Jeff Sessions' ludicrous "religious liberty" task force is the real threat to liberty

Attorney general claims he wants to protect religious freedom. History suggests he’s excusing discrimination

AMANDA MARCOTTE
AUGUST 1, 2018 10:00AM (UTC)

On Monday, during a "religious liberty summit" held by the Department of Justice, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced, with great fanfare, that he was organizing a "religious liberty" task force. Saying that the nation "can take pride in respecting all people as they fully exercise their faiths," Sessions nonetheless warned that a "dangerous movement, undetected by many, is now challenging and eroding our great tradition of religious freedom," and that this movement "must be confronted and defeated."

Sounds terrifying, of course. A secret movement to undermine the right of Americans to choose their own faith and worship as they see fit would indeed be a threat to freedom, and should be resisted by all Americans. But is that what's really going on?

Activists who work in fields protecting civil rights and religious liberties, however, are deeply skeptical of Sessions' latest gambit, and not just because the attorney general failed to name who, exactly, is behind this supposed anti-religion movement.

"This is just another in a long line of thinly attempts by this administration to sanction discrimination in health care, often to the detriment to the health and rights of women, the LGBTQ community and other communities," said Rachana Desai Martin, a federal policy advisor for the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Martin compared the move to the Department of Health and Human Services' recent decision to open a new division focused solely on religious and moral exemption claims, even though "there was no real indication something like that was needed."

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https://www.salon.com/2018/08/01/jeff-sessions-ludicrous-religious-liberty-task-force-is-the-real-threat-to-liberty/