JEFFERSON CITY—For the first time anyone can recall, the executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) will join with the St. Louis Archbishop in a religious freedom rally March 27 here at the Missouri State Capitol.
John Yeats will team with Catholic leader Robert Carlson and other religious leaders from Missouri in a 10 a.m. Rally for Religious Liberty, with speeches beginning at noon. Yeats considers it very important for Missouri Baptists to be part of such an historic event, which is being promoted by the MBC, the Missouri Catholic Conference, and Missouri Right to Life.
“The timing of this rally is no small thing,” Yeats said. “The recent federal mandate is a blatant overreach by the administration into the sphere of conscience that directly impacted our ministries and universities. Under the Constitution, the government has no right to impose penalties on religious convictions of any kind. Our Baptist forefathers were the authors of religious liberty. They shed their blood for a free church in a free state. Many endured imprisonment and lost their personal assets over this one issue. That’s why it is the First Amendment and we need be first in line protecting this precious freedom from abuse by those with political agendas.
“If at all possible, I hope hundreds of Missouri Baptists will join us for this special event. I particularly want to invite our women’s groups to come, family groups to come. Let’s make a difference together.”
The rally will protest the new mandate by the Department of Health and Human Services that forces religious employers to provide coverage for abortion-producing drugs, sterilizations and contraception.
It also will call on Congress to pass S 1467 and HR 1179, both
of which seek to overturn the federal health care mandate, the St. Louis Review reported. The rally also will call on the Missouri General Assembly to pass SB 749.