DES MOINES Religious leaders and state lawmakers tried Monday to navigate the area between religious freedom and individual civil liberties.

Supporters of religious freedom spoke at a ceremony in the Capitol on Monday, praising Iowa for being a state that allows for the religious expression of varied faiths.

Speakers also acknowledged the national discussion over religious freedom as new laws in Indiana and Arkansas have been both praised for protecting religious freedom and criticized for serving as legal shields for discrimination.

It is a hallmark of a civil society, as opposed to anarchy, that our freedoms will be limited in some way when they harm others, said Sarai Rice, executive director of the Des Moines Area Religious Council. What is not limited is our freedom to believe and to think and to speak in public.

Iowa Sens. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, and Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, sponsored and spoke at the event.

Chapman said Mondays event was purely about celebrating Iowans right to practice any religion. It originally was scheduled for Jan. 16, Religious Freedom Day in Iowa as proclaimed by Gov. Terry Branstad.

But Branstads inauguration was held Jan. 16, so the religious freedom event was rescheduled to coincide with the birthdate of Thomas Jefferson, who authored the original Virginia statute on religious freedom.

That caused Mondays event to overlap with a national dialogue on religious freedom laws, a debate that spilled Monday into the Iowa House.

Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, spoke on the House floor in favor of religious freedom and business owners ability to refuse services to activities such as same-sex marriages that go against their religious beliefs.

Holt said requiring businesses to perform such services places people of faith in a position of violating their religious principles.

Link:

Religious freedom debate continues at Iowa Capitol