Religious Liberty in the Eyes of Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, & Muslims

Barton Dempsey on June 1, 2016

One evening last week, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention hosted a panel discussion on religious liberty in a banquet hall just blocks from the U.S. Capitol building. Offering their perspectives were leaders from four prominent faiths: Evangelical Christianity, Catholic, Mormon, and Muslim. Phillip Bethancourt of the ERLC served as the moderator for the panel discussion which hosted: Dr. Russell Moore (Evangelical), Archbishop William E. Lorie (Catholic), Elder Dallin H. Oaks (Mormon), and Sheikh Hamza Yusuf (Muslim). The panel, at the Washington Court Hotel, focused primarily on reasons for religious liberty from the perspective of the aforementioned faiths.

Dr. Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, welcomed the attendees with a few thoughts about religious liberty and the ever increasing balancing act between government protection for religious liberty and government coercion. True religious liberty is “the ability to have genuine conversation about the core of human identity without the interference of government coercion,” explained Moore.

Moore, a leader among Evangelicals and Southern Baptists, articulated this idea further.  He offered a practical example of Southern Baptist defending the right of Muslims to have a mosque in their community, even in the Southern Bible Belt. In light of Southern Baptists fighting for more religious liberty protection, he posed the question, “Are we being consistent?” According to Moore, the fight for religious liberty must be holistic, if indeed it truly represents a fight for freedom of religion. Ultimately, “religion that needs cultural or governmental pressure behind it is religion that has lost faith in its deity,” stated Moore.

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, an America Islamic scholar and co-founder of Zaytuna College, articulated a Muslim perspective on religious liberty. Yusuf stated that the normative tradition of Islam is religious liberty: “Every religious tradition is to be treated with human dignity.” He said this was because “people are either your brother in faith or in humanity.”

Archbishop William E. Lori of the Archdiocese of Baltimore explained that according to the Catholic faith, “Catholics are to use our freedom to serve the common good.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Latter Day Saints, presented the Mormon perspective on religious liberty. Oaks said that “whatever freedom we claim…we extend to others,” in response to a question about why we should pursue religious freedom for all people.

The panel of religious scholars resoundingly agreed to support religious freedom for all people.

Religious freedom has become a new front in the culture wars. Media, politicians, and presidential candidates are increasingly leaving the issue by the wayside. Faith, something so diverse and cross-cultural yet tied to the very core of human flourishing, is being attacked on every side. The modern-day fight for religious liberty is just beginning.

Dr. Moore concluded the panel discussion with wise words, “We need to be the type of people that live with the statements we make and the silences we have.” As for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, silence doesn’t seem to be a viable option.

  1. Comment by Skipper on June 3, 2016 at 10:32 am

    It’s easy for each group to say they favor Religious Freedom. But it takes more than talk. It’s very difficult to live under the lack of religious freedom in non-Christian countries.

  2. Comment by Doug on June 4, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    Ultimately, “religion that needs cultural or governmental pressure behind it is religion that has lost faith in its deity,” stated Moore.

    If Moore’s statement is true, then what are we to think about the Southern Baptist Convention and Moore who heads the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in Washington, D.C.—established specifically to influence government?

    It goes without saying, what Moore said is patently FALSE.

    It should be noted that Almighty God Himself establishes Government for the explicit purpose of restraining evil (Romans 13). Government is “the minister of God.” The LORD does not need Government, we do! Government cannot produce faith, but it can produce restraint. Government can effectively restrain contagion in all its forms. To deny the instrumentality of Government in fulfilling the purposes of God, is to deny that God establishes the means as well as the end.

    It should be clear that God extensively used the Roman government to first propagate the Gospel. The LORD also used the elaborate Roman infrastructure for travel and the global Roman language to spread the Gospel around the world. The LORD has established Government as absolutely necessary to spread the Gospel and preserve society by restraining evil-doing in all its forms, even in things religious. Weeds must be controlled else the grass will be choked out.

    Recognize, the petitioning of government for religious freedom protection in itself constitutes an implicit acknowledgement of the necessity of Government in matters religious. That said, the polytheistic religious freedom posture of the SBC should be recognized for what it is: a serious affront to our LORD who commands us to recognize no other gods in His presence. This meeting by Moore should be emphatically condemned.

  3. Comment by Kara Bismarck on October 27, 2018 at 5:22 am

    Does religious liberty include the beliefs of Native Americans, Wiccans, Rastafarians, Druids and other minority sects? Would it include the rights of Muslims to have Sharia Law, or sects that practice female circumcisn?

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