Gay weddings need gay wedding cakes. But if Christian caterers can legally refuse service to gay couples, on the basis that homosexuality is a sin, are the victories of the LGBTQ movement in jeopardy? Might America be headed toward Jim Crow–style discrimination against gay people?

Is the United States public being forced to make a zero-sum choice between religious freedom and civil rights?

These are the anxious questions of analysts struggling to make sense of religious freedom legislation recently taken up in Indiana, Arkansas, and other states around the country. These bills — known as Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs) — aim to protect religious actors from policies that burden their religious practices.