Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton commended the religious communities for addressing social and humanitarian issues after an event that brought representatives of 14 various religious faiths to meet with six senators at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 25.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton commended the religious communities for addressing social and humanitarian issues after an event that brought representatives of 14 various religious faiths to meet with six senators at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 25. The meeting focused on proposed legislation that would require employers to, within reason, accommodate religious practices of their employees.
“I applaud the religious community for helping to facilitate many key social and humanitarian programs at home and around the world,” said Clinton.
James Standish, Adventist Church congressional liaison, presented at the meeting urging support for the Act, calling for a vote on the senate floor. The Workplace Religious Freedom Act (S. 893) currently has 21 bipartisan senate sponsors.
“This builds on the strong relationships we’ve been building on both sides of the aisle,” said Standish, who met with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee the week before the meeting.
“This gives us a forum right in the heart of the decision making that we just haven’t had before,” said Standish. This is the first time the Adventist Church has been invited to such a meeting instead of requesting to meet with legislators individually. Senator Clinton invited Standish and the other representatives to a regular weekly meeting.
Standish said the Workplace Religious Freedom Act would help to ensure that American foreign policy is guided by the goal of expanding religious freedom. He focused particularly on the abuse of religious freedom by nations that are closely allied to the United States.
More than 1,000 Adventists are fired each year in the United States by employers who refuse to accommodate their religious practices. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reports that cases involving mistreatment due to religion have risen 85 percent in the last decade.
“My colleagues and I are particularly grateful for your critical deliberation on the present misuse of religious language in public policy.”
Also attending the meeting were Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii.
For more information, visit
http://ola.adventist.org
