It is not unusual for socially conservative Republicans to argue that religion is under attack, but many 2016 presidential hopefuls at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition took it to a new level Saturday, using dire police state imagery to characterize the current climate.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., concluded comments on the need to respect privacy, constitutional rights and civil rights for everyone by stating, “When they send the police to your churches — When they send the police into your church and ask your minister for their sermons, that is the time for civil disobedience,” he said, to cheers and applause.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said the the country was in the midst of an “unprecedented assault” on religious freedom rights. Reacting to a recent comment by Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton that “religious beliefs … have to be changed” for those who oppose abortion, Jindal wondered aloud how she would do that if she had the chance.
“She didn’t suggest whether we should go to re-education camps or how she intends to do that,” Jindal said.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee noted the controversy caused by his recent comments that the country is heading towards the “criminalization of Christianity” — and then doubled down on them.
“Let me be clear tonight. I am not backing off because what I said is true. We are criminalizing Christianity in this country by telling people who hold to an orthodox biblical worldview of biblical marriage that if you still believe that and practice that and adhere to that then you could be guilty of discrimination resulting in some civil or criminal action against you,” Huckabee said.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz said that the modern Democratic Party had gotten, “so extreme, so intolerant (that) there is a liberal fascism that is dedicated to going after and targeting believing Christians who follow the biblical teachings on marriage.”
The Iowa event was an opportunity for the Republican candidates to appeal to a gathering of politically-involved, mostly Christian evangelicals. It is a much-prized group for those candidates who hope to win the state’s presidential caucus, the first major event of the primary season.
Many attendees were spooked by the recent controversy of the Indiana’s attempt to adopt a state version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Liberal groups pushed back hard, arguing that legislation would legalize sex discrimination, and succeeded in getting the state to water down the bill.
Tim Overlin of Des Moines was in “100 percent agreement” with the candidates. “We’re getting pushed around and put on the defensive. We need to stop that,” he said.
That controversy and the one over the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision caught many on the right off-guard because they thought the act itself was a compromise that liberals had previously agreed to honor.
“We’re not trying to force our beliefs on other people,” said Rick, a Des Moines native who declined to give his full name, adding, “But the gay rights people and the abortionists are trying force us to accept theirs.”
Many marveled — and worried — at how quickly the goalposts had shifted in less than two decades.
“It wasn’t too long ago when religious liberty was an area of bipartisan agreement,” Cruz said, noting the federal version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed in 1997. “It passed the Senate 97-3. It enjoyed the support of such famed right-wingers as Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer. It was signed into law by Bill Clinton.”
He added later, “When did the Democratic Party abandon religious liberty?”
