SALEM, Ore. — Former Sen. Mark Hatfield — an Oregon Republican whose Baptist faith helped shape his political views during nearly half a century in public office — died Aug. 7 after several years of declining health.
A five-term senator who retired in 1997, Hatfield remained a staunch advocate of the separation of church and state.
“A lifelong Baptist, Mark Hatfield took his faith seriously,” recalled Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. “He integrated his Christianity into his public life, but without judging or coercing others to do the same.”
Walker cited Hatfield’s “stellar record on religious liberty issues.” He co-sponsored the landmark Equal Access Act of 1984, upholding the right of religion clubs to meet in public secondary schools.
In 1993, he helped pass the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, aimed at protecting religious freedom for all Americans.
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