Written by Don Byrd
As we gear up to the 2012 election, a recurring feature of this blog will be excerpts from candidates’ own words on the campaign trail. Readers, I need your help! As candidates for office in your state or congressional district discuss religious liberty issues, send those comments my way. Whether you support or oppose the candidate, my goal will be to provide a broad picture of the religious liberty discussion across the country.Sometimes it is a central issue, sometimes more indirect. Either way, this can be a forum for surveying candidates’ views on religious liberty and the intersections combining faith with politics, and faith with governance.
Last week saw both President Obama and Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have occasion to mention religious liberty, in different contexts.
From President Obama, discussing his decision to support the legalization of same-sex marriage in an interview with ABCNews’ Robin Roberts:
I had hesitated on gay marriage– in part, because I thought civil unions would be sufficient. That that was something that would give people hospital visitation rights and– other– elements that we take for granted. And– I was sensitive to the fact that– for a lot of people, you know, the– the word marriage was something that evokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs, and so forth.
…
And– you know, one of the things that you see in– a state like New York that– ended up– legalizing same-sex marriages– was I thought they did a good job in engaging the religious community. Making it absolutely clear that what we’re talking about are civil marriages and civil laws.That they’re respectful of religious liberty, that– you know, churches and other faith institutions– are still gonna be able to make determinations about what their sacraments are– what they recognize.
Mitt Romney, speaking at Liberty University’s commencement:
The protection of religious freedom has also become a matter of debate. It strikes me as odd that the free exercise of religious faith is sometimes treated as a problem, something America is stuck with instead of blessed with. Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government.
But from the beginning, this nation trusted in God, not man. Religious liberty is the first freedom in our Constitution. And whether the cause is justice for the persecuted, compassion for the needy and the sick, or mercy for the child waiting to be born, there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action.
Religious freedom opens a door for Americans that is closed to too many others around the world. But whether we walk through that door, and what we do with our lives after we do, is up to us.
