Clergy push back after Rokita and Beckwith release “Churches’ Bill of Rights”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has published a "Churches' Bill of Rights" in conjunction* with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith. The next day, about 50 clergy members protested Beckwith's praise for the U.S. Constitution's compromise that counted each slave as three-fifths of a person. The Rev. Stephen J. Clay, president of the National Action Network, Indiana Chapter, declared: "This is racism. The rhetoric is lethal, and we've seen it before, and we've come to call it what it is.”

* From WFYI: "Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita released a 'Churches' Bill of Rights' Wednesday, a joint effort with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith that lays out the legal and constitutional rights of religious institutions and people of faith."

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Clergy coalition denounces lieutenant governor's comments on Three-Fifths Compromise, wants governor to do likewise

“Your remarks contradict the gospel that we preach,” Gray Lesene, dean of Christ Church Cathedral, said.

By: Rick Nye
May 15, 2025