Tony Perkins should not represent America on religious freedom

Yesterday, reports came out that Mitch McConnell had appointed Tony Perkins — head of the evangelical Family Research Council — to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. That means Perkins will be charged with ensuring the Trump Administration defends religious freedom and representing America’s perspective on religious freedom to the world. This is a problem. Perkins’ history of culture war nastiness, intolerant statements about other religions, and ties to the Trump Administration should make anyone who cares about religious freedom concerned.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was set up alongside the State Department’s International Religious Freedom office. USCIRF is funded by, but independent of the government. It serves as a watchdog of US international religious freedom efforts, making sure the United States stands up for repressed people around the world and calling out US inaction. USCIRF is comprised of a professional staff — that puts out their annual report — and a group of ten commissioners. These commissioners are appointed by the President, President pro temp of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House (with minority party recommendations for some of the seats).

So why is Perkins a problematic person for this position? Well, Perkins is hardly a close follower of international religious repression. Indeed, most of his work has focused on domestic culture war issues, like same-sex marriage and abortion. Just on the basis of qualifications alone the appointment should be of concern.

But he also has shown intolerance towards other religions, something that should disqualify him from being a champion of religious freedom. As the Southern Poverty Law Center reports, Perkins has repeated the dangerous right-wing claim that Islam is a political ideology, not a religion. He also claims it is incompatible with American democracy. Such rhetoric is meant to justify restricting the rights of Muslims.

As he said in a 2014 radio interview:

“Those who practice Islam in its entirety, it’s not just a religion. It’s an economic system, it’s a judicial system, and it is a military — a military system. And it is — it has Shariah law that you’ve heard about and those things will tear and destroy the fabric of a democracy…We are a nation that was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, that’s the foundation of our nation, not Islam, but the Judeo-Christian God.

He has also been intolerant of other Christians. Like many conservative evangelicals, he rejects the legitimacy of progressive Christianity, seeing it as a former Christian tradition that “gave in” to secularism. For example, in a 2015 article, he discussed progressive Christian arguments in favor of same-sex marriage. He dismissed them, calling them “heresy” and comparing them to the churches Jesus admonished in the Book of Revelation.

How can someone defend religious freedom if he rejects the legitimacy of several prominent religious communities?

Another big issue is Perkins’ ties with the Trump Administration. Perkins is one of the many evangelical leaders backing Trump despite his repeated un-Christian behavior. Perkins went so far as to say Trump gets a “mulligan” on his alleged adultery, in effect dismissing Biblical commandments and compassion for Trump’s wife and young son. How can Perkins stand up for religious freedom when the Trump Administration fails to defend it around the world if he is this supportive of the President?

I could go on (and please feel free to add other reasons to be worried about Perkins). Tony Perkins is not qualified to represent America on the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Anyone who cares about religious freedom — including conservative Christians — should be furious by this appointment. Voicing your opposition may be enough to get him to step down. At the least, we can keep a close eye on his work at USCIRF to ensure he does not corrupt its mission.