Supporters of the BJC – myself included – have an opportunity today and Saturday to make a powerful impact. Generous donors have offered to match any contributions received between now and July 4.
I won't take up lots of your reading time to make the case that the Baptist Joint Committee is worth supporting. If you are watching this blog, chances are you already value their continuing contribution to the cause of religious liberty in America, a perspective I believe is needed now more than ever.
Church-state battle lines are growing increasingly polarized between secular voices that demand only separation, and religious conservatives who wrongly insist there's no such thing as the separation of church and state. Sadly, that kind of culture war crossfire – with evil villains for both sides – drives the media coverage of these complex and important issues. To be frank, one religious voice stands virtually alone in 1) advocating exclusively for religious liberty matters, and 2) insisting that both elements of religious liberty – free exercise and no establishment – must be robustly protected. And the Baptist Joint Committee makes this argument from the heart of the Baptist tradition of soul freedom.
Abandoning the separation of church and state does religion no favors, and in fact jeopardizes the first freedom we hold dear. At the same time, all Americans should enjoy broad religious liberty protections, unimpeded by government without a darned good reason.
If you want Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court to continue to hear this religious perspective on religious liberty, then go ahead and do what you've probably been meaning to do for some time: join the thousands of individual supporters, churches and denominational groups that have lined up behind the Baptist Joint Committee to support their tireless efforts of advocacy and education in Washington. All gifts to the BJC will be matched dollar-for-dollar until July 4. There has never been a better time to let your voice be heard! Click here to donate securely online.
