BALTIMORE | The Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday honored Hobby Lobby President Steve Green with an award for his ongoing fight against the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.
Mr. Green and and wife Jackie accepted the John Leland Award for Religious Liberty from the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for being “heroes of religious liberty.”
“This is an award for demonstrating steadfast commitment to religious liberty by your unwillingess to separate your faith from the daily operation of your business,” said commission President Russell Moore. “This is for showing the conscience of the business owner belongs to God and not to any human government, and this is for reminding us that religious freedom is a gift from God, our birthright, not a grant from the state.”
Mr. Green and his chain of craft stores are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court as to whether they and other for-profit companies will be required to insure birth control or face potentially crippling fines.
The commission also honored Saeed Abini, an American pastor who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2012 for preaching the Gospel.
• Meredith Somers can be reached at msomers@washingtontimes.com.
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