FFRF Action Fund’s “Theocrat of the Week” is Family Research Council President Tony Perkins for highly distorting the separation of state and church.
Last week, a federal court blocked a new Washington state law that would require Catholic priests to report all admissions of child abuse, including those learned of during confession. The legislation was set to take effect on July 27. Perkins took to X to celebrate the news, linking to a religious apologist law firm’s reporting on the decision and writing, “This is what separation of church and state looks like! I am thankful for this ruling. The state should never pierce the veil of the church.”
Perkins has long railed against the constitutional principle of the separation of state and church, which he seems to believe only serves to protect churches. The Washington measure does not threaten or attack the Catholic Church; it simply requires clergy to follow mandated reporting laws for child abuse, even if the abuse is disclosed during confession. The law is not “anti-Catholic,” it is anti-child abuse. Opposing the law will not defend the Catholic Church or religious liberty; it will only protect child abusers.
Perkins is a Southern Baptist pastor who has served as the president of the Family Research Council since 2003. The council is a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group that aims to dehumanize the LGBTQ-plus community and fight against LGBTQ-plus rights.
The FFRF Action Fund fervently advocated for the passage of the Washington law. The state is now the seventh to adopt a clergy reporting law without religious exemptions. The legislation, solidifying the separation of state and church, must go into effect to protect Washington’s children. Tony Perkins is engaging in a misguided crusade against it.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.