Dear Editor,
As a Baptist pastor, religious liberty is important to me. Intrinsic to religious liberty is freedom of conscience: that no person, religious establishment or civil government can interfere with or impede a person’s relationship to God. Each person is free to have their own relationship with the Divine (or no relationship).
What they are not free to do is impose their religious understanding upon another person.
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Historically, Baptists have supported the rights of those to worship (or not) as they choose. We recognize that the Christian faith has many expressions and perspectives, from fundamentalist to progressive, and that there are people of faith from traditions outside of Christianity and people who are not part of any faith community. All of these people and perspectives are important parts of our wider communities.
There certainly is not one universal Christian perspective on LGBTQ+ issues.
Religious liberty means that people are free to believe and live as they choose. To impose those beliefs on others is the opposite of religious liberty. Those filing suit against DCF are not being discriminated against because of their faith. DCF is correct to protect vulnerable children and youth from the imposition of intolerant beliefs.
Rev. Karen A. Mendes,
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Burlington
Read the story on VTDigger here: Rev. Karen A. Mendes: DCF is correct to protect children from the imposition of intolerant beliefs.