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The "Religious Liberty" Campaign

Photo by lori05871, CC via Flickr

There’s been a lot of talk recently about religious freedom, and it seems to have intensified as gay marriages have become legal in many states. Sen Orrin Hatch calls judges “uniformly hostile to religion.” Pundits see Sen Ted Cruz building a presidential campaign on the idea that religious liberty has “never been in more peril.” But the researcher and activist Jay Michaelson says this is a political strategy to marshal allies in the ongoing culture wars. He’ll join us to dissect what he sees as a “covert campaign against civil rights.”

  • Jay Michaelson is the author of a 2013 report Redefining Religious Liberty: The Covert Campaign against Civil Rights, published by Political Research Associates, a liberal think-tank focused on social issues.
  • Eric Ethington is communications director for Political Research Associates, and co-founder of Utah Political Capitol.
  • Today, we asked The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whether they provide financial support to The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. We received this statement from spokesperson Jessica Moody. The pressures on churches with regards to religious freedom are growing and we, as well as many other faiths, are deeply concerned. We have been happy to provide financial and other support to the Becket Fund in helping to reassert religious freedom.
  • You can hear a talk on religious liberty given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks at Utah Valley University earlier this year. 
  • RadioWest is planning a second show on religious liberty from the other side of the debate. Stay tuned.

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Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.