Key points for religious freedom and nondiscrimination

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Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called for United States legislation that protects religious freedoms and outlined five key points on the subject:

1. The Church will support legislation where it is being sought to provide protections in housing, employment and some other areas where LGBT people do not have protections, while ensuring that religious freedom is not compromised.

2. The Church believes that a “fairness for all” approach, which strives to balance reasonable safeguards for LGBT people while protecting key religious rights, is the best way to overcome the sharp divisions and present cultural divide in the nation.

3. The Church is alarmed at the erosion of religious freedom. When religious people are publicly intimidated, retaliated against, forced from employment or made to suffer personal loss because they have raised their voice in the public square, donated to a cause or participated in an election, democracy is the loser. This is just as wrong as persecution or retaliation against LGBT people.

4. This appeal for a balanced approach between religious and gay rights does not represent a change or shift in doctrine for the Church. It does represent a desire to bring people together, to encourage mutually respectful dialogue in what has become a highly polarized national debate.

5. In this approach, neither side may get all that they want. People must all learn to live with others who do not share the same beliefs or values.

See how Twitter reacted to the Church’s hashtag on religious freedom and nondiscrimination #fairness4all.

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