In 2021, Liz and Gabe Rutan-Ram applied to become foster parents in Tennessee but faced discrimination from a Christian state-funded agency due to their Jewish faith. They sued the Tennessee department of children’s services, challenging a law that allows agencies to reject prospective parents based on religious beliefs. This case sheds light on Project 2025, a conservative plan advocating for faith-based adoption agencies’ right to refuse services based on beliefs.
Project 2025 aims to redefine family and promote a biblically-based view of marriage, prioritizing heterosexual, intact marriages as the ideal family structure. The plan also calls for legislation to protect religious organizations from discrimination and grant them autonomy to make placement decisions based on their beliefs.
Critics, including Rev Naomi Washington-Leapheart, argue that Project 2025’s agenda excludes unmarried, single, and LGBTQ+ families, undermining the diversity of family structures in American society. The Rutan-Rams have become the faces of a campaign to challenge the Christian nationalist goals of Project 2025, highlighting the potential erosion of the separation between church and state.
Amanda Tyler, from the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, warns that Project 2025’s sweeping plan could lead to authoritarianism and theocracy, eroding foundational principles of democracy. With support from the US Supreme Court, Christian nationalist activists are making strides in reshaping government policies and funding to prioritize religious beliefs.
The Rutan-Rams’ lawsuit and the broader campaign against Project 2025 highlight the ongoing battles over religious freedom, equality, and separation of church and state in the United States. Concerns about the rise of theocracy and exclusionary policies underscore the urgency of protecting the rights and diversity of all families in American society.
Source
Photo credit www.theguardian.com