Protecting religious liberty for future generations through education, legislation and litigation

By K. Hollyn Hollman

Hollman Report
April 2005

During election cycles many of us tire of opinion polls. The news media’s dependence on them tends to be numbing. I’m sure there’s a poll somewhere that says so.

A recent survey of high school students, however, should alarm us and make us keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities for the BJC in three aspects of our ministry. We sometimes describe the work of the BJC as involving education, legislation and litigation. Promoting religious liberty for all, as our mission statement describes, requires that we do battle on at least those three fronts.

Our challenge in education becomes crystal clear when we see results of surveys like the recent Knight Foundation poll of 100,000 high school students that suggests a majority of them assign little or no value to the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Among the BJC’s various education efforts, speaking to student groups is one of our best ways to promote religious liberty for the long-term. Since most kids are growing up with peer groups that are far more diverse than those of their parents, I often find them quick to see the inherent fairness in our perspective, even if they have not heard it before. It just seems fair for government to avoid taking sides in religious matters, to protect the freedom to practice religion, and to treat non-believers as equal citizens under the law.

Still, we know the challenge is growing. Beyond simply taking freedom for granted, young people are targets of misinformation. The BJC has seen a disturbing surge in stories about those who promote a misreading and mischaracterization of our nation’s history in order to attack the constitutional tradition of religious liberty.

What can you do? If you know some high school students, ask them what they know about the protections in the First Amendment. See if they understand that the same constitutional provisions that keep their public schools from promoting religion, also promote their freedom. Engage them on issues that illustrate how our country’s legal tradition allows for a vibrant expression of religion and protects against government dominance of religion. Let us know if we can assist education efforts on religious liberty in your church or community.

Our education efforts extend into the legislative arena. Our ability to protect religious liberty depends on members of Congress understanding our perspective and knowing that people in their district care about the issue. It is not surprising that matters dealing with the relationship between church and state are difficult for many members. Any issue that touches on religion in politics can potentially divide constituents or lead to an unfair label.

In the current political environment, we know there is real pressure to go along with any proposal that sounds like it is “pro-religion.” This is certainly the case in the area of faith-based initiatives. Members need to hear from the many whose religious beliefs lead them to be strong supporters of religious freedom and wary of government funding of religion. They need to hear that cooperation between government and religious entities does not require, and should not allow, government-funded discrimination in employment or unnecessary risks of government-funded religion.

In recent weeks we met with two new members of Congress—one Republican, one Democrat. The goal was to welcome them to Washington, inform them about our perspective and current church-state issues and to listen for ways we can help them. In both cases, supporters of the BJC were crucial in setting up the meeting with the member and making sure they heard that religious liberty is an issue of great concern for individuals and houses of worship in their district. The members welcome hearing from church leaders and church members in their district. We should always let them know that we are paying attention, encourage them to stand strong for religious freedom, and thank them when they make the right choice on a tough vote.

The BJC’s litigation work primarily consists of analyzing and reporting on church-state cases and filing friend-of-the court briefs in significant cases. The Supreme Court’s docket this term provided an obvious opportunity to advocate our balanced approach to the First Amendment. The Court recently heard arguments about the prohibitions of government endorsement of religion in the Ten Commandments cases and the accommodation of free exercise in the review of a free exercise statute. For religious liberty to remain the vital force it has been in our country, both religion clauses must be fully enforced.

While the substance of the cases provided an opportunity for us to advocate positions consistent with our Baptist commitment to religious liberty for all, the atmosphere warned of the difficulties ahead. In recent years, most church-state decisions have been decided by slim majorities. In the next few years, we will likely have new members on the court whose positions are unknown.

Much is at stake these days. For religious liberty to be preserved, it must be protected.