Does Vice President Kamala Harris support religious freedom? The answer depends on how you define it — and which Americans you’re most worried about.
“I don’t think we’ve ever before had a candidate who has navigated various religious spaces and celebrated those various spaces in such an intimate way as the Vice President,” said the Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president of Interfaith Alliance.
Faith, Freedom, and Reproductive Rights
At the heart of our democracy is the belief that individuals should be free to make decisions guided by their own conscience, values, and beliefs, especially when it comes to their health care. The growing efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care under the guise of religious or political authority is deeply concerning and recent legal challenges across the country threaten not only access to care but also the foundational principle that no single religious tradition should determine public policy for everyone.
Do No Harm: Resisting the Misuse of Religious Exemptions
When does the right to religious freedom become a justification for harm? This question is at the heart of the misuse of religious exemption laws. These laws – protections granted under the First Amendment and utilized for centuries by individuals of all faiths – have been exploited by Christian Nationalists to undermine other fundamental rights, including equality and non-discrimination.