Source: Adventist News Network
http://news.adventist.org/data/2007/04/1179506794/index.html.en
On a night dedicated to recognizing and upholding religious freedom for all, key speaker and United States Senator John Kerry rallied behind a bill designed to protect the rights of people of faith, including Sabbath-keepers, in the workplace. Kerry spoke to a room of 200 guests at the fifth annual religious liberty dinner staged in the historic Caucus Room located in the Russell Senate office building on Thursday, May 17.
"We all uphold the right to practice what we believe as a matter of religious freedom. The ability to be able to do that is a crucial part of our national identity; [it] is what we hold up to other nations and it's what we take great pride in," Kerry told the gathering.
"If this bill goes through," Kerry said, "it will be a major success for religious liberty. I think it's a hallmark of where we are as a nation--in codifying people's ability to truly and freely practice their religions."
Three religious freedom outreaches sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church organized the dinner: Liberty Magazine, the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), and the North American Religious Liberty Association (NARLA). Faith leaders from Catholic, Jewish and Protestant groups, foreign diplomats, representatives from various U.S. government departments, Adventist religious liberty activists and Adventist church leaders from around the world attended the dinner.