WASHINGTON (ABP) — Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) called for Americans to defend the principle of religious liberty at home and abroad April 7, with special emphasis on foreign policy and a controversial piece of domestic legislation.
In a Capitol Hill speech at the annual religious liberty banquet of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the senator and former first lady spoke passionately about the need to encourage the growth of religious freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan and to pass a bill designed to protect employees' religious rights in the United States.
“From my perspective, religious liberty is one of the most important issues on the world stage today,” Clinton said. “Our nation has been, I would argue, the exemplar of religious freedom and tolerance amongst a diverse people.”
Clinton said maintaining that tradition is what has inspired her again to be a Senate co-sponsor of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. The bill would give employees greater legal protections for practicing their faith in the workplace by placing the legal burden of proof on employers. An employer would have to show that a decision it makes that limits a worker's religious freedom is absolutely necessary to avoid significant hardship to the employer.
Some civil-rights groups have opposed the bill, saying the way it currently is written could end up having unintended effects. In particular, gay-rights groups are worried the legislation would create room for employees to defend homophobic or harassing behavior as religious practice that can't be curtailed by employers.
But Clinton, as she has in every session of Congress since she joined the Senate in 2001, supports the bill. “A part of America's challenge and obligation in the 21st century is to … maintain the tradition of religious freedom here at home,” she told banquet participants.
Noting that religious liberty “is often the bellwether of human rights” around the world, Clinton said America needs to encourage the new Iraqi and Afghan governments to create strong protections for that freedom.
Recalling a recent trip she took to visit troops in Iraq, she said, “I was both heartened by the elections in Iraq and the elections in Afghanistan and the progress being made and sobered by the challenges that remain.”
Clinton also paid homage to the late Pope John Paul II's advocacy for religious freedom around the world. “We lost a great force for religious tolerance and understanding in the pope,” she said.
The Senate version of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act is S. 677. The House version is H.R. 1445.