OPINION:
In his recent commentary, “Compromising religious freedom” (Web, Dec. 16), Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, attacks the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the National Association for Evangelicals (NAE) for supporting legislation that would combine protection of religious liberty with anti-discrimination protection for LGBT persons.
To justify his concern, Mr. Piper quotes me as saying that LGBT community rights “cannot be adequately advanced if pockets of resistance are permitted to flourish.” He asserts that I “boast of the ’zero-sum game,’ where the rights of LGBT Americans will be secured only by curtailing the rights of religious Americans.” Therefore, efforts by CCCU and NAE are a “fool’s errand” because people like me would never accede to any religious liberty protection.
Mr. Piper has my position completely backward. My “zero-sum game” point is to convey that enactment of a law prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people is not simply “neutral.” Passage of such an important law without considering its possible impact on religious liberty might (perhaps inadvertently) undermine religious pluralism in our country.
There are situations in which the rights of religious liberty for organizations who believe homosexuality is sinful will conflict with and should prevail over the rights of LGBT people who might experience discrimination at the hands of such religious organizations. I believe that because I care deeply about preserving religious pluralism in our country, even if that means protecting religious organizations with whom I disagree. That is the point of religious pluralism. It means that “pockets of resistance” must be permitted to flourish.
CCCU and NAE are grappling with how society can ensure both equality for LGBT people and religious pluralism. We should welcome that effort. And we should all equally engage in such an effort with a generosity of spirit.
CHAI R. FELDBLUM
Commissioner
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Washington
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