>New U.S. religious liberties project launched, U.S. Attorney General announces to Southern Baptists

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New U.S. religious liberties project launched, U.S. Attorney General announces to Southern Baptists

By Anita Wadhwani, The Tennessean, February 20, 2007

The U.S. will establish a new Religious Freedom Task Force and step up enforcement efforts as part of an expanded push to protect against religious discrimination, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez announced today in Nashville at a gathering of Southern Baptist leaders.

The Department of Justice’s "First Freedom Project" will review religious discrimination complaints, hold seminars to educate religious leaders about how to file complaints and launch a Web site with information on religious liberty laws, Gonzalez announced.

"One of our most cherished freedoms -- is our religious liberties," Gonzalez told the gathering of about 100 Southern Baptists at the denomination’s national headquarters in downtown Nashville. "Nothing defines us more as Americans." But, he said, religious discrimination is "an area of law that has not always been given sufficient attention by our government."

Gonzales's announcement was met with skepticism by local civil libertarians. If the First Freedom Project was meant to protect the religious freedoms of all Americans, why was it was announced only to a room full of Southern Baptists, asked Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the Tennessee branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Why was just one particular religious community there?" she said. "Religious freedom is a right all of us hold dear...You'd think you'd want the rainbow of religious beliefs represented."

Gonzalez told reporters that he chose a meeting of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination because, "this is a group that’s very interested in religious freedom." The gathering is a "receptive audience that would appreciate," his message, he said.

Gonzalez also unveiled a 43-page Report on Enforcement of Laws Protecting Religious Freedom.

The report highlights the increase in enforcement of religious discrimination laws under the Bush Administration, he said.

For example, in the area of religious discrimination cases in education, there were 82 cases reviewed and 40 cases investigated between fiscal years 2001 and 2006, the report said. In 1995-2000, there was one case reviewed and no investigations.

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