On Religious Freedom Day, we commemorate the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The legislation was drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777 and eventually shepherded by James Madison through the legislature in 1786. Historians agree that it provided the basis for which the framers of the Constitution and later, the First Amendment’s approach to matters of religion and government and the rights of citizens. But religious freedom gets in the way of governmental, religious and economic tyrants and the wannabes. Certain interests didn’t like all this at the time and they don’t like it now.
Among these are certain wealthy libertarian conservatives who are busy undermining religious freedom. Their goal is the domination of society by mythical market forces. To get there, they are underwriting reactionary religious allies to undermine their common enemy: healthy democratic institutions that are dedicated to delivering for the common good, and able to thwart the best efforts of movements seeking religious supremacy of their beliefs over others. These same forces also funded elements of the January 6 Insurrectionist movement.
In a healthy democracy such as ours, faith often informs societal morality – to a critical point. Pluralistic society should operate like a well-made clock. People of good conscience share certain basic values, notions of social behavior regarding such things as tolerance, as well as repugnance to theft and violence. These values operate like the finely tuned gears of a timepiece. As each cog operates within its own parameters, it fits with the next, all working together to tell the correct time of the day.
This is similar to the objective understanding of a moral good.
But there is also a type of moral good that is more subjective, and is not shared. Take for example, embryonic stem cell research. The official position of the Catholic Church is complete opposition and is considered a sin. Judaism and many Protestant denominations, however, approve of this life-saving research. Indeed, in Judaism it is considered a sin not to do such late potentially life-saving research. This is where one faith’s particular belief may be contrary to consensus.
To use government to deny another individual access to a subjective good such as stem cell research or reproductive rights is not religious freedom but the elevation of the religious doctrines of some, over those of many if not most others. This also elevates certain religious doctrines over broadly accepted ideas of the common good.
As an American Catholic, I was disturbed to discover that reactionary elements of my faith are being underwritten by libertarian source of dark money:
Donor’sTrust.
As Brian Fraga of The National Catholic Reporter explained:
People with economic interests have figured out that they can use the cultural antipathies that have grown out of the abortion debate to combat climate change [mitigation measures], COVID regulations, to do all these things that serve a libertarian agenda, which is inimical to Catholic social teaching," said Steven Millies, director of the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Fraga reminded us of how Donor Trust’s operates:
As a donor-advised fund, Donors Trust essentially is a clearinghouse — it receives funds from outside groups, and then uses those funds to make contributions to recognized charities. People who donate to donor-advised funds can recommend where their money goes, but the funds themselves have final say over how the money is allocated. The donors may get a larger tax write-off than they would giving to other charities or foundations.
A lede to an article posted by The Daily Beast last November revealed a disturbing discovery: “Efforts to overturn the election. Jan. 6 organizers. White supremacist groups. And more than a dozen private and public universities.” Continuing directly, “They all have one thing in common: They received anonymous funding funneled through a single conservative dark money behemoth.”
That behemoth is Donor’s Trust.
Returning to the National Catholic Reporter piece, Fraga further points out:
Among the recipients of Donors Trust funds were traditionalist Catholic parishes, dioceses headed by conservative bishops, pro-life organizations, religious liberty law firms, a free-market think tank, and academic groups at Catholic colleges that advocate libertarianism and constitutional originalism.
Included in those receiving funds were the Diocese of Spokane, Washington; the Thomas More Society; the Acton Institute; and the San Francisco Archdiocese's Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship.
In total, nonprofits affiliated with the Catholic Church or that have worked closely with church officials on anti-abortion advocacy and other policy and legal matters received at least $10 million from Donors Trust, a donor-advised fund that in 2020 doled out more than $182 million in grants to organizations like the VDARE Foundation and New Century Foundation, which the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League consider to be white supremacist groups.
The Diocese of Spokane, Washington is overseen by Bishop Thomas Daly who is known for his outspoken culture war rhetoric.
The Thomas More Society is essentially a law firm dedicated to culture war issues such as combating reproductive rights and anti-vax causes.
The Acton Institute is a libertarian think tank, led by Catholic priest Robert Sirico.
The San Francisco Archdiocese's Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship is led by Executive Director Maggie Gallagher, a well-known conservative commentator known for her opposition to reproductive rights, LGBT rights and single parenting. The organization’s board of directors includes Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone who is well-known for his diatribes against President Biden and for his anti-vaxism.
What all of the above have in common is their desire to use public governing power to impose theocratic Catholic notions regarding LGBTQ issues, reproductive rights and potential life-saving medical research. To do so, they will go against Church teaching on economics by providing religious cover to libertarian conservatives.
Stephen Schneck, the former director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America noted, "It's clear that pure libertarianism cannot fit under a Catholic umbrella.” He went on to warn, "Everybody should realize that by taking this money, they're opening the door to the far right's efforts to further politicize our church."
It all comes down to this: wealthy libertarian conservatives are willing to use religious conservatives who wish to impose a form of theocracy upon all Americans. These theocrats want to impose their subjective theological understanding upon the many of us who disagree with their various interpretations. In order to do so, they will close their eyes and take money from the very people who wish to subvert their faith in order to bring them about a libertarian fantasy world where many traditional government services become privatized, and never reach the poor, for which even the conservative Pope John II has expressed a “preferential option.”
And to do so, these libertarians are willing to destroy religious freedom.
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