THE BBI FRAMEWORK
The Five Freedoms:
The Biblical Business Index Framework
The Biblical Business Index evaluates legislation through five freedoms Christian employers need to operate faithfully, responsibly, and freely.
Every bill is measured against the same question:
How does this legislation affect the Five Freedoms of Christian employers?
THE FIVE FREEDOMS
The Scoring Framework
First Freedom
The Freedom to Remain Faithful.
The ability of Christian employers and organizations to operate according to sincerely held religious beliefs without being forced by government to violate conscience, abandon religious standards, or surrender protections for religious exercise.
This includes issues involving:
Religious liberty • Conscience • Religious hiring • Compelled speech • Viewpoint discrimination • Religious exemptions • Faith-based participation in government programs
Faith does not stop at the workplace door.
Economic Freedom
The Freedom to Steward, Build, Invest and Participate.
The ability of employers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, churches, and individuals to steward financial resources, access capital, invest, save, transact, and participate in the economy without unnecessary government interference.
This includes:
Taxation • Small-business regulation • Banking • Capital access • Financial privacy • Retirement • Digital currency • Digital assets • Regulatory cost
Freedom to start. Freedom to grow. Freedom to create opportunity.
Healthcare Freedom
The Freedom to Make Healthcare Decisions Consistent With Conscience and Choice.
The ability of employers and individuals to make healthcare and health-benefit decisions consistent with conscience, affordability, competition, and individual choice.
This includes:
Employer health plans • ERISA • Self-insurance • PBMs • Association health plans • HSAs • Healthcare-sharing ministries • Conscience-sensitive coverage mandates
Caring for employees should not require surrendering conscience or control.
Workforce Freedom
The Freedom to Build Lawful, Voluntary Working Relationships.
The ability of employers and employees to establish lawful, voluntary working relationships without unnecessary government interference in compensation, scheduling, benefits, workplace structure, or worker classification.
This includes:
Independent contractors • Joint employer • Franchising • Labor relations • Wages • Overtime • Paid leave • Scheduling • Portable benefits • AI-assisted employment decisions
The workplace should be shaped by responsible employers and employees -- not unnecessary government mandates.
Operational Freedom
The Freedom to Run the Organization You Are Responsible For.
The ability of employers to manage day-to-day operations without disproportionate regulatory, administrative, reporting, litigation, or compliance burdens.
This includes:
Federal mandates • Agency authority • Reporting • Audits • Documentation • Data and privacy • AI compliance • Federal contracting • Litigation exposure • Technology deployment
Government should protect freedom, not micromanage the workplace.
HOW IT WORKS
How the BBI Uses the Five Freedoms
Positive scores mean legislation protects or expands freedom.
Zero means there is no meaningful direct effect on that Freedom.
Negative scores mean legislation restricts or threatens freedom.
IMPORTANT NOTE
The BBI Score is not the same thing as CEA's Position. A BBI Score measures a bill's effect on the Five Freedoms objectively. CEA's legislative position and issue priority are separate, human-approved judgments that reflect organizational strategy, advocacy timing, and member priorities.
CURRENT POLICY PRIORITIES
Where CEA Action Is Focused Now
CEA Action monitors legislation across all Five Freedoms. These are the priority areas receiving active attention right now.
Religious Liberty & Faith-Based Hiring
Conscience protections, religious hiring rights, exemptions from compelled speech, and faith-based participation in government programs.
View Resources →Financial Privacy & Digital Currency
CBDC surveillance risks, digital asset regulation, and the restoration of House anti-CBDC safeguards in the CLARITY Act.
View Key Vote →Employer Healthcare Freedom
Employer-sponsored health plans, conscience-sensitive coverage mandates, healthcare-sharing ministries, and benefit design flexibility.
View Tracked Bills →Banking & Capital Access
Debanking of faith-based organizations, ESG-driven lending discrimination, and fair capital access for Christian employers.
View Tracked Bills →Workforce Regulation
Worker classification, joint employer standards, labor relations mandates, and federal overtime and leave requirements affecting Christian employers.
View Tracked Bills →Government Overreach & Operational Freedom
Agency rulemaking, regulatory compliance burdens, DEI mandates, and federal rules that restrict how Christian employers manage their organizations.
View Government Relations →SEE IT IN ACTION
Apply the Framework
See how every tracked bill scores against the Five Freedoms, and look up any lawmaker's record through the Biblical Business Index.