American culture has become "less hospitable to people of faith," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday in vowing that the Justice Department would protect people's religious freedom and convictions. (July 30) AP


U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new Religious Liberty Task Force on Monday, making the following claim in his statement:


I agree with the attorney general in this portion of his lengthy speech. A dangerous movement is underfoot and it must be confronted and defeated. Where Sessions and I differ are the definition of that dangerous movement, who is benefiting, who needs protecting, and the role of the government in that equation.

The reality is the ongoing movement to redefine religious freedom is a means to provide privilege to one particular sect of Christianity and to force the government to sanction discrimination on their behalf. The movement has gained strength over the last four decades. In its effort to bolster the power of the conservative Christian leaders and community, the religious right has distorted our country’s traditional understanding of religious freedom for their benefit and done harm to our democracy.

Few would argue against our collective responsibility to protect the religious freedom of every person without the interference of the government. The First Amendment clearly intends for every person to have the right to decide for themselves who to worship, if at all, and the practice of their personal beliefs. Religious freedom is as fundamental to the bedrock of our democracy as it gets.

What the First Amendment does not do is elevate the religious freedom of one person or religion over all others. Additionally, it does not hold in higher regard one person’s religious beliefs at the expense of another person’s equal protections or civil rights.

The religious right has masterfully confused the public’s understanding of personal rights and government responsibility. Carefully orchestrated language perpetuates the notion that someone’s religious freedom cannot be limited in any fashion. Followers have been manipulated into believing their religious freedom trumps all others and they are the victim when barred from fulfilling their God-given rights.

It is as silly as the notion that the government should step in to protect someone’s “right” to say "Merry Christmas." Or it is as serious as the government intervening on behalf of a store owner who refuses to serve someone who is Muslim because of the owner’s personal religious beliefs. Or shielding an organization that discriminates against same-sex couples who seek to adopt. Or protecting a pharmacist who limits the rights of women to access contraception.

The attorney general’s announcement of a Religious Liberty Task Force is but one more effort to normalize the religious right’s efforts to redefine religious freedom and ensure its privilege is secure. The irony is not lost on most when included in Sessions' statement is a list of religious groups from the early days of our national heritage that, as he says, “knew what it was like to be hated, persecuted, outnumbered and discriminated against.”

With this announcement, the government is working to ensure those in one religious tradition can more effectively infringe on the civil rights of people who are LGBTQ+, women, religious minorities, and racial or ethnic minorities. These are the victims of today’s religious freedom battle, not conservative Christians.

The religious right has reshaped the balance of whose rights matter. The creation of the Religious Liberty Task Force is yet one more strategy fortifying the power of conservative Christians. The government, including Sessions, has a responsibility to ensure the rights of the minority are protected, not those deemed to be privileged.

Connie Ryan is the executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.

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