Show notes:
In the first segment, our panelists discuss today’s religious freedom battles in which faith groups struggle to find allies across party lines. Political allegiances outweigh religious principles, and everyone is worse off as a result, said attorney and scholar Asma Uddin. “Many of the folks who support and even drive these [anti-Muslim] attacks are very concerned about their own religious freedom,” she said. This hypocrisy is one of many problems created by growing political polarization, according to Uddin and other speakers. Across America, people of faith won’t step up to protect those who vote a different way. “If a conservative [Christian] is going to oppose liberals, he or she is also going to oppose Muslims,” since they’re associated with the Democratic Party, said Uddin, who is the author of The Politics of Vulnerability.
In the second segment of the show, we discuss a former Alaska Airlines flight attendant who has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accusing the carrier of firing her over opinions expressed on an internal forum. Lacey Smith and the First Liberty Institute have filed the brief with the agency, claiming her dismissal was a direct violation of her religious civil rights.
In the third segment, our focus turns to a Muslim death row inmate who claimed Alabama prison officials denied his request to have an imam present in his execution chamber instead of a Christian prison chaplain. Domineque Ray filed a stay of execution to ‘allow him to continue his challenge to the forced presence of a Christian chaplain in the execution chamber,”. Court documents state Ray met with Holman prison Warden Cynthia Stewart to request religious accommodations related to his execution. Ray first asked that a Muslim spiritual leader, an imam, take the place of Holman’s Christian prison chaplain in the execution chamber. When Stewart denied that, Ray asked that no chaplain be present, which Stewart also denied.
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About the Show: Faith & Politics is a show dedicated to discussing issues surrounding the intersection of Church, State and politics and the examination of whether you are allowing your faith to shape your politics or your politics starting to shape your faith. What do you do when God and government come face to face?
Panelists: Bettina Krause, Editor, of Liberty Magazine; Carmela Monk-Crawford, Editor, Message Magazine; Melissa Reid, Washington Liaison for the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church; and Jennifer Woods, Director of Government Affairs for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists..
About Us: North American Division Public Affairs & Religious Liberty (PARL) is a ministry dedicated to proclaiming and defending the God-given gift of religious freedom which is integral to our identity as Seventh-day Adventist Christians. Learn more about PARL at www.religiousliberty.info.
Panelists
Bettina Krause
Carmela Monk Crawford
Melissa Reid
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