Chelsea Langston Bombino, September 22, 2016

In our time of a growing public commitment to eradicate discrimination against LGBT people, faith-based organizations with a religiously grounded commitment to conservative sexual ethics are under intense scrutiny and growing suspicion. Actions they take to maintain faithfulness to their convictions are all too commonly reinterpreted as efforts to perpetuate bigotry. Appeals to religious freedom are commonly reframed by thought leaders and the media as a demand to be free to discriminate. If faith-based organizations are to remain free to serve in accordance with their deep religious convictions, the positive reputation of religious freedom and of faith-based services needs to be revived.

Negative public perceptions of faith-based organizations often arise because religious freedom is seen by increasing proportions of the public as the opposite of justice. In an article in the Washington Post entitled “Don’t Wreck Religious Liberty’s Brand,” E.J Dionne states:

“Religious-liberty exceptions that have been carefully thought through make good sense… But turning religious liberty into a sweeping slogan that can be invoked to resist any social change that some group of Americans doesn’t like will create a backlash against all efforts at accommodating religion. Forgive me, but this is bad for the brand of religious liberty.”

Whether or not the charges are fair and accurate, faith-based organizations must take a sober look at the landscape of public perception today and take seriously the negative views that have surrounded religious freedom. To many of our fellow citizens, authentic and acceptable religious freedom protects worship and the religious rituals of individuals, but it emphatically cannot be allowed to protect religious organizations whose policies and practices do not affirm contemporary sexual morality. It does not help that religious freedom is sometimes viewed as the automatic refrain of white evangelical Christians with a persecution complex.

But religious freedom has a better reputation than this in the history of the American story. Religious freedom has protected minority religions and pacifists unable to take up arms; religious convictions about justice and human dignity propelled the civil rights movement and inspired abolitionists before that. While faith-based organizations may never be able to transform public consensus, there are important steps they can take to challenge popular misconceptions and to revive the reputation of religious freedom so that it is seen as a positive for many groups of society.

Last week, a significant study was released that quantifies the socio-economic impact of faith in America. The report, written by Brian and Melissa Grimm and released by Faith Counts, estimates that congregations, faith-based nonprofits, and faith-inspired businesses currently contribute 1.2 trillion dollars annually to American society.

As Brian Grimm states in a video summarizing the findings of the report: “In a country where we too often hear about what divides us, it might be time to talk about what unites us…there are many religions in the United States…each with their own congregations, charities, schools and businesses.” This study shows that there 26 congregations for every one Starbucks in America. These congregations provide many diverse services both to their members and to their surrounding communities, including food banks, early childhood centers, substance abuse treatment programs, and much more. The combined contribution of religion to the U.S. every year exceeds the revenues of the 10 largest tech companies, including Apple and Google.

Ram Cnann, the Director for Religion and Social Policy research at the University of Pennsylvania, summarized the significance of this new study to the field.

“For the last twenty-five years, I have been interested in the positive side of religion. What is it that religion does that is good for society? Grimm did something that is very impressive. He put a number on religion in the United States. This is the beginning of a national debate: not if religion is important, but how much it is important.”

This report, along with an accompanying video, is part of a larger effort of a new organization called Faith Counts. This non-profit organization comprises diverse faith communities, including Hillel, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the LDS Church, which together include over 100 million Americans. The simple mission of Faith Counts is to spread the news of the positive impact of faith in people’s lives, and thus to contribute to the shaping of a positive public perception for religious people and organizations in America. Faith Counts’ Who We Are page states: “Each day, faith inspires people to reach out and help others. It connects them to a diverse and vibrant community. It empowers them to rise above the sometimes gritty reality of everyday life. There is a growing sense that faith should somehow be kept private…We want to change that.”

This new report and the larger efforts of Faith Counts can especially help faith-based organizations to change the dialogue about the value of religion in public life, which in turn has the capacity to shift the public’s perception of religious freedom itself. Faith-based organizations have the opportunity to correct the popular narrative with courage and grace. In doing so, they will be faced with thought-provoking questions. How is advocating for religious freedom working for justice? Why is religious freedom good for those who are not part of the majority?

• Religious freedom is the freedom to serve, to dissent, and to live by deep convictions, even when these are unpopular.
• Religious freedom for faith-based organizations is important because it encourages creativity and allows people with different needs and preferences to access a broad range of beneficial services.
• Religious freedom is not unbounded. But it is a vital means for protecting diversity and choice in society, and it is based on core constitutional rights.

Faith-based organizations and their stakeholders should care about shaping a positive public perception because, when cultivated over time, it prevents PR nightmares and helps undermine illegitimate claims or misconceptions. A positive public perception also helps faith-based organizations to positively shine their light boldly for everyone, and to demonstrate how society benefits when diverse service providers are free to thrive.