{"articles":[{"reaction_config":[{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},{"text":"Maybe","color":"#edb723","stance":"maybe"},{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"}],"id":6035,"title":"Do You Support the DOJ’s New ‘Religious Liberty Task Force’?","html_content":"\n

by Causes | 7.30.18

What’s the story?

\r\n

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday that the Justice Department is creating a “religious liberty task force” whose aim is to “protect and promote religious liberty.”

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“Freedom of religion has been a core American principle from the very beginning of our country — indeed, it is our ‘first freedom,’” Sessions said Monday. Despite this protection, the AG argued that:

\r\n

“We’ve seen nuns ordered to buy contraceptives. We’ve seen U.S. senators ask judicial and executive branch nominees about dogma—even though the Constitution explicitly forbids a religious test for public office. We’ve all seen the ordeal faced so bravely by Jack Phillips,” the Colorado baker whose refusal to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding wound up in the Supreme Court.

Sessions said that President Donald Trump promised to \"make preserving and protecting our religious liberty the first priority of his administration\" and that the DOJ \"is committed to assisting with that effort.”
The AG added:

“Religious Americans are no longer an afterthought.”

What will the Religious Liberty Task Force do?

Assist in enforcing Sessions’ “religious liberty” memo issued last fall, and the president’s two executive orders directing agencies to “protect religious liberty.”
Engage in outreach to the public, religious communities, and religious liberty organizations to develop “new strategies, involving litigation, policy and legislation to protect and promote religious liberty.”
Ensure employers “know their duties to accommodate people of faith.”

What do you think?

Do you support the creation of the Religious Liberty Task Force? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: ericsphotography / iStock)

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Since the day you were born, that’s always been on the cards. Most of us find it easier to bury our heads in the sand. Avoidance is the #1 most popular coping strategy in the world. We live in denial of the self-evident fact that we all die eventually. The Stoics believed that when we’re confronted with our own mortality, and grasp its implications, that can change our perspective on life quite dramatically. Any of us could die at any moment. Life doesn’t go on forever. If you say that you won't vote in the general election if your candidate doesn't win the nomination, you're saying to millions of people you think their suffering is an appropriate price for your righteous indignation.\nThere is NO moral justification for sitting out this election. IRL I am an environmental hydrogeologist. I specialize in municipal stormwater management and karst groundwater systems. You can deny the effects of anthropogenic forced global climate change all day, but when your water well salts up, your streets and yards flood, or your house falls in a sinkhole or gets crushed by a landslide you will be calling me for help like I am the GD Batman.","twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"burrkitty","issue_count":139,"is_following":null,"influence_score":15110,"influence_level":40,"follower_count":511,"following_count":40,"position_count":987,"id":"8mrvqvpm","partner_id":null},{"name":"Elise","vote_count":25,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/pWRoagXZ/following","followers":"/api/users/pWRoagXZ/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":0,"is_following":null,"influence_score":120,"influence_level":20,"follower_count":3,"following_count":0,"position_count":18,"id":"pWRoagXZ","partner_id":null},{"name":"Hillary","vote_count":638,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8ZkEGKe9/large_8zkegke9-1544966058.jpg","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8ZkEGKe9/small_8zkegke9-1544966058.jpg","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/8ZkEGKe9/tiny_8zkegke9-1544966058.jpg"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/8ZkEGKe9/following","followers":"/api/users/8ZkEGKe9/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":25,"is_following":null,"influence_score":4320,"influence_level":30,"follower_count":118,"following_count":8,"position_count":523,"id":"8ZkEGKe9","partner_id":null}],"article_comment":{"flagged":false,"id":493766,"body":"I do not support this. SEPARATION of Church and State insures freedom of religion in this county. White Christian Evangelicals do not need, nor are they entitled to, any special protections. ","parent_type":"Article","parent_id":6035,"created_at":"2018-07-30T22:27:26.194Z","liked":false,"like_count":4,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/comments/493766","likers":"https://www.causes.com/api/v1/likers?likeable_id=493766&likeable_type=Comment"},"article_id":6035,"shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/comments/493766.png","note":{},"note_text":false,"note_color":false,"user_id":"79073DGm","liker_ids":["gZAAnyZb","8mrvqvpm","pWRoagXZ","8ZkEGKe9"]}}

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