Washington, D.C. | Religious liberty advocates commended President Donald Trump’s new executive order to protect faith beliefs and practice, but some said it fell short of what is needed.
Trump’s order, issued May 4 in a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, says:
- The administration’s policy will be to enforce vigorously the “robust protections for religious freedom” in federal law.
- The Department of Treasury, which includes the Internal Revenue Service, will not penalize a person, house of worship or other religious organization for speaking “about moral or political issues from a religious perspective,” thereby providing relief from a six-decade-old law known as the Johnson Amendment.
- The secretaries of three federal departments will consider revising rules to protect the freedom of conscience of religious objectors to the abortion/contraception mandate imposed by the Obama administration.
The order does not include protections for faith-based and other federal contractors who have established their employment practices on a biblical sexual ethic. Nor does it protect individuals and institutions from being penalized by the federal government for acting in support of their belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman.
Russell Moore, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said, “After years of open hostility toward religious institutions and conscience from the previous administration, this executive order is a welcome change in direction toward people of faith from the White House. Not only that, but many federal agencies are working already to ensure that the executive and administrative violations of religious freedom from the Obama administration are being rolled back.”
SBC Executive Committee CEO Frank Page said he was deeply grateful to Trump. “He promised me that there would be a strong push for religious freedom protection. It is important for people to be able to express themselves according to their faith. It’s also extremely heartening to see that he wants to honor the conscience of believers who have serious moral concerns about participating in non-Christian activities.”
Michael Farris, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, said Trump’s executive order “provides hope … that he will move fully toward fulfilling his promise to protect religious freedom for countless Americans. Regrettably, this executive order leaves that promise as yet unfulfilled.’
“[T]hough we appreciate the spirit of today’s gesture, vague instructions to federal agencies simply [leave] them wiggle room to ignore that gesture, regardless of the spirit in which it was intended,” Farris said in a written statement. “We strongly encourage the president to see his campaign promise through to completion and to ensure that all Americans — no matter where they live or what their occupation is—enjoy the freedom to peacefully live and work consistent with their convictions without fear of government punishment.”
Page said he will continue “to urge pastors to speak to issues that are clear scripturally. I will continue to do so as I preach God’s Word, but I will not endorse any political candidate from the pulpit of any church.”
– Baptist Press