WASHINGTON — Two conservative groups have released a “Survey of Religious Hostility in America,” which seeks to draw attention to a “relentless onslaught” against religious people and institutions.
“America today would be unrecognizable to our Founders,” according to the report, unveiled Aug. 20 by the Texas-based Liberty Institute and the Washington-based Family Research Council (FRC). The FRC’s security guard was shot Aug. 22 by a man who was reportedly angered by the group’s anti-gay stances.
“Our first freedom is facing a relentless onslaught from well-funded and aggressive groups and individuals who are using the courts, Congress and the vast federal bureaucracy to suppress and limit religious freedom,” the report said.
Other religious groups say the threat to religious liberty lies elsewhere, in conservative institutions such as the Liberty Institute, the FRC and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which, they say, seek to impose their religious beliefs on others.
The report comes in the wake of a high-profile campaign for religious liberty by the USCCB in June and July, a “fortnight of freedom,” to highlight what they perceive as attacks on the right to practice religion. The Obama administration’s new mandate, which requires employers, with some exceptions, to provide contraception coverage in their health plans, particularly riled the bishops.
A poll in early August showed most Catholics agree with the bishops. But a March poll found that most Americans do not think religious liberty is under siege in the U.S.
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