By Bob Allen
The head of a Baptist group that specializes in religious liberty said today he does not support controversial bills pitting religious conservatives against supporters of gay marriage in Arkansas and Indiana.
J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Washington-based Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, said in a statement April 1 that neither measure attains the delicate balance between individual freedom and the common good that exists in the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed in 1993 with backing from a diverse religious coalition led by the BJC.
Walker said the federal RFRA, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton to restore heightened protection for religious liberty weakened by a Supreme Court ruling in 1990, remains important today.
After the Supreme Court struck down a part of the federal RFRA, several states adopted their own versions to prevent the government from substantially burdening a person’s religious exercise unless it is for a compelling state interest achieved by the least-restrictive means.
Recently such proposals have turned into political minefields, as legislatures add nuances to take into account recent controversies involving small business owners like bakers, florists and photographers who, motivated by their religious beliefs, violate laws requiring public accommodation by refusing services to same-sex weddings.
Walker said state RFRA measures are also important to ensure heightened protection for religious liberty for all Americans, but they should mirror the delicate balance achieved in the federal law.
“Both Indiana and Arkansas passed legislation that falls short of that goal in several ways, tilting the balance in favor of religious claimants and against the government’s ability to protect other compelling interests,” Walker said. “RFRAs allow us to protect religious liberty with an eye to the well-being of society and rights of third parties, including civil rights of the LGBT community and others.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence admitted March 31 that he mishandled the passage of a religious liberty bill he signed into law March 26 and now wants additional legislation to clarify that it does not give anyone the right to discriminate in the state.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison said April 1 that he does not plan to sign a religious liberty bill passed by the General Assembly without changes so that it mirrors the federal law.
Walker, an ordained Baptist minister and graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, urged voices on both sides of current RFRA controversies to chill.
“We need to tone down our hyperbolic rhetoric and understand that our supposed ‘enemies’ are really our neighbors and fellow citizens,” Walker said.
“For our conservative Christian friends, try loving your LGBT neighbors unconditionally and understand that providing them goods and services in the marketplace is an act of Christian hospitality, not an indication of approval of their nuptial decisions.
“To our LGBT friends, try extending grace to others who have religiously informed objections to same-sex marriage and not ask them, in their eyes, to participate in your marital ceremony. Give that privilege to businesses who will celebrate your marriage along with you.”
While not easy in today’s polarized political climate, Walker said he believes it is possible to pass compromise legislation that protects both religious liberty for all and non-discrimination.
“We can make this happen and create a both/and world — judicially, politically and socially,” Walker said. “If we don’t do it, all Americans — and America itself — will be the poorer.”
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