The world lost a great American statesman last week when former Senator Mark Hatfield (R-OR) passed away at the age of 89. As Bob Allen notes in his ABP story, Hatfield was a Baptist who "worked closely with the BJC" during his Senate tenure, helping to pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Equal Access Act.
In an era when many of his fellow Republicans warmed to the Religious Right’s blending of religion and politics, he remained a staunch advocate of the separation of church and state.
“A life-long Baptist, Mark Hatfield took his faith seriously,” recalled Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. “He integrated his Christianity into his public life, but without judging or coercing others to do the same.”
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He once described former BJC head James Dunn, who retired in 1999, as one of his mentors and credited him with teaching him what it means to be a Baptist and the importance of church-state separation in ensuring religious liberty.“Mark Hatfield was the kind of public leader and the kind of Baptist we could use a lot more of today,” Walker said.
It seems each congressional session brings fewer and fewer legislators who understand – and are willing to advocate for – both sides of our religious liberty protection. As Walker says, more like Hatfield please.
