Latter-day Saint Leaders Oppose Equality Act Over Religious Liberty Concerns
May 13, 2019, 9:45 AM | Updated: 9:47 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement Monday morning that opposes the Equality Act because of concerns regarding religious liberty.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is deeply concerned that the ongoing conflicts between religious liberty and LGBT rights is poisoning our civil discourse, eroding the free exercise of religion and preventing diverse Americans of good will from living together in respect and peace,” the statement reads.
The Equality Act is a bill currently in Congress that would amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in everything from employment to federal funding.
While the church is “on record favoring reasonable measures that secure rights,” leaders say the Equality Act does not do enough to protect the rights of “individuals and faith communities to freely gather, speak out publicly, serve faithfully and live openly according to their religious beliefs without discrimination or retaliation, even when those beliefs may be unpopular,” according to the church’s statement.