Tag: repeal

The Baptist General Convention of Missouri announced Wednesday its support of a continued federal prohibition on churches' political activities. Recently, Republican Attorney General and Senate candidate Josh Hawley has voiced support for repealing the ban, also known as the Johnson Amendment, in the name of protecting religious liberty. That position clashes with the consensus of the Churchnet Baptist convention, which reiterated its support for the Johnson Amendment and said that "the faith community and the nonprofit community widely support the political activity ban." "As a life-long Baptist and ordained pastor, I can’t imagine how damaging it would be to erase this legislation for local churches across the nation." In a news release, Churchnet said its Oct. 16 fall gathering in Liberty, Missouri, would include remarks by the leader of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, a group that "led the faith-based coalition that last year advocated for keeping the ban." After this article was published online, Don Hinkle, director of public policy for the Missouri Baptist Convention — which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and includes about 1,900 churches — complained that Churchnet did not represent the majority of Missouri Baptists. The Johnson Amendment "is designed and in effect tries to muzzle the First Amendment rights of people of faith," Hinkle said. For example, he helped out in the Hobby Lobby decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that companies could justify denying coverage of contraception for employees on the basis of religious objections. A spokeswoman for Hawley's campaign said the attorney general had consulted with religious leaders like Hinkle before voicing his support for repealing the Johnson Amendment. A spokesperson for McCaskill has said she opposes repealing the Johnson Amendment.

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