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Attorney General Gonzales Deputizes the Southern Baptist Convention in New Initiative [UPDATED]
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sought out a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee as his venue to unveil the new religious liberty initiative of the Department of Justice during a speech in Nashville on Tuesday. The "First Freedom Project" touts the Administration's record arguing religious freedom claims through its Civil Rights Division, provides resources on free exercise rights, and a new "Report on Enforcement of Laws Protecting Religious Freedom." The project also invites tips on potential discrimination the DOJ might investigate. Gonzales made special mention of this near the end of his talk: [M]ake no mistake, I am here to ask the Southern Baptist Convention, and all of you in this room, for your help. The Department of Justice has many tools to protect religious freedoms in this country, and we are using them. But even with all of our passion and our dedication to this cause, we cannot do it alone.Associated Baptist Press has more. I guess I'm not surprised that the Attorney General chose to speak to a group so full of free exercise fervor, and with such a dubious relationship to the Establishment Clause in recent years. After all, in his 3400-word speech Gonzales didn't once mention a commitment to protecting those of no faith from religious discrimination, and despite having sworn to defend all of the Constitution, did not use the occasion to make any substantive mention of one half of our precious first freedom: the one assuring that the Government will not enact an establishment of religion.
His general support of the free exercise rights of "people of all faiths," and his support of RLUIPA, which he mentioned explicitly, is a good thing. That having been said, I do wonder which other groups will get such a personal appeal for assistance. The concern is voiced well in the Tennessean's report: If the First Freedom Project was meant to protect the religious freedoms of all Americans, why was it was announced only to a room full of Southern Baptists, asked Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the Tennessee branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.And I would think you'd want to emphasize, in some way, both sides of the constitutional balance that makes religious liberty a vibrant and powerful promise in America. [UPDATE: I assume this new commitment means the Justice Department would listen to the public school experience of Matthew LaClair in Kearny, NJ. Maybe someone should file a complaint. Just a thought.] [cross-posted in part from the Baptist Joint Committee's blog] [ editor : for a somewhat related (not directly though) and little noticed story, see New National Program to "temporarily transform churches into courthouses" ]
Attorney General Gonzales Deputizes the Southern Baptist Convention in New Initiative [UPDATED] | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 hidden)
Attorney General Gonzales Deputizes the Southern Baptist Convention in New Initiative [UPDATED] | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 hidden)
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