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Becket

U.S. conservative-leaning (religious liberty advocacy)

Owned byIndependent nonprofit; governed by a board of directors that has included Leonard Leo, a prominent figure in conservative judicial circles, since 2015
FundingPrivate donations, primarily from individual donors (approximately 70% of revenue), typically in contributions of $25,000–$100,000; annual revenue approximately $18.8 million as of 2024
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

Founded in 1994 by Kevin 'Seamus' Hasson, a lawyer who had worked in the Reagan-era Justice Department, Becket takes its name from St. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury martyred for defying royal authority over the Church. Hasson led the organization until 2011, when Parkinson's disease forced his retirement; Mark Rienzi became president and CEO. The organization rebranded from 'Becket Fund for Religious Liberty' to simply 'Becket' around 2013–2014. Its highest-profile victories include the 2014 Burwell v. Hobby Lobby ruling, which allowed closely held corporations to deny contraception coverage on religious grounds, and repeated wins on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor against federal contraception mandates. Becket describes itself as nonpartisan and says it defends religious liberty for all faiths, including minority and non-Christian groups. Critics, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Catholics for Choice, characterize it as a vehicle for right-wing religious-liberty expansionism that erodes reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ protections. The organization's board connections to Leonard Leo — a central architect of the conservative legal movement — reinforce that characterization. Under the Trump second term, Becket and the administration have largely moved in the same direction on religious exemptions, co-filing in a 2025 Supreme Court prison religious-rights case.

Sources

  1. Becket (law firm) — Wikipedia
  2. About Us — Becket
  3. Becket Fund for Religious Liberty — InfluenceWatch
  4. Becket — Supreme Transparency
  5. The Becket Fund: weaponizing religious freedom — Americans United
  6. Becket Fund: Shadow Agents of the Religious Right — Catholics for Choice
  7. Former inmate joined by Becket, Trump administration in Supreme Court religious rights case — Deseret News
  8. Thirty years on, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty seeks to protect natural right — Washington Times
  9. Profiles on the Right: The Becket Fund — Political Research Associates

Profile compiled 2026-08-13; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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