WASHINGTON (BP) - Hostility toward religious expression "has reached an all-time high" in the United States, according to a new report.
"The Survey of Religious Hostility in America" shows a rising tide of attacks on religious liberty in the public square and in schools as well as against churches and ministries, Liberty Institute (LI) and Family Research Council (FRC) said in the 140-page report. The organizations released the document Aug. 17 and held an Aug. 20 news conference at Tampa, Fla., during the Republican National Convention's platform committee meeting in that city.
The report, which is an update of a 2004 survey by LI, documents more than 600 instances of hostility toward religion -- hostility it says is dramatically growing in both frequency and type. Most have taken place in the last 10 years. Religious liberty advocates have prevailed in legal challenges in some of the incidents, not in others.
"America today would be unrecognizable to our Founders," said Kelly Shackelford, LI president, and Tony Perkins, FRC president, in the introduction to the survey. "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. This radicalized minority is driven by an anti-religious ideology that is turning the First Amendment upside down." Baptist Press.
"The Survey of Religious Hostility in America" shows a rising tide of attacks on religious liberty in the public square and in schools as well as against churches and ministries, Liberty Institute (LI) and Family Research Council (FRC) said in the 140-page report. The organizations released the document Aug. 17 and held an Aug. 20 news conference at Tampa, Fla., during the Republican National Convention's platform committee meeting in that city.
The report, which is an update of a 2004 survey by LI, documents more than 600 instances of hostility toward religion -- hostility it says is dramatically growing in both frequency and type. Most have taken place in the last 10 years. Religious liberty advocates have prevailed in legal challenges in some of the incidents, not in others.
"America today would be unrecognizable to our Founders," said Kelly Shackelford, LI president, and Tony Perkins, FRC president, in the introduction to the survey. "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. This radicalized minority is driven by an anti-religious ideology that is turning the First Amendment upside down." Baptist Press.
