Tag: freedom of religion

OPINION — In January 1959, in a Virginia courtroom, Mildred and Richard Loving pled guilty to “cohabiting as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth,” and accepted a cruel sentence that spared them jail time but separated them from their families. … The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.” The couple, each of a different race, was forced to leave their Virginia home and not return together for at least 25 years. There can be no doubt. It’s no little matter. It must be confronted intellectually and politically and defeated. This election, this past election, and much that has flowed from it, gives us a rare opportunity to arrest these trends and to confront them.” That may sound righteous to some. But reading that Virginia’s judge’s ruling from not that long ago was a reminder of how religious belief can be sincere yet twisted to serve the prejudices of all-too-human beings. Consider this: While the Supreme Court decided in the Lovings’ favor in 1967, striking down state laws against marriages between people of different races, Sessions’ home state of Alabama, in a symbolic move, took until 2000 to remove the law from its books. You would think those who backed that baker would see the ruling as an example of the system working for them. While Sessions mentioned Department of Justice protections for Muslim, Jewish and Hindu religions under the task force, it is conservative Christian groups that seem to be what the Attorney General had in mind when he said that American culture has become “less hospitable to people of faith.” (How aggressive will the Trump administration be in defending Muslim communities’ mosque-construction plans?)

As expected, the Christians’ attempt to reason with the owner sent him straight into social justice warrior territory. President Trump has been a vociferous defender of religious liberty and religious freedom. But it is not just the religious liberties of Christians that are under fire. And while President Trump and Secretary Zinke have been outspoken supporters of public lands, there are powerful DC special interests that seek to sell off our public lands and dismantle our national park system – trusting that the “free market” is best for determining the fate of our lands. Even when those lands play a critical role in the religious practices of Native Americans. As a person of deep faith, much of how I feel about the need to protect America’s public lands is informed by my faith. The one constant in all Native American religious and spiritual traditions is the deep connection between man and the land. As President Trump considers changes to federal public lands, we cannot and should not ignore the critical importance that many of these lands play in the faith traditions of Native Americans on that land. For Native Americans, the land is inextricably connected to the spiritual realm and their religious freedom.