The Religious Right

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/letters/religious-right.html

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To the Editor:

Re “We Are Taking Religious Freedom Too Far,” by Margaret Renkl (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, May 6):

Since the rise of the Moral Majority in the 1970s and 1980s, what Ms. Renkl describes as “prejudice cloaked in the robes of religious faith” has been the name of the game when it comes to the battle many conservatives have waged against the separation of church and state.

In addition, she mentions the case of those who refuse to vaccinate their children on religious grounds.

Today, these issues and concerns about the religious right are just as urgent as they were 25 years ago when the organization I lead was founded as an alternative voice. Here we are, in 2019, still having to remind elected officials: Whether a child welfare agency, a bakeshop or a health care provider, religious freedom does not grant a license to discriminate or threaten the well-being of others.

Until we get that right and put it into practice, our collective rights will be in jeopardy.

(Rabbi) Jack MolineWashingtonThe writer is president of the Interfaith Alliance.