wfn.org | Quotes, "Religion in the Federal Workplace"

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: Carol J. Fouke, National Council of Churches, 212-870-2252
Internet: news@ncccusa.org

QUOTES FROM MEDIA SPOKESPERSONS ON
RELIGION IN THE FEDERAL WORKPLACE GUIDELINES

Marc Stern, Co-Director, Commission on Law and Social Action
American Jewish Congress, Washington, D.C.
 "The President's Guidelines confirm that it is possible to
respect both the rights of the believer and those of non-
believers in the workplace.  It is a mark of the maturity and
mutual respect of American religious institutions that they are
able to endorse a set of principles respective of both sets of
rights.  The American Jewish Congress is proud to have played a
role in reducing that consensus to a single written sheet."

Steven T. McFarland, Director
Center for Law and Religious Freedom
Christian Legal Society, Annandale, Va.
 "Many Americans have never left their religion at the
workplace door.  With these guidelines the stakes for doing so
are significantly reduced.  Religious Americans should not have
to choose between their conscience and their livelihood..Federal
employees may share their beliefs with their co-workers, pray
together at lunch, have their Sabbath respected, invite their
peers to church, and, at promotion time, not be penalized for
having done so."

Elliot Mincberg, Executive Vice President & Legal Director
People for the American Way, Washington, D.C.
 "Federal employees have the right to express their religious
beliefs in the workplace, provided that such expression is not
seen as endorsement of religion by the government and provided
that employees of differing religious beliefs do not harass or
coerce others.  For example, the guidelines would allow a
supervisor to invite co-workers to a son's confirmation in a
church, a daughter's bat mitzvah in a synagogue or to his own
wedding at a temple.  But the same supervisor should not say to
an employee, `I didn't see you in church this week.  I expect to
see you there this Sunday.'"

Rev. Oliver Thomas, Special Counsel for Religious and Civil
Liberties
National Council of Churches, New York, N.Y.
 "The process that produced these guidelines should serve as
a model for how Americans can live together with their deepest
differences.  Although the guidelines apply only to the federal
government, they will have an impact far beyond the beltway.
First, and most obviously, states can use them as a model.  Even
more important may be the impact on private employers who, unlike
state and federal governments, are not subject to the
Constitution's prohibition against establishing religion.

 "The Clinton Administration deserves credit for making clear
that the federal work place is not a religion-free zone.  These
guidelines do what the EEOC was unable to do several years ago -
provide sensible guidance on religion in the workplace that is
supported by both liberals and conservatives.  When both People
For the American Way and the Christian Legal Society can support
a set of guidelines on religion, somebody has done a good job."

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Washington, D.C.
 "These guidelines provide vital protections for the
religious freedom of federal employees in a manner that is fair
and equitable to everyone in the workplace: the religious worker,
his or her co-workers, and his or her supervisor.  This is
vitally important particularly for those employees of minority
religious groups whose rights are often restricted within the
culture of the workplace.

 "Once again, with this bold and forceful action, President
Clinton has proved himself to be-as he did in pushing through the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act and issuing effective
guidelines for protecting religious freedom in America's public
schools-among the most vigorous protectors of religious freedom
in the entire history of the American presidency."

Rev. J. Brent Walker, General Counsel
Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.
 "We applaud the Executive Order that the President is
announcing today.  Carefully crafted guidelines are helpful in
heading off potential church-state conflicts.  They do not solve
every problem, but do promote understanding and facilitate
decision making.  These guidelines represent a proactive attempt
to accommodate the practice of religion and religious expression
in the Federal workplace consistent with the government's
constitutional obligation not to advance religion."

Forest D. Montgomery, Counsel, Office for Governmental Affairs
National Association of Evangelicals, Washington, D.C.
 "Now that the Supreme Court has pronounced the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act unconstitutional, some state government
officials are already turning a deaf ear to legitimate free
exercise requests.  Instead, they should follow the President's
lead.  His guidelines provide that `Federal employers shall
permit personal religious expression by Federal employees to the
greatest extent possible.'"

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