Fact check: What the candidates for governor got right or wrong during this week's debates
POLITICS

Why were 'religious freedom' supporters mostly silent?

Tim Evans
tim.evans@indystar.com

Reaction to Indiana's new "religious freedom" law has come fast, hard and loud.

And the public firestorm has been fueled almost exclusively by critics — from gay rights activists to business leaders to celebrities— who see the law as a license to discriminate under the guise of religion.

Oddly and conspicuously missing has been a strong counter-show of public support by the law's backers, including evangelical Christians.

Polling shows Americans are divided nearly evenly on the issue of gay marriage — even down to whether wedding-related businesses should be forced to serve same-sex couples in the face of a strongly held religious objection — but you wouldn't know the split was so close based on the noise swirling around Indiana in the last few days.

The ceremony where Gov. Mike Pence's signed the bill into law Thursday was deliberately low-key and private. The event was closed to the media and, even though the governor's office issued a photograph of Pence surrounded by a clutch of backers — many in religious garb — the governor's staff refused to provide their names.

So what's the deal?

Is it that backers don't want to appear to be gloating in the wake of a major victory in the cultural war?

Or is it something deeper, reflecting a changing attitude about the broader issue of discussing religion in public — a shift that has left many who hold deep religious beliefs leery, maybe even afraid, to speak out for fear of being marginalized, labeled as fanatics or targeted for retribution?

The answer, according to the few backers who responded to questions from The Star, appears to be a mix of the two. But it also is true that some religious groups have not backed the new law.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) sent a letter to Pence this week threatening to cancel its 2017 convention in Indy if he signed the measure into law.

"Our perspective is that hate and bigotry wrapped in religious freedom is still hate and bigotry," Todd Adams, the associate general minister and vice president of the Indianapolis-based denomination, told The Indianapolis Star.

Other faith leaders took a more measured approach.

While noting he could not speak for the United Methodist Church, Bishop Michael J. Coyner of the Indiana Area of the UMC, issued a statement saying: "We oppose discrimination against anyone, so we hope this law will not allow or encourage discrimination."

The public flap over the law that has catapulted Indiana into a negative national spotlight comes at a time when nearly three quarters of Americans think religion is losing influence in American life, according to Pew Research Center polling in September. That is up 5 percent from 2010 — and Pew reports "most people who say religion's influence is waning see this as a bad thing."

As a consequence, the center notes, the percentage of Americans "who say churches and other houses of worship should express their views on social and political issues" has jumped six percent — to nearly half the U.S. population — since 2010.

That belief is strongest among Americans who see religion as having a positive impact on society, a belief the Pew polling found "is much more evident among Republicans and those who lean toward the GOP." And in Indiana, the most adamant among the group — evangelical Christians — represent more than a third of all Hoosier adults.

Still, several religious leaders and social conservatives told The Star that stepping into the harsh spotlight of a contentious public debate is not always easy.

"Political activity is not the heart and soul of the faith community. In contrast, progressives thrive on politics," said Mike Fichter, president and CEO of Indiana Right to Life.

"And the outgrowth of that is seen very clearly in the difference in how each side approaches issues like this."

Fichter said the organization backs the new law because of a desire "to provide greater protections for pro-life businesses and ministries in Indiana." He cited the case of Hobby Lobby, which was sued after it objected on religious grounds to an Affordable Care Act requirement that the company cover certain contraceptives for women.

The business eventually won a fight in federal court, but Fichter said the federal RFRA act would not protect companies such as Hobby Lobby from state laws. That's why, he said, the new law is needed in Indiana.

Indiana Right to Life has set up a link on its website that allows supporters to send "thank you" messages to the governor and the Republican lawmakers who sponsored the legislation.

"There is zero interest in gloating over the passage of this religious liberty bill. What we want to express is a spirit of appreciation for our legislature tackling this tough issue and and for the governor signing this bill," Fichter explained.

"This law does not apply only to Catholics or evangelicals or to people of the Jewish faith. This applies to every citizen in the state of Indiana. So we think everyone wins, but our style is not to run this up the flagpole as some type of victory to gloat about."

Fichter and other religious leaders stopped short of saying people of faith are intimidated when it comes to speaking about their faith, "although it is undeniable in today's culture that an open profession of faith brings with it labels and stereotypes," he said.

"That's just part of the territory today."

Curt Smith, president of the Indiana Family Institute, said that threat of public ridicule has affected some — but not all — believers.

"I think a lot of people have been bullied into silence," he said, "But there are others who are stepping up. I see both: some people who are afraid to step up and yet I also see a smaller group that is more willing."

Smith, who is shown standing directly behind Gov. Pence in one photograph from the private bill-signing ceremony, said the nature of Christianity also may help explain why the reaction appears to be so one sided.

"Some people would say that Christianity itself calls us to meekness. So there's that sort of defining feature, that 'turn the other cheek,'" he explained.

And then there's a much more practical factor.

"Why would you want to engage a bunch of hateful people," Smith asked. "We're always accused of being bigots. Who had the signs (Thursday)? Who was yelling? I have that conviction so I can carry that into places. But most people don't think like that."

Smith and other supporters, including the governor, have insisted the bill is not a slap-back in response to the string of federal court victories over the last two years striking down same-sex marriage bans in dozens of states, including Indiana. But, Smith acknowledged, some gay marriage advocates may choose to see it that way.

And they would have at least some reason for such views.

Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, said last fall that opponents of same-sex marriage would need to refocus their efforts after a federal appeals court refused to overturn the lower court ruling that struck down Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage. That ruling, in effect, also brought an end to efforts to enshrine a gay marriage ban in the state constitution.

Clark — who also can be seen standing behind Pence in a photo from the bill signing Thursday — said at the time that shift would be toward enacting legislation that protects Hoosiers from being forced to participate in or support gay marriages they oppose on religious or moral grounds.

And the website for Advance America, a pro-family, pro-church group headed by influential lobbyiest Eric Miller, who also was invited to attend the private bill signing, makes no bones about what is behind the new law. It proclaims: "Churches, Christian businesses and individuals deserve protection from those who support homosexual marriages and those who support government recognition and approval of gender identity (men who dress as women). SB 101 will help provide the protection!"

David Seeley, pastor of Pilgrim Nazarene Church in Indianapolis, offered another insight.

"We're not adding any new laws," he said. "This is just re-enforcing the ones that already exist."

The outcry against the law, Seeley added, is coming from "a very small but very loud minority."

"The longer you say something and the louder you say it," he said, "the more people believe it."

Meanwhile, Seeley added, many supporters simply aren't interested in wading into a nasty public debate — in part, at least, because people who espouse strong religious beliefs can be targeted for ridicule.

"We have a tendency in our culture, you know, that your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth," Seeley said.

"I think that really does play into it a lot. Because it is marginalizing to take a stand over what you believe in. And so it's easier to go with the flow than it is to be a salmon going upstream."

Call Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.