Written by Don Byrd
Yesterday, I posted a review of the Obama Administration’s 8 years in handling certain church-state issues. Today, the Baptist Joint Committee’s Holly Hollman looks ahead at religious liberty issues that may be on the horizon in the Trump Administration.
At the beginning, she lays out one of the problems in anticipating the next few years: we are not too clear where the new President stands on certain specifics. One thing we do know is what he has said on the campaign trail.
Here is an excerpt from a section of her column devoted to his public statements:
Most worrisome are some of Trump’s statements regarding Muslims, particularly those about potential bans and registries. Whether these particular policies or others are actually pursued, rhetoric singling out for detrimental treatment a group of people based on religion harms religious liberty.
As BJC supporters and allies know, Donald Trump becomes president at a time when the meaning of religious liberty is being debated in challenging contexts. Reckless, ill-informed and careless statements can harm understanding and undercut support for religious freedom. We need a greater understanding and appreciation of what the American tradition of religious liberty has meant for our country and the world, and we need leaders who will carefully tend to that legacy.
In other sections, Hollman discusses what we know about his policy and presidential appointment opportunities. Read the whole thing.
