A Religious Liberty Resolution at the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention

Religious liberty is one of the most misunderstood and imperiled freedoms under attack in the United States. Elements on both the Right and the Left have waged campaigns against religious liberty.

One law in particular, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), is under constant assault.  Wrongly accused of allowing for discrimination, critics of RFRA have even acted to introduce clarifying language to the bill that would subsequently weaken RFRA’s provisions.

These are odd times, especially considering the bipartisan consensus surrounding RFRA’s passage in 1993. Signed into law by President Clinton, RFRA united a wide coalition of religious freedom advocates. Sadly, the politicization of religious liberty is now leading to attacks on RFRA. It is necessary that Americans stand up and defend sound laws like RFRA from those who demonize it. It’s time to reaffirm the truth that RFRA represents the best of the American tradition as it relates to religious liberty.

As a result, I have drafted and submitted a resolution for this year’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis on the topic of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Titled, “A Resolution in Support of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” the text of the resolution reads:

WHEREAS, God alone is Lord of the conscience and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it (Acts 5:29); and
WHEREAS, Advocacy for religious liberty is consistent with the teachings of the Holy Bible (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 6:6-7,24; 16:26; 22:21; John 8:36; Acts 4:19-20; Romans 6:1-2; 13:1-7; Galatians 5:1,13; Philippians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; James 4:12; 1 Peter 2:12-17; 3:11-17; 4:12-19); and
WHEREAS, Support for religious liberty is an expressed tenet of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (XVII); and
WHEREAS, A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power; and
WHEREAS, Religious liberty is America’s “First Freedom” and has a rich legacy in American history; and
WHEREAS, The Religious Freedom Restoration Act received bipartisan support and was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed into law by President William Jefferson Clinton in 1993; and
WHEREAS, The Religious Freedom Restoration Act united a broad coalition of support from across the political spectrum at the time of its introduction; and
WHEREAS, The Religious Freedom Restoration Act restored the careful balancing test for weighing claims of religious liberty infringement against a compelling government interest using the least restrictive means; and
WHEREAS, Diverse religious groups have sought relief from government infringement of religious exercise by appealing to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act; and
WHEREAS, The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is undergoing unprecedented political assault and calls for weakening its provisions are occurring with increasing frequency; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Saint Louis, Missouri, June 14-15, 2016, wish to express their continued support for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as it was passed in 1993; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we call on government officials to ignore requests that would tamper or weaken the original provisions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we lament the fractured consensus and politicization of religious liberty and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we express support for any and all legislation that would seek to preserve the sacred value of religious liberty.

Given the threat to religious liberty happening across America, I am hopeful and prayerful that my fellow Southern Baptists will join me in voicing our continued support for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and send the message to our legislative officials not to weaken or tamper with this law.