For Immediate Release
October 6, 2017
Media contact: Cherilyn Crowe / [email protected] / Cell: 202-670-5877 / Office: 202-544-4226
WASHINGTON – Today, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty responded to the memorandum issued by the Department of Justice interpreting religious liberty protections in federal law.
The following statement is from Holly Hollman, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty:
“As expected since its May 4 Rose Garden ceremony, the Trump administration today released guidance from the attorney general outlining ‘Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty.’
In large part, the guidance restates much settled law, though with a decided tilt toward concerns of free exercise, giving short shrift to the government’s duty to avoid ‘no establishment’ concerns. In a couple of areas, the guidance will exacerbate controversy. The guidance treats complicated legal issues, such as the definition of ‘substantial burden’ on religious exercise and the interplay between religious autonomy and government funding, in an overly simplistic way.”
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The Baptist Joint Committee’s statement issued after the May 4 Executive Order can be found here: https://bjconline.org/bjc-executive-order-does-not-advance-religious-liberty/
Based in Washington, D.C., the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty is an 81-year-old religiously based organization working to defend religious freedom for all people and protect the institutional separation of church and state in the historic Baptist tradition.
Learn more at BJConline.org.
