\u201cThe agenda of such groups in opposing basic conscience protections could hardly be more diametrically opposed to our nation\u2019s great traditions of freedom of conscience and of religion,\u201d Lomperis, who serves as United Methodist Director for the institute, told CNA Feb. 10.<\/span>
He contended that the pattern of grants \u201cserves a fundamentally totalitarian vision these foundations and their allied politicians have of \u2018religious liberty.\u2019\u201d This vision is especially opposed to those who value traditional sexual morality and respect for unborn human life, he noted.<\/span>
\u201cOur society is now facing serious questions about to what extent Christians (as well as, to a lesser extent, followers of other faiths) will be allowed to have the same degree to live in accordance with our values without facing new and powerful coercions,\u201d Lomperis said.<\/span>
The Arcus Foundation\u2019s website lists a 2014 grant of $100,000 to the American Civil Liberties Foundation supporting \u201ccommunications strategies to convince conservative Americans that religious exemptions are \u2018un-American.\u2019\u201d A two-year Arcus grant to the ACLU in 2013 gave $600,000 to support the ACLU\u2019s Campaign to End the Use of Religion to Discriminate. Arcus Foundation tax forms describe this as a \u201cmulti-pronged\u201d effort to combat \u201cthe growing trend of institutions and individuals claiming exemptions from anti-discrimination laws because of religious objections.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom? John Lomperis of the Institute for Religion and Democracy says that so far as the Ford Foundation and the Arcus Foundation are concerned, the answer may be yes. From Catholic News Agency: \u201cThe agenda of such groups in opposing basic conscience protections could hardly be more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1155,"featured_media":28025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,40,199,3565,210,1304,1],"tags":[57,356,7190],"class_list":["post-28022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","category-christianity-2","category-first-amendment","category-freedom-of-conscience-2","category-freedom-of-religion","category-religious-freedom-2","category-uncategorized","tag-aclu","tag-religious-freedom","tag-special-interest-groups"],"yoast_head":"\n
Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom? John Lomperis of the Institute for Religion and Democracy says that so far as the Ford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom? John Lomperis of the Institute for Religion and Democracy says that so far as the Ford\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Public Catholic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-02-13T23:28:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/254\/2015\/02\/religious-freedom.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rebecca Hamilton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rebecca Hamilton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/\",\"name\":\"Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-13T23:28:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-02-13T23:28:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d\"},\"description\":\"Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom? John Lomperis of the Institute for Religion and Democracy says that so far as the Ford\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/\",\"name\":\"Public Catholic\",\"description\":\"Catholic in the Public Square\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d\",\"name\":\"Rebecca Hamilton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rebecca Hamilton\"},\"description\":\"During her tenure in the Oklahoma Legislature, Rep. Hamilton has been an advocate for human rights, believing that government must support and defend the sanctity of all human lives, from conception to natural death. Representative Hamilton: Authored the original Victim\u2019s Protective Order to protect battered women, Obtained funding for the first statewide program for adult day care and the first statewide program of domestic violence shelters, and she She has also passed legislation to prevent law enforcement officials from publicly posting the private information of rape victims, Rep. Hamilton authored a 2005 law hailed as the most significant piece of pro-life legislation in Oklahoma in 30 years. She also passed the bill outlawing elective abortions in state-funded hospitals She has passed pro life bills requiring informed consent, parental notification, and limiting forced abortions. She also passed a law allowing prosecutors to file criminal charges against anyone who intentionally causes the death of an unborn child by harming the mother. Rep. Hamilton has also authored legislation ensuring taxpayers are not forced to subsidize elective abortions Rep. Hamilton was one of six original co-founders of first rape crisis center in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Democrat has worked to bring a wide range of groups together to fight on the behalf of abused women, including the creation of the Annual Day of Prayer for an End to Violence Against Women at the Oklahoma Capitol. Rep. Hamilton has been married for 30 years to her husband, Rodney, and the couple has two grown sons. She attends St. James Catholic Church, and is a long-time volunteer at Birth Choice of Oklahoma.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/author\/rhamilton\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?","description":"Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom? John Lomperis of the Institute for Religion and Democracy says that so far as the Ford","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?","og_description":"Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom? John Lomperis of the Institute for Religion and Democracy says that so far as the Ford","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/","og_site_name":"Public Catholic","article_published_time":"2015-02-13T23:28:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":423,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/254\/2015\/02\/religious-freedom.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rebecca Hamilton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rebecca Hamilton","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/","name":"Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-02-13T23:28:07+00:00","dateModified":"2015-02-13T23:28:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d"},"description":"Are wealthy US foundations paying to suppress religious freedom? John Lomperis of the Institute for Religion and Democracy says that so far as the Ford","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/2015\/02\/are-wealthy-us-foundations-paying-to-suppress-religious-freedom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are Wealthy US Foundations Paying to Suppress Religious Freedom?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/","name":"Public Catholic","description":"Catholic in the Public Square","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/e8d2778109308e0e776e5c16eae7b67d","name":"Rebecca Hamilton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f6253ced313d53e0b7bfa51e5c9eb56d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Rebecca Hamilton"},"description":"During her tenure in the Oklahoma Legislature, Rep. Hamilton has been an advocate for human rights, believing that government must support and defend the sanctity of all human lives, from conception to natural death. Representative Hamilton: Authored the original Victim\u2019s Protective Order to protect battered women, Obtained funding for the first statewide program for adult day care and the first statewide program of domestic violence shelters, and she She has also passed legislation to prevent law enforcement officials from publicly posting the private information of rape victims, Rep. Hamilton authored a 2005 law hailed as the most significant piece of pro-life legislation in Oklahoma in 30 years. She also passed the bill outlawing elective abortions in state-funded hospitals She has passed pro life bills requiring informed consent, parental notification, and limiting forced abortions. She also passed a law allowing prosecutors to file criminal charges against anyone who intentionally causes the death of an unborn child by harming the mother. Rep. Hamilton has also authored legislation ensuring taxpayers are not forced to subsidize elective abortions Rep. Hamilton was one of six original co-founders of first rape crisis center in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Democrat has worked to bring a wide range of groups together to fight on the behalf of abused women, including the creation of the Annual Day of Prayer for an End to Violence Against Women at the Oklahoma Capitol. Rep. Hamilton has been married for 30 years to her husband, Rodney, and the couple has two grown sons. She attends St. James Catholic Church, and is a long-time volunteer at Birth Choice of Oklahoma.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/author\/rhamilton\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28022"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28026,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28022\/revisions\/28026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/publiccatholic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/254\/2015\/02\/religious-freedom.jpg\")
<\/a>