On June 15th, in an event sponsored by the National Council of Churches, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Interfaith Criminal Justice Coalition, and the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, religious leaders gathered at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., to pray for victims and families of the Orlando shooting and to discuss social reform. According to a press release, the event consisted of leaders from the Christian, Islam and Jewish faiths.
Rabbi Jonah Pesner, the director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, said, "In the face of a tragedy like we experienced this week, we people of faith come together to bear witness that the world as it is, which is broken with suffering and oppression, is not the world as it need be … And so we lift up our moral voice today in outrage and in prayer."
The event was also in efforts of progressing a sentencing reform bill — The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 (S. 2123) — that would reform the “Three Strikes” rule that impacts many of the 2.3 million imprisoned Americans to serve extensive time for minor offenses. Sentencing reform has been an issue that is bipartisan and has had support from both members of the Republican and Democrat parties. Since last October, it has been on the desk of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Faith leaders urged Senators and House members that this bill needs to move forward.
“We have been supportive of this bill since the beginning, and still feel that it is the best chance we will have to see meaningful change for years to come,” said Associate General Secretary of the National Council of Churches Aundreia Alexander. “If this legislation is not brought to a vote in the next few weeks, it likely will die. Time is of the essence. We urge Congress to act now.”
Outside of the event, religious leaders have already been gathering for prayer, fundraisers and more to help support the stop of senseless violence and injustice, whether it be prison reform or the recent tragic Orlando shooting. To the surprise of some, Chick-Fil-A — a company in the spotlight a few years ago when its CEO officially objected to gay marriage — gave out free food to those donating blood in Orlando. However, many people have criticized religious leaders for being the cause of intolerance towards the LGBTQ+ community. In the essay “Why ‘Tolerating’ Your Loved Ones Is Dangerous” by Bianka Bell, Bell notes that it is the rise of tolerance that is truly harmful.
“While the ‘culture’ has not yet been normatively integrated into the global social scheme, there has undoubtedly been an escalation in general toleration of queer people. For those who are acting out this toleration, it may seem like a sufficient stance to hold. But I, a queer person living in 2016 America, am going to tell you something that is imperative to the wellbeing of your loved ones: ‘Tolerating’ them will no longer cut it,” writes Bell. Bell calls tolerance “lethal” and “a gateway for the more radical minded to act on [one’s] suppressed sentiments.”
Returning to D.C., the support of religious leaders in hearing and acting on the concerns of the LGBTQ+ community is becoming increasingly demanded. Many editorials and opinion pieces as well as late night TV hosts have asserted that prayers are not enough to stop tragedy. On her show "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee," Bee quoted James 2:17: “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
