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Article: Religious-persecution bill passes in House.(Freedom from Religious Persecution Act)(News)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- June 3, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Legislation designed to ease the plight of persecuted religious minorities abroad passed the House May 14 with broad bipartisan support, despite the Clinton administration's continued opposition to the measure. Called the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act, the bill passed on a 373-41 vote with 169 Democrats joining 206 Republicans in support of it. The measure has the backing of a host of evangelical Protestant, Catholic and Jewish leaders.
The lopsided support prompted Frank R. Wolf (R., Va.), the bill's principle House sponsor, to proclaim that "this is a message of religious freedom that all those who are persecuted around the world can take great heart ...