Donald Trump will meet with 700 evangelical leaders this week in Florida at the “Pastors and Pews” gathering.
The American Renewal Project is hosting the event. Trump has promised to repeal the Johnson amendment, which prohibits churches from using their tax-exempt resources to promote political candidates.
"That's a good first step," David Lane, the American Renewal Project's founder, told Bloomberg. "But what about the religious liberty of Christian photographers, Christian bakers, Christian retreat centres, and pastors who believe same-sex intercourse and marriage is sin? These Christians were simply living out their deeply held convictions of their Christian faith when they politely refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding. Doesn't the First Amendment give us all a right to our beliefs?"
Lane said that Hillary Clinton was also invited to the conference, but she declined the invitation. Marco Rubio will also be attending.
Trump was reportedly persuaded to attend the event by Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, Trump leads Clinton among white evangelicals. Another poll from the Washington Post and ABC News shows his lead to be 76 percent to Clinton’s 18 percent among white evangelicals.
Overall, however, Clinton leads with 50 percent to Trump’s 42 percent.
Publication date: August 10, 2016
