Baptist Press - Church-state Expert said Minorities Face Biggest Threats to Religious Liberty

By Bob Allen, Associated Baptist Press

Two witnesses, Bishop William Lori of the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops and Colby May of the American Center for Law and Justice, both gave examples of laws and court decisions they claimed restrict the free exercise of religion.

May, senior counsel and director of the ACLJ’s Washington office, said some of the most controversial examples are going on in public schools and universities “where the effects of recent decisions on the young minds of our nation may adversely impact religious liberties in the future.”

May said university speech codes, intended to permit free exchange of ideas free from intimidation and harassment, have in fact been used to prevent religious students from sharing beliefs with other students out of fear of being charged with harassment. Other policies, he said, deter students from espousing beliefs on issues of public concern such as the definition of marriage in ways that “significantly burden religious expression in venues that should be open to the expression of the widest variety of ideas.” . . .

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