Sen. Rick Santorum is the first and only candidate to sign the Presidential Pledge for Religious Freedom.
“I am proud to sign this common-sense pledge to promote and defend our First Freedom—that to freely practice our faith in private as well as public. Our Constitution was made of for a ‘moral and religious people’ and it is critical to continue that tradition,” Santorum said.
“The current administration has trampled on those religious liberties, most recently by infringing on Catholic moral teachings for the sake of empowering government. As a senator I was proud to author the Workplace Religious Freedom Act and as president I commit to ensuring those principles are preserved.”
The Presidential Pledge for Religious Freedom was drafted by Open Doors USA and Professor Tom Farr of Georgetown University, an esteemed international religious freedom expert. The pledge states that the candidate will protect religious freedom in full for all Americans, and will advance international religious freedom as part of American foreign policy.
“Open Doors USA is grateful for Sen. Santorum’s principled stance on religious freedom and hope that his support for this pledge will bring more attention to an issue that has been largely neglected in the GOP presidential debates, as well as by most of the candidates in their campaigning,” says Lindsay Vessey, advocacy director for Open Doors USA. “We sincerely hope other presidential candidates will join Sen. Santorum in pledging their support for religious freedom in the United States and abroad.”
The pledge has been co-signed by prominent religious leaders and groups such as the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Stuart Epperson of Salem Communications, Richard Bott of Bott Radio Network and Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
“Open Doors USA is a nonprofit organization and does not endorse or support any specific candidate or party. The Presidential Pledge for Religious Freedom was sent to all primary presidential candidates of each party, and a follow-up letter was sent to each campaign headquarters,” Vessey says. “As possible, Open Doors USA also followed up multiple times by email with various campaign staff.”
