opinion

Newly passed adoption agency bill a win for Tennessee’s children | Opinion

One reason many people find politics so maddening is because it so often seems that core issues are ignored for the sake of political theater. This week the Tennessee Legislature passed a piece of legislation that brought one of these core issues to the foreground: child welfare.

HB 836 is a common-sense measure designed to ensure that the issue of child welfare continues to be a priority in Tennessee. The new law guarantees that faith-based organizations in our state working in the areas of adoption and foster care will not be forced to decide between their deepest religious convictions and their calling to care for vulnerable children.

Every day there are Christians across the state of Tennessee working to care for children and see them welcomed into loving homes. For those who follow Jesus, adoption matters because Scripture teaches that each one of us has been adopted into the family of God.

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But Christians aren’t the only religious group in Tennessee working in adoption and foster care.

Protecting the rights of faith-based organizations in Tennessee to operate according to their religious convictions and sincerely held beliefs is good for everyone.

How faith-based organizations benefit the state

The goal of state government is very simple when it comes to child welfare: create as many opportunities as possible for children to receive the kind of care, provision, and love that every child deserves.

At this moment there are thousands of young people in our state waiting to be adopted. Faith-based organizations working in child welfare provide a real benefit to Tennesseans by providing more opportunities for these children to be united with families in safe and loving homes.

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Protecting the ability of faith-based providers to operate in Tennessee not only saves the state money, but it keeps the focus of child welfare precisely where it should always be — the welfare of children. Curtailing or, as we have seen in some states, shutting faith-based organizations out of adoption and foster care would only place an even greater strain on a child-welfare system that is already carrying far too heavy a load.

Don't ask faith-based agencies to deny their faith

One need not share the beliefs of any of these organizations to see why it would be a mistake for the government to bar countless religious Tennesseans from serving children in need. Our state shouldn’t ask those motivated by their faith to care for the vulnerable to choose between their faith and providing this kind of care and support.

It is simply untrue that this law will promote discrimination. The law doesn’t exclude any otherwise qualified organization from serving our state’s children on the basis of their religious convictions or lack thereof. We need everyone working together for our children — even when we disagree on many other important things. This law prevents the state from discriminating against faith-based organizations as they serve and meet the needs of children. It does not restrict others at all.

At least eight other states have already put similar protections in place. And for good reason. Lawmakers in these states recognize the obvious fact that allowing faith-based organizations to operate according to their beliefs is the very best way to ensure that more children receive access to care and placement in loving homes.

This new law puts Tennessee’s children first. Adopting it was the right thing to do. It will be good for Tennessee and will benefit many of our most vulnerable neighbors. Rarely is such a clear win achieved through public policy.

Russell Moore is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and author of "Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches."