The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
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| Headquarters | 1200 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington D.C. 20036 |
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| Major practice areas | Religious Liberty Litigation |
| Key people | William P. Mumma (President & Chairman of the Board), Kristina Arriaga (Executive Director) |
| Date founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Kevin "Seamus" Hasson (President Emeritus) |
| Company type | Non-profit organization |
| Slogan | Defending the religious rights of people from “A to Z,” from Anglicans to Zoroastrians |
| Website | |
| http://www.becketfund.org | |
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. that describes itself as "a non-profit, public interest law firm defending the freedom of religion of people of all faiths." The Becket Fund is active in the judicial system, the media, and in education.
The Becket Fund was founded in 1994 by Kevin Hasson, who had previously worked at the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department and the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly, in which capacity he became well-known and controversial for defending Catholic University's decision to fire Charles Curran for his opposition to Church doctrine despite his being a respected moral theologian. Hasson named The Becket Fund after Saint Thomas Becket, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170 during the reign of King Henry II of England. A long series of quarrels with King Henry ended with Becket's murder and martyrdom at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. His last words were an acceptance of death in defense of the church of Christ.
In 2011 Hasson stepped down as President of the Becket Fund, making way for William P. Mumma who has since served as the President and Chairman of the Board. Kristina Arriaga has been the Executive Director of the Becket Fund since 2010 and a member of the firm since 1995.
As of 2014, the Fund had eleven litigating attorneys, and an estimated budget of five million dollars. The firm operates as a non-profit.
The Fund's stated mission is to "protect the free expression of all religious traditions." Clients have included Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and Zoroastrians. The organization maintains that "freedom of religion is a basic human right that no government may lawfully deny; it is not a gift of the state, but instead is rooted in the inherent dignity of the human person. Religious expression (of all traditions) is a natural part of life in a free society, and religious arguments (on all sides of a question) are a normal and healthy element of public debate. Religious people and institutions are entitled to participate in public life on an equal basis with everyone else, and should not be excluded for professing their faith."
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