Source: The Washington Post
Do you see religious liberty as under threat in America? The debate over GOP candidates’ comments about Islam reveal how bitterly divided Americans are over how to view a basic right.
For the last few years, several of the biggest and most influential religious groups have made the cause of religious freedom a top priority, saying a crisis is afoot. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Mormon Church and many prominent faith leaders have focused intensely on a campaign for religious liberty, saying that it is threatened by liberalizing changes like gay marriage and expanded access to reproductive services like contraception and abortion.
Massive fundraising and public awareness campaigns have gone on, with slogans coined like the bishops’ “Fortnight for Freedom.” Advocacy groups have been formed or reshaped to focus on education and litigation about the threat to religious liberty.
Yet in the fall, when Republican presidential candidates filled the airwaves with dramatic statements about the rights of Muslims, there has been largely silence. Ben Carson in September said a Muslim “absolutely” couldn’t be president. In early November, businessman Donald Trump said he would “absolutely” require a database to track Muslims. Last week former senator Rick Santorum said the constitution does not protect Islam, which “is different from Christianity.”
It was only when Trump on Monday proposed banning all Muslims from the country that a few religious liberty leaders spoke out. The comments ranged in their sense of urgency.
Within a few hours Russell Moore, leader of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, slammed Trump’s proposal, saying that “anyone who cares an iota about religious liberty should denounce this reckless, demagogic rhetoric.”
On Tuesday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a brief press release simply citing two statements from their founder, Joseph Smith, mandating Mormons to care for other faiths’ freedoms as their own. It didn’t mention any candidates by name. Other prominent religious liberty leaders said they couldn’t comment on political campaigns.
Categories: America, Religion, The Muslim Times