Elevating an inclusive approach to religious liberty
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“The task right now is to desegregate God”
Religious liberty conversations often fail to include discussions of slavery and oppression, and the BJC Dinner explored the need for a new narrative. Held in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Alliance of Baptists Annual Gathering, the April event brought together leaders and religious liberty supporters and showcased the work of some of the BJC Fellows. BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler, along with Dr. Corey Walker, a professor at the University of Richmond, and Dr. Linda McKinnish Bridges, president of the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (BTSR), took the stage for a frank discussion on race, difficult Christian roots and history in this country, and how they impact the future of religious liberty.
Two words, many meanings Tyler began the conversation by asking Bridges and Walker for their definition of religious liberty, since “the words ‘religious liberty’ don’t always have a clear meaning anymore.” Bridges defined religious liberty as “the freedom to give expression to my religious consciousness, or not,” and Walker described it as “not only the freedom to exercise any sort of religious belief, practice, understanding, ritual, or not, but it is also the ability to be able
Photos by Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey
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