The act provides legal protection against "religious discrimination" for those opposed to abortion, other reproductive health services, and LGBTQ+ rights. It dictates that, with some exceptions, the federal government cannot substantially "burden a person’s exercise of religion."

It has been used to advocate for the right to deny contraception, to fire teachers in religious schools who become pregnant outside of marriage or through in vitro fertilization (IVF), and to deny services to LGBTQ+ people.