Adventist Church Urges Religious Liberty Commission to Preserve Church-State Separation

On July 13 the North American Division (NAD) of Seventh-day Adventists submitted formal comments to the United States Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Commission, expressing appreciation for the commission’s commitment to protecting religious freedom while raising significant concerns about portions of its draft report addressing the relationship between church and state.

The formal letter of statement from the church headquarters for North America commended the commission’s support for stronger workplace religious accommodation protections and its recognition of the importance of preserving the autonomy of religious organizations. It also cautioned, however, that the draft report’s treatment of the establishment clause risks weakening one of America’s most important constitutional safeguards for religious liberty.

For more than 170 years Adventists have consistently advocated for meaningful separation of church and state, not because of hostility toward religion, but because of a deeply held conviction that faith flourishes best when it is free from government control. The NAD’s comments explain that religious neutrality by government has enabled people of all faiths to worship according to conscience without coercion or official favoritism.

The statement urges the commission to recognize that support for church-state separation has historically come from many religious communities, including Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists, Quakers, and Jews, who viewed this constitutional principle as the strongest protection against government interference in matters of faith. It further encourages the commission to acknowledge that advocates of church-state separation are often motivated by sincere religious conviction rather than opposition to religion.

Drawing on both constitutional history and the Adventist experience—including the prosecution of Sabbathkeeping Adventists under nineteenth-century Sunday laws—the statement argues that preserving clear boundaries between church and state remains essential to protecting the religious liberty of all Americans.

The statement concludes by encouraging the commission to revise its final report to reaffirm both religion clauses of the First Amendment. Together the free exercise clause and the establishment clause have created a constitutional framework that protects religious belief while ensuring the government remains neutral in matters of faith—a balance the Adventist Church believes is vital to preserving America’s long-standing tradition of religious freedom.
The North Pacific Union Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Office remains firmly committed to these historic principles. We believe that religious freedom is best preserved when government vigorously protects the free exercise of religion while remaining neutral in matters of faith. 
Consistent with the Adventist Church’s long-standing commitment to liberty of conscience for all people, our office will continue to advocate for strong religious accommodation protections, defend the rights of religious organizations, and promote the constitutional separation of church and state as an indispensable safeguard of religious liberty. 
As history has repeatedly demonstrated, preserving these constitutional boundaries protects not only our own faith community but also the freedom of every American to worship—or not worship—according to the dictates of conscience. 

The original version of this story was posted on Northwest Adventists.