• Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Caffeinated Thoughts Gear
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • The Caffeinated Thoughts Podcast

Caffeinated Thoughts

Stimulating Christian Conservative News & Commentary

Social Media Management
  • Culture
  • Current Events
    • Sports
  • Education
  • Faith & Theology
  • Iowa News & Politics
  • State News & Politics
    • California News & Politics
    • Colorado News & Politics
    • Illinois News & Politics
    • Kansas News & Politics
    • Missouri News & Politics
    • Nebraska News & Politics
    • New Hampshire News & Politics
    • Ohio News & Politics
    • South Carolina News & Politics
    • South Dakota News & Politics
    • Wisconsin News & Politics
  • U.S. News & Politics
    • Election Central

Federal Discrimination Against Religion?

July 21, 2014 By Mark Tooley



obama-executive-order_thumb.jpgReligious groups will not receive an exemption from an executive order signed this morning by President Barack Obama banning “discrimination” based on sexual orientation or “gender identity” by federal contractors.

The order adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of specially protected categories that apply to federal contractors, and it adds gender identity to sexual orientation as a protected category for federal employees. The order could institutionalize federal discrimination against all religious groups and persons affirming natural marriage, traditional sexual ethics and the biological reality of gender.

A June letter sent following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby-Conestoga Wood decision requested that the President include explicit religious freedom protections in any executive order regarding LGBTQ employees of federal contractors.

The letter, which was organized by Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance President Stanley Carlson-Thies, was signed by religious leaders including National Association of Evangelicals President Leith Anderson, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Executive Director for Public Policy Nathan Diament, National Christian Hispanic Leadership Conference President Samuel Rodriguez, and Obama Spiritual Advisor Pastor Joel C. Hunter.

Officials from World Relief, World Vision, World Concern, Food for the Hungry and Samaritan’s Purse are signatories, along with numerous Christian Colleges and Universities. Several denominational leaders also signed, including officials from the Assemblies of God, the Seventh-Day Adventists, Wesleyan Church, Presbyterian Church in America, Church of the Nazarene, Christian & Missionary Alliance and others.

President Obama’s new executive order compelling all federal contractors to affirm the latest LGBTQ orthodoxy escalates the ongoing culture war against traditional mores and religion.

Kudos to those religious leaders who defend liberty of conscience and dignity for all persons against an increasingly intolerant state and secular culture that seek to eradicate traditional faith and practice from public life.

Religious groups adhering to transcendent truths beyond the present age now have the special role to argue for freedom for ALL persons and to oppose the growing intolerance for any dissent from the reigning zeitgeist. Freedom of speech, conscience and religion are precious gifts essential to justice and democracy.

  • About
  • Latest Posts

Mark Tooley

President at Institute on Religion & Democracy
Prior to joining The Institute on Religion & Democracy  in 1994, Mark Tooley worked eight years for the Central Intelligence Agency as an analyst. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and is a native of Arlington, Virginia. A lifelong United Methodist, he has been active in United Methodist renewal since 1988, when he wrote a study about denominational funding of pro-Marxist groups for his local congregation. He currently attends Washington Street United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Mark Tooley became president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) in 2009. He joined IRD in 1994 to found its United Methodist committee (UMAction). He is the author of Taking Back The United Methodist Church, published in 2008, and Methodism and Politics in the 20th Century, published in 2011.

Latest posts by Mark Tooley (see all)

  • Thomas C. Oden (1931-2016), Champion of Christian Orthodoxy - December 9, 2016
  • United Methodists Take First Steps in a New, Positive Direction - May 26, 2016
  • Christ at the Checkpoint Undermines Evangelical Support for Israel - March 11, 2016

Related

Filed Under: Cultural Issues Tagged With: Barack Obama, executive orders, LGBTQ

About Mark Tooley

Prior to joining The Institute on Religion & Democracy  in 1994, Mark Tooley worked eight years for the Central Intelligence Agency as an analyst. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and is a native of Arlington, Virginia. A lifelong United Methodist, he has been active in United Methodist renewal since 1988, when he wrote a study about denominational funding of pro-Marxist groups for his local congregation. He currently attends Washington Street United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Mark Tooley became president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) in 2009. He joined IRD in 1994 to found its United Methodist committee (UMAction). He is the author of Taking Back The United Methodist Church, published in 2008, and Methodism and Politics in the 20th Century, published in 2011.

Comments

  1. Niea says

    July 22, 2014 at 11:13 am

    Oh the irony. “I’m being discriminated against because I’m not allowed to discriminate against gay and trans people!” Poor babies.

    “Religious groups adhering to transcendent truths beyond the present age now have the special role to argue for freedom for ALL persons and to oppose the growing intolerance for any dissent from the reigning zeitgeist.” Unless you are gay or transgender, apparently. This is no different than if you wanted to persecute a person based on the color of their skin.

Get CT In Your Inbox!

Connect With Us!

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Our Podcast

Apple PodcastsBlubrry Google Play Music Podbean Soundcloud Stitcher

travis-risvold-modern-woodman
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • CT Gear
  • Donate
  • Send a News Tip
  • The Caffeinated Thoughts Briefing

Top Posts & Pages

  • No Mass Shootings: The Myth of Australia's Gun Control Policy
  • Top Ten Reasons Why Students Need More Literature (Not Less)
  • Are Transgender Marines and Sailors Causing Unit Cohesion Problems?
  • The Top 15 Most Popular Governors Are Republican
  • Elon Musk – Production Hell or Party Balloons? Pick One.
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace
  • The DNC Says They Are Suing Russia and the Trump Campaign
  • Update: Reynolds Signs Bill Changing Iowa's Statewide Assessment Developer
  • How Does the Bible Define the Word Nation? (It Is Not What You Think)
  • Seven Ways Christians Should Respond to Persecution

Recent Posts

  • Elon Musk – Production Hell or Party Balloons? Pick One.
  • The DNC Says They Are Suing Russia and the Trump Campaign
  • Are Transgender Marines and Sailors Causing Unit Cohesion Problems?
  • The Top 15 Most Popular Governors Are Republican
  • Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board Sides With Pate, Rebuts AP Story
  • The Expendables: There’s More to Life than Death
  • Ernst Calls For A Fix to Dysfunctional Budget Process
  • Update: Reynolds Signs Bill Changing Iowa’s Statewide Assessment Developer

© Copyright 2018 Caffeinated Thoughts · All Rights Reserved · Hosted by 4:15 Communications, LLC.