WASHINGTON, D.C, March 23, 2016Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, addressed the importance of upholding religious freedom and conscience in an op-ed published by The Hill.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments March 23 in Zubik v. Burwell, a consolidated case involving the Little Sisters of the Poor and several Baptist groups including Guidestone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, Truett-McConnell College, Houston Baptist University and East Texas Baptist University. The petitioners have raised objections to a federal regulation that requires employers to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacients.
Before the Court, our federal government will argue that it can force religious ministries to help provide things the government itself can and does provide, Moore wrote. The government isnt really arguing that it has no other choice. The government instead is arguing that the ministries misunderstand their own faith; that they can participate in its complicated contraceptive delivery scheme without disobeying God.
Moore said he believes the argument is insane, and that the case should be easy as there are available alternatives and the government has already exempted others groups.
Over 100 million Americans dont have health plans that must offer the governments drugs, Moore said. The government exempts big businesses such as Exxon and big municipalities such as New York City, and does so just to reduce administrative inconvenience for these entities. The government even exempts itself, refusing to require the U.S. militarythe nations largest employerto provide the same drugs they want to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide.
Moore said Americas ancestors suffered death rather than subordinate their allegiance to God to the authority of the State.
Some of those cases were difficult ones, but we always found a way to live together without a government big enough to pave over our consciences, Moore wrote. This is not one of those hard cases. Lets hope the Court stands up for freedom and cooperation, not for government pressure and coercion.
The Southern Baptist Convention is Americas largest Protestant denomination with more than 15.8 million members in over 46,000 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBCs ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.
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