Arizona courts could not rely on religious sectarian law as authority

A court could not rely on any religious sectarian law as controlling or persuasive authority. The rule applies to courts, and the bill says it also applies to a federal court sitting in diversity jurisdiction. Religious sectarian law means any statute, tenet, or body of law evolving within and binding a specific religious sect or tribe. It does not include U.S. or state law based on Anglo-American legal tradition and the principles on which the United States was founded.

The rule would not apply to three kinds of law. The exceptions are statutes and case law developed in the United States and its territories based on Anglo-American legal tradition, law inherited from Great Britain before the article takes effect, and recognition of a traditional marriage between a man and a woman officiated by clergy or a secular official of the couple's choice.

Any court reading the act must choose the reading that limits the power of Congress and federal courts to impose religious sectarian law and protects Arizona's authority over its own courts. This applies to courts that interpret the act. If any part of the act is held invalid, the rest remains in effect.