View source for Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty

{{Infobox organization
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| website = [https://bjconline.org bjconline.org]
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The '''Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty''' ('''BJC''') is a US faith-based organization which focuses on upholding the historic [[Baptists|Baptist]] principle of [[freedom of religion|religious liberty]]. 

With a staff of attorneys, public intellectuals, ministers and mobilizers, the [[Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C.]]–based non-profit has a long history of advocating in the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] and working with Congress on issues relating to religious freedom and [[Separation of church and state|church-state separation]].

The BJC analyzes new legal cases and legislation within the larger framework of how best to protect the [[First Amendment]] right to religious freedom for all. In recent years, the BJC has gone to the [[Supreme court|Supreme Court]] and filed ''[[amicus curiae]]'' (friend-of-the-court) briefs defending a potential employee's right to wear her hijab to work, opposing the travel ban, and opposing certain government-sponsored displays of religion, such as the giant free-standing cross in a government-owned intersection in [[Bladensburg, Maryland]]. On the legislation front, the BJC supports keeping the [[Johnson Amendment]], which protects houses of worship.  

The BJC has been an outspoken opponent of [[Christians|Christian]] [[nationalism]] and a supporter of religious minorities. The organization often partners with a diversity of religious groups – other Christians, as well as [[Jews|Jewish]], [[Muslims|Muslim]], [[Hindus|Hindu]], [[Sikhs|Sikh]] and [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] – and secular organizations in its advocacy work.<ref>{{cite news |title=UNITING AGAINST RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE IN A CLIMATE OF FEAR |publisher=States News Service |date=December 21, 2015}}</ref>

[[Amanda Tyler]] is the Executive Director and K. Hollyn (Holly) Hollman is the General Counsel and Associate Executive Director.

==History==
The BJC traces its roots to 1936 when it was founded as the Southern Baptist Committee on Public Relations.<ref>Stan L. Hastey's ''A History of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, 1946-1971'', a doctoral thesis presented to the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in October 1973, has been used as a central source for all information until 1971.</ref> After joining forces with American and National Baptists, the committee established offices in Washington, D.C., in 1946 and became the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs. 

Joseph Martin Dawson was elected the organization's first full-time Executive Director, a position he held until his retirement at age 75 on October 13, 1953. Other executive directors of the BJC have been C. Emanuel Carlson (1954–1971), James E. Wood Jr. (1972–1980), James M. Dunn (1981–1999), and [[J. Brent Walker]] (1999–2016). Current executive director Amanda Tyler began her tenure at the start of 2017.

Dawson's leadership led to several significant changes within the organization.  One of the first was the introduction of the ''Report from the Capital'', a periodical containing news and opinions of interest to politically minded Baptists.  The first issue appeared in October 1946, and the BJC still publishes the ''Report'' as a source of views and analysis on church-state issues.

In 1979, a shift occurred when the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] elected [[Adrian Rogers]] as their new president. The BJC's relationship with the Convention got rockier throughout the 1980s.  Prior to these years, resolutions had passed the annual meetings regularly expressing near-unanimous support for the BJC and its stands.<ref>Schleicher, Dorothy C. ''A History and Analysis of the Role of the Baptist Joint Committee, 1972-Present''.  Library Printing Service: Waco TX, 1993, p. 170.</ref>  But as the eighties brought charges of liberalism among the BJC staff on a variety of issues, then Executive Director James Dunn responded:

{{Blockquote|It's ... disingenuous to lament the "left-leaning" of the Baptist Joint Committee regarding issues on which we do not take a stand or lean at all ... The Baptist Joint Committee is chugging straight ahead on the course set in the 1980s by the members and staff of the BJCPA.<ref>Dunn, James M. "Reflections," ''Report from the Capital'' Vol. 44 (January 1989): p. 15</ref>}}

Throughout the controversy, Dunn's reputation was attacked repeatedly. An example comes from [[Paige Patterson]]: "[Dunn] hobnobs with the liberal establishment in the house and Senate ... That doesn't make us very happy either."<ref>Beth Spring.  "James Dunn Is the Focus of a Southern Baptist Controversy," ''Christianity Today'' Vol. 28 (March 16, 1984): p. 44.</ref>

In 1990, the SBC reduced the BJC budget by 87%.<ref>"Executive Committee Cuts BJCPA - CLC Receives Religious Liberty Assignment and $391,796," ''Southern Baptist Public Affairs'' (Spring 1990): p. 9.</ref>  A year later, at the 1991 annual meeting, all funding to the BJC was abolished in an amendment from Fred Minix of Virginia.<ref>Schleicher 194</ref>

After the SBC withdrew its financial support, the Baptist Joint Committee received donations directly from several Southern Baptist state conventions, local churches, and individuals. The agency's other supporting bodies also helped make up the financial difference.<ref>Parry, Pam. "On Guard for Religious Liberty: Six Decades of the Baptist Joint Committee." Macon: Smyth and Helwys Publishing, 1996. Page 57-58.</ref>

==Legislation==
The organization's staff analyzes new legislation, testifies at hearings, and builds advocacy coalitions to sustain religious liberty. Recent examples include:

===The Johnson Amendment===
The BJC supports the [[Johnson Amendment]], the provision in the US tax code that prohibits houses of worship and 501(c)(3) non-profits from partisan campaigning. In response to [[Donald Trump|Trump's]] vow to "destroy" the Johnson Amendment and the administration's repeated attempts to repeal the law, the BJC helped bring together thousands of faith leaders and more than 100 denominations to sign letters to Congress asking to keep it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jagoda |first1=Naomi |title=Religious groups maintain limits on political activity |work=The Hill |date=April 5, 2017}}</ref>

===Opposing school vouchers===
The BJC has worked with religious, public education, and civil liberties groups to oppose publicly funded [[school voucher]] programs, arguing that religious teachings should be paid for by voluntary contributions, not through compulsory taxation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Greenhouse |first1=Linda |title=COURT EASES CURB ON PROVIDING AID IN CHURCH SCHOOLS |work=New York Times |date=June 24, 1997}}</ref>

===Religious minorities===
As part of its mandate to defend religious liberty for all, the BJC supports the Freedom of Religion Act, introduced in January 2019 in Congress, partly in response to Trump's travel ban. The legislation prohibits using immigrants' religion (or lack thereof) as a reason to keep them out of the U.S.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boorstein |first1=Michelle |title=Why many religious liberty groups are silent about the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's travel ban |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>

===Government funding of faith-based organizations ===
The BJC believes it is important to protect the constitutional principle of barring the government from advancing religion, including funding it. Federal money, the BJC argues, should not go to rebuilding churches after a disaster, for example, or to a program that only serves Protestants: government-funded services must be available to all, regardless of religion. One long-standing staple of [[Establishment Clause]] law has been that the government does not fund religion. That responsibility is left to individual religious communities. Using taxpayer dollars to repair and rebuild houses of worship remains constitutionally problematic under the Establishment Clause as taxpayers should not be forced to build sanctuaries for religious teachings with which they disagree.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Banks |first1=Adelle |title=FEMA's plan to reimburse churches draws criticism |publisher=The Christian Century |date=October 18, 2005}}</ref><ref>[http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=5093 The Baptist Standard - Religious freedom threatened in U.S.]</ref>

==Litigation==
A significant part of the BJC's work has been its participation in religious liberty cases that are considered by various courts, particularly in the U.S. Supreme Court. The BJC engages in litigation by filing [[amicus curiae]] briefs, a term that means {{Gloss|friend of the court}}. Those briefs are filed to assist the court by providing support for specific points at issue in the dispute. Throughout the BJC's history, the organization has filed more than 140 legal briefs in court cases.

===Large free-standing cross on government property===
In ''[[American Legion v. American Humanist Association]]'', the question for the U.S. Supreme Court concerned a [[Peace Cross|free-standing 40-foot cross]] on government land in the middle of a major intersection in Bladensburg, Maryland. The BJC filed a brief arguing that the monument is unconstitutional because it represents a government endorsement of religion. In response to claims that the monument has an objective and secular meaning, the BJC countered, stating there is no more recognizable symbol of Christianity than the cross, and any attempt to deny it is offensive to Christians. On June 20, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the cross could remain, basing its decision on the particular history of that memorial monument.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/religious-liberty/supreme-court-playing-favorites-religion|title=The Supreme Court Is Playing Favorites With Religion|last1=Mach|first1=Daniel|date=|website=ACLU|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212053320/https://www.aclu.org/blog/religious-liberty/supreme-court-playing-favorites-religion |archive-date=2019-02-12 |accessdate=}}</ref>

===Muslim ban===
In [[Trump v. Hawaii]], the Supreme Court addressed the White House's third attempt to limit immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries. The BJC argued that the government cannot enact laws designed to harm a specific religious group. But, in June 2018, the Court upheld the validity of the travel ban as within the president's immigration powers. The BJC continues its opposition.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump said he'll 'totally destroy' the Johnson Amendment. What is it and why should people care? |newspaper=Washington Post |date=February 2, 2017}}</ref>

===Wedding cake for a same-sex couple's reception===
[[Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission]] centered around a bakery owner's refusal to make a cake for the wedding reception of a same-sex couple based on his religious beliefs, despite a state law requiring that businesses open to the public not refuse service due to LGBT status. The BJC filed a brief on behalf of the state of Colorado, explaining that laws like this one – covering discrimination against "disability, race, [religion], colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry" – protect religious liberty. Granting a broad exemption for this baker would open the door for other business owners to refuse service to customers in other protected categories based on the business owner's religious beliefs. For example, another commercial baker could use these same arguments to refuse to create a cake for an interfaith couple, an interracial couple or a couple where one had been previously divorced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bjconline.org/masterpiece/|title=Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

===Religious headscarf in the workplace===
In 2015, the BJC and 14 other religious groups joined to defend the right of a Muslim woman to wear her [[hijab]] at work in ''[[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores|Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.]]'' The Supreme Court agreed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bjconline.org/abercrombie/|title=EEOC v. Abercrombie|last=|first=|date=|website=|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205153112/http://bjconline.org/abercrombie |archive-date=2015-02-05 |access-date=}}</ref>

==Advocacy and education==
The BJC led a coalition of Christian organizations to create a way for Christians to take a stand against [[Christian nationalism]] and call out the threat it poses both to their faith and to democracy. On July 29, 2019, they launched ChristiansAgainstChristianNationalism.org, a grassroots movement standing against the political ideology of Christian nationalism. In 2022, the BJC together with the [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]] published a joint report on the role of Christian nationalism in the [[January 6, 2021 Capitol attack]] entitled "Christian nationalism and the January 6, 2021 Insurrection".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seering |first=Lauryn |date=2022-02-09 |title=FFRF, BJC report: Christian nationalism and the January 6 Insurrection |url=https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-bjc-report-christian-nationalism-and-the-january-6-insurrection/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Freedom From Religion Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>

To promote its positions, the BJC publishes a wide array of materials relating to church-state separation, including significant coalition statements.
  
One of the most effective educating tools{{Cn|date=August 2024}} in recent years was "Religion in the Public Schools: A Joint Statement of Current Law." The BJC was a member of the document's drafting committee along with several leading organizations spanning the political spectrum – from the [[National Association of Evangelicals]] and the [[Christian Legal Society]] to the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] and the [[National Council of Churches]]. The document served as a resource for parents, students, teachers, and administrators throughout the [[United States]] and was later condensed and mailed to schools across the country by President [[Bill Clinton]] because of its accuracy and reliability.

===Name changes===

In 2005, the BJC name was changed to the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty to more accurately reflect their singular focus on religious liberty issues. 

In 2019, the organization rebranded as BJC with the tagline ''Faith. Freedom. For All.'', to capture the inclusiveness of its mission and the relevancy of its work.

===75th anniversary===

The Baptist Joint Committee celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2011 and released a special edition of ''Report from the Capital'' highlighting the history of the organization.<ref>{{cite web|title=Celebrate 75 Years of the BJC!|url=http://bjconline.org/celebrate-75-years-of-bjc/|accessdate=21 July 2014}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070329181348/http://www.thefellowship.info/News/GAcoverage/060623shurden.icm Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - Baptist Joint Committee honors Shurden at 70th anniversary luncheon]</ref>

== External links ==
* [http://www.bjconline.org Baptist Joint Committee website]
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|530214244}}

== References ==

[[Category:Baptist organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1936]]
[[Category:Baptist denominations established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Joint committees]]
[[Category:American Christian political organizations]]
[[Category:Separation of church and state in the United States]]