ELCA members to vote on opposition to 'religious freedom' laws

[rug]

May 28, 2014
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

A Brookfield Lutheran church is calling on its Milwaukee-based synod to take a stand against so-called "religious freedom" laws proposed around the country, including in Wisconsin, that critics fear would allow discrimination against certain groups under the guise of religion.

The resolution, proposed by the council at Cross of Life Lutheran Church, is one of four that will be taken up at this weekend's annual assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Greater Milwaukee Synod, which kicks off Thursday in Waukesha.

It's aimed at laws, such as the one enacted in Mississippi in April, that critics say open the door to discrimination against gay and lesbian people on religious grounds. They've emerged in the wake of lawsuits against businesses that refused to serve same sex couples, saying that to do so would violate their religious principles.

Similar proposals have failed or languished elsewhere, including in Wisconsin, where lawmakers proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would have ensured a "right of conscience" to engage in or refrain from activity based on one's sincerely held religious

http://www.jsonline.com/news/religion/elca-lutherans-to-vote-on-opposition-to-religious-freedom-laws-b99278686z1-260978121.html

[cbayer]

1. Will be very interesting to see what happens here.

The walls are falling, but is ecla up to the task?

[TygrBright]

2. I should think they are.

But only if other denominations join them.

After all, history is on their side, and this is not the first time they've fought this fight. It was the "evangelical" Protestant denominations that won many of the 19th-Century fights on behalf of separation of Church and State, fearing the re-establishment of state religion and their own exclusion.

interestedly,
Bright

[cbayer]

3. There are already a number of denominations that have taken positions

on GLBT civil rights, though I don't know that any have specifically focused on these laws.

I think you make an excellent point here. Evangelical and fundamental are sometimes used interchangeably, and they are not the same.

Some evangelical groups are focusing on environmental issues these days.