The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention has routinely been criticized for failing to live up to its own name. However with regards to one Texas inmate facing execution, the ERLC decided that religious liberty was an issue worth fighting for. According to Christian Post, the ERLC teamed up in an interfaith coalition to compile an amicus brief for the religious exercise of John Henry Ramirez, a convicted murderer. The brief was filed with the Supreme Court.
The specific details pertain to the inmate’s request to have hands laid on him and audible prayer during the execution. The brief highlights the fact that the sate of Texas has made these accommodations before.
Analysis
Perhaps glomming onto winnable issues after they are already a popular cause is the MO of the ERLC. After all, they waited until Amy Coney Barrett, a known Branch Covidian, to be sworn into the Supreme Court before filing an amicus brief for religious liberty against restrictions on church worship. But the fact that the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission supported the government locking down churches, for them to prioritize a death row inmate’s rights should sting those who unwisely donated to the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention.
