academic freedom. Current policies as of 2025 policies prevent students who enroll in the university as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...

) are not able to express a change in religious beliefs or express their lack thereof without risk of being evicted from their student homes, fired from their campus jobs, or expelled from the university. Currently BYU does not allow students who enrolled as Latter-day Saints to change their religious affiliation, and FreeBYU is advocating for university policy to apply the same standards for formerly LDS students as it does for non-LDS students, including charging a higher tuition rate.

Actions

The organization has petitioned the university, as well as several of its accreditors with statements that BYU does not meet national requirements for religious freedom. These include the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

and the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

which resulted in a change to BYU's honor code in 2016. Shortly after FreeBYU's complaint to the American Bar Association in 2016, BYU had added an "Application for Exception" clause that would theoretically enable a formerly LDS applicant to be enrolled if there were "compelling," "extenuating," and "unusual circumstances." A BYU spokesperson stated in 2017 that the university believes it is in full compliance with accreditation standards and offers the option of applying for a religious exemption, though, FreeBYU states that exemptions are not being granted and students are discouraged from applying for them. In 2015 the group persuaded the president of the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profess ...

Mark Juergensmeyer Mark Juergensmeyer (born 1940 in Carlinville, Illinois) is an American Sociology, sociologist and scholar specialized in global studies and religious studies, and a writer best known for his studies on comparative religion, religious violence, an ...

, to decline to speak at BYU's 2015 International Law and Religion Symposium in protest of the university's denial of religious freedom to their students.

Media coverage

The group's advocacy has received television coverage as well as nationwide newspaper coverage including in ''

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'', ''

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'', and ''

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''.

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Media coverage

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See also