wfn.org | Religions Declaration on Liberty, Security and Faith

["Nat'l Council of Churches" <nccc_usa@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2227
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NCC6/27/02 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

faith groups say protection of america must include defense of fundamental
rights of its people

June 27, 2002, NEW YORK CITY - Post-September 11 changes in federal law and
policy raise concern that innocent people have been made to suffer and their
fundamental rights abrogated, according to the National Council of Churches
(NCC), which has joined a dozen faith groups in calling on the U. S.
government to confront and counter terrorism with the least restrictive
means necessary, as determined through open debate and deliberation.

On June 19, as a list of signatories was still in process, the Religious
Declaration on Liberty, Security and Faith was sent to President George W.
Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and the chairs and ranking members of
the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

The document was developed through the efforts of the Civil, Human and
Voting Rights Task Force of the Washington Interreligious Staff Community
(WISC).  NCC Washington-based staff participate in WISC, as do staff of its
member communions and many other faith groups with a Washington presence.
WISC members cooperate in making the voice of faith heard in our nations
capital.

The Religious Declaration supports security measures that are truly
necessary to protect our nation from further danger and harm, but cautions
against adopting methods by which we compromise the very liberty we seek to
defend.

The right of due process has been eroded since September 11, the declaration
says, stating, Persons must be free from arbitrary arrest and detention;
must have a just and open trial with the opportunity to confront accusers;
and must have access to meaningful judicial oversight.

The declaration cites the increasing federal use of sealed warrants to
enter homes and offices and confiscate large quantities of records as a
threat to the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

The statement also upholds the right to privacy, the right to free speech
and assembly, and the right to religious liberty.

Signatories expressed concern that ethnic, national and religious profiling
by law enforcement fosters an environment in which individuals regularly
feel unable or that it is unwise to exercise their right to religious
expression. They also voiced concern that the Department of Justice has
relaxed surveillance restrictions on domestic religious organization.

As part of its next meeting, on July 10, the WISC task force plans to
distribute the Religious Declaration to the full House and Senate Judiciary
Committees.

The full text of the declaration follows, along with the list of signatories
as of June 27.  The Task Force is seeking additional denominational
signatories to the document.

Religious Declaration on Liberty, Security, and Faith

None of us remains untouched by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
and subsequent events. We are bound together by a grief that is shared, a
future that is uncertain, and a newfound sense of our own vulnerability. Who
among us does not yearn for some further measure of control over personal
safety? Who among us does not support that which is truly necessary to
protect our nation from further danger and harm?

Since September 11, our leaders have sought to improve our nations
security, to protect all who live in our country, and to minimize our
vulnerability to further terrorist attack. These actions are in keeping with
the distinct roles and responsibilities of government to maintain social
order, to promote the general welfare and to protect persons and their
rights from external threat.

Yet government must also protect the rights of individuals from internal
erosion. As communities of faith, we are forever asking moral questions
about public policy.  Never is this more difficult-or more important-than
when the nation is rallied for war and charged with patriotism, for these
are the times when fundamental rights are most likely to be cast aside.
Among these are:

The Right to Due Process. Persons must be free from arbitrary arrest and
detention; must have a just and open trial with the opportunity to confront
accusers; and must have access to meaningful judicial oversight.

We are concerned that provisions of the anti-terrorism law (PL 197-56) and a
number of new regulations issued by the Executive Branch reduce the due
process protections for all who reside in the United States, including
undocumented aliens, lawful immigrants, and citizens. Under these new
powers, immigrants may be detained indefinitely while a mysterious process
takes place within the Justice Department to clear them of accusations -
which they have no opportunity to confront - that they are somehow connected
to terrorism.  We know that since September 11th many individuals have been
secretly held without charges for long periods of time and have been
prevented from communicating with attorneys or family members. We are
concerned that the Justice Department has the power to detain-without
evidence-persons that an Immigration Judge has ordered released. We are
further concerned that in these and other cases individuals have little or
no access to meaningful judicial oversight.

The Right to be Free from Unreasonable Search and Seizure. Individuals must
be free from unreasonable searches of their person, homes, and workplaces.

We are concerned that federal law enforcement officials are increasingly
using "sealed warrants" to enter homes and offices and confiscate large
quantities of documents, records, and computer searches, and that these
searches may be being conducted primarily on the basis of the ethnic
identity or association with a particular group of those being searched.
Sealed warrants, while deemed necessary in a small number of circumstances,
impede public oversight and protection of individual rights.

The Right to Privacy. Persons must be free to communicate in their homes,
and have confidential conversations, and written correspondence.

We are concerned that provisions of the anti-terrorism law (PL 197-56) may
weaken the right of individuals to communicate, free of government
interference, by expanding the authority of the federal government to use
wiretaps and obtain information about email transmissions without a search
warrant. We are likewise concerned by changes in Justice Department policy
that weaken our nations long-standing tradition of protecting
attorney-client confidentiality by allowing authorities linked to the
prosecution to listen-in on conversations between some federal prisoners and
their attorneys.

The Right to Free Speech and Assembly. Persons must be free to express their
own beliefs, including dissent, individually or in groups, on government,
public policy and society without fear.

Free and open discussion is essential if we as people-and people of
faith-are to address the challenges that face our nation and world. In such
discussions, respect for persons who hold differing views is essential.
Rather than question the loyalty of those with whom we are in disagreement,
we ought to recognize that true patriotism requires expression that is
critical of injustice and misguided governmental policy, as well as showing
support for the values, policies and practices that are just and good.

The Right to Religious Liberty. Persons must be free to hold religious
belief or unbelief without coercion, to meet together for public worship and
witness, to speak prophetically from religious conviction to government and
society, to live out their religious beliefs, and to be free from government
intrusion, coercion, and control of the free exercise of conscience and
religion.

September 11th has had a chilling effect on the religious expression of
certain faith groups, particularly Muslims. We are concerned that ethnic,
national, and religious profiling by law enforcement only reinforces this
fear, and fosters an environment in which individuals regularly feel unable
or that it is unwise to exercise their right to religious expression. We are
very concerned that the Department of Justice has relaxed surveillance
restrictions on domestic religious organizations.

As communities of faith, we are concerned that changes in federal law and
policy are causing innocent people to suffer needlessly.  We believe that
the efforts of our nation to confront and counter terrorism should be
conducted with the least restrictive means necessary, as determined through
open debate and deliberation.

In our efforts to protect the freedom of our country against aggression from
without, we must be vigilant against the suppression of freedom from within
the United States itself.  In providing a defense against possible attacks
on the liberty of our people, we ought not adopt methods by which we
compromise the very liberty we seek to defend.

SIGNERS
Religious Declaration on Liberty, Security, and Faith
as of June 27, 2002

American Baptist Churches USA
American Friends Service Committee
Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs
Council on American Islamic Relations
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quaker)
Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America
Mennonite Central Committee US Washington Office
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
Presbyterian Church USA
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

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