Written by Don Byrd
In the wake of calls for the United States to deny Syrian refugees unless they are Christian, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) promised yesterday that there would be “no religious test” in the bill addressing the situation.
Huffington Post reports:
[T]he House will take up legislation this week that will effectively “pause” the Syrian refugee program. But “I will also point out that we will not have a religious test, only a security test,” Ryan said of the bill in one of his first speeches as speaker on the House floor.
That is good news, which is not to say the bill is a good or a bad idea, but only that explicitly allowing only Christian refugees, or denying Muslim refugees, as some have proposed, would surely be inappropriate, and undermine our promise of religious liberty.
Let’s hope the application of the law, if it passes, is as non-discriminatory as its language apparently will be.
[UPDATE: You can read the bill here. It covers applicants for admission to the United States as refugees from Iraq or Syria, and does not mention the applicant’s religion. The bill passed the House 289-137.]
