First Amendment Coalition
65 E. Wacker Place, Suite 800
Chicago, IL 60601

Phone 312-422-9300,  Fax 312-422-9302

 October, 2004

 Open Letter to Priests and Ministers:

I think you will agree that freedom of religion and freedom of speech, as protected by the First Amendment, are of great importance to the free exercise of religion in our nation.  We rely on these protections to freely proclaim the truth of the Gospel. 

The Gospel values of marriage, traditional family life, respect for life from conception to natural death, expressions of faith in public, and exercising conscience in performing employment duties, especially in health care services, are under serious attack.  Supporters of a secular worldview are suggesting that our values are a threat to their “freedoms” and amount to “hate speech” that must be prohibited.

Some European nations, most prominently Sweden, and even Canada, have passed “hate speech” laws that are already being used to prevent priests and ministers from proclaiming the Gospel, even in their own churches.  Under provisions of a “hate speech” law, a minister in Sweden was jailed for 30 days after preaching on Biblical passages that condemn homosexual behavior. 

Laws are being promoted and in some cases passed that require religious institutions to provide insurance coverage or perform medical services that they view as immoral, including contraceptive coverage and dispensing the morning-after pill.  Can attempts to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions be far behind?

Pro-abortion groups met in London recently to discuss strategy for enshrining abortion as a “universal human right”.  At the same time, they condemned teaching abstinence as a “crime against humanity” because they claim that failure to push condoms allows people to die.  What happens to religious freedom if abortion is declared a “universal human right” and teaching abstinence is a “crime against humanity”?

Based on the evidence from other nations that have already moved further down the road to implement the gay agenda on marriage and family life, such attitudes do get translated into laws and judicial decisions that threaten freedom of religion and freedom of speech when elected candidates have a secular worldview. 

Recently, former Clinton administration Secretary of Labor Robert Reich made statements attacking religion.  Reich resorted to rhetoric comparing Christian involvement in the political process with the threat that terrorism poses to the West.  He stated, "The underlying battle will be between modern civilization and anti-modernist fanatics; between those who believe in the primacy of the individual and those who believe that human beings owe blind allegiance to a higher authority; between those who give priority to life in this world and those who believe that human life is no more than preparation for an existence beyond life; between those who believe that truth is revealed solely through scripture and religious dogma, and those who rely primarily on science, reason, and logic."  Such an anti-religious viewpoint poses a clear threat to religious freedom.

The animosity toward religion reflected by some candidates, including some who claim to be Catholic, is appalling.  I am personally concerned about the threats posed to our First Amendment rights should such candidates prevail in the upcoming election.   Since these anti-religious concepts and attitudes are a frontal assault on your chosen profession and an insult to your daily work, I would think that you would be seriously concerned about placing in office people who have such radical viewpoints.

It is time to speak out against this version of “tolerance” that amounts to intolerance of faith, morality, religion, and traditional values.  Failure to elect candidates that respect moral and religious values when enacting laws will surely lead to serious erosion of our freedoms of religion and speech.  The evidence of this threat is clear from other nations.

Sincerely,

William P. Beckman
Director

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