From Americans United for Separation of Church and State (http://www.au.org):
Most religious traditions and world views call on us to love our neighbor and treat one another the way we want to be treated. From our earliest days, humanity practiced the ideals of the Golden Rule in how hunters worked together for their survival as a community. The idea of community care is upheld in the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which means “I am, because who we all are.” If we truly embody the beliefs that we profess, we continue to have a moral obligation to uphold the human dignity and worth of every person – and that’s why we need your support as a faith leader for the Do No Harm Act.
Religious freedom means that everyone should be able to practice their religion or no religion at all, so long as they do not harm others.
The Do No Harm Act (DNHA) will put that principle into practice by ensuring that religious freedom is not misused as a license to discriminate.
Even if you’ve written to your representative about the Do No Harm Act before, this is a new Congress. That means we are starting from square one and to succeed, we need to show that the DNHA has more support than ever. Only you can help us do that, by using your voice as a faith leader to urge your legislator to co-sponsor this bill – or thanking them if they already do.
On Thursday, the DNHA was introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott with lead cosponsors Reps. Steve Cohen, Jamie Raskin, and Mary Gay Scanlon. If passed, it will be a massive leap forward to preserve our right to free exercise of religion while preventing religious exemptions that endanger other people’s civil rights.
Go to https://secure.everyaction.com/At9c5otS2U26aVX-eeb3yA2 to ask your representative to co-sponsor the DNHA today.
What exactly does the Do No Harm Act do?
Almost 30 years ago, a diverse group of Americans – religious and nonreligious, liberal and conservative – came together to pass a law to protect the free exercise of religion: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). But today, RFRA is being exploited in ways that are especially harmful to LGBTQ people, women, religious minorities, the nonreligious and others.
The Do No Harm Act will fix RFRA to ensure that no one misuses it to undermine nondiscrimination laws, evade child labor laws, deny access to health care, thwart workplace protections, refuse to provide government-funded services, or refuse to perform duties as a government employee. You can help us achieve these goals by contacting your legislator here.
In the words of the late public theologian, civil rights leader, and advocate for social justice and human rights Congressman John Robert Lewis, “If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it.”
How will your faith or moral conscience guide you in affirming the human dignity of every person? Our opportunity to do something is now! Thanks for making the protection of religious freedom for all a priority.
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