Bishops Warn of 'Top Five Threats' to America's Christians

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released its annual report on religious liberty this week, suggested the five most significant threats to religious freedom in the U.S.

The USCCB's stated purpose is to "promote and carry on Catholic activities in the United States."

A Pew Research poll from September 2023 shows that about 47 percent believe themselves to be religious in some way, with a further 33 percent saying they are at least spiritual.

The report highlighted problems it saw with proposals from the political left and right, including abortion access, border security and religious freedom.

So what are the key issues?

Attacks on churches and hate crimes

Above anything else, the USCCB said "attacks on houses of worship" was the "largest threat to religious liberty in 2024."

It expressed concerned extremists on the right and left could be a problem in an election year. Politics in the U.S. is extremely divided.

"The highly charged atmosphere around the 2024 election might lead far-left extremists to escalate the severity of attacks on Catholic churches," the USCCB said.

"Far-right extremists may view Catholic churches and Catholic Charities facilities as targets for anti-immigrant sentiment or, worse, violent action."

Contained in the report was a forecast for 2024 that the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza would lead to a rise in anti-Muslim and antisemitic attacks.

Between October 7 and December 7 last year, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 2,031 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. The same period the previous year saw 465 incidents. The war broke out on October 7 after Hamas launched an attack in Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage. Israel responded with a bombing campaign and military operation it says is to root out Hamas in Gaza, but has faced heavy criticism.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recorded 2,171 incidents between October 7 and December 2.

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement he fears "both Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism will continue to spin out of control" due to the situation in the Middle East.

Abortion legislation and transgender procedures

There are two perceived threats in this section due to the USCCB's concern over specific legislation.

The report comes at a time of division over key issues that have religious subtexts, including abortion. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that had previously granted universal access to abortion care in the U.S.

Currently, states have the power to ban abortion access, and many Americans continue to oppose it on religious grounds, believing life begins at conception and that there should be no cause for abortion under any circumstances.

Others do not believe in a total ban but feel restrictive measures should be in place. Critics, or people who describe themselves as "pro-choice," believe abortion to be a fundamental health care right.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing to expand Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, a section that pertains specifically to prohibiting "discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in health programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance."

The HHS has said it plans to expand it through a "final rule" that neither rescinds nor modifies existing legislation.

Critics of the proposed rule say they are concerned that some private plans will have to carry out medical procedures for transgender people and provide abortion care.

There is currently "no greater threat to religious liberty" than the regulation, the USCCB said in its report.

"[The legislation] appears to be specifically intended to force Catholic hospitals and religious health care workers to perform harmful gender transition procedures, including on children... The final regulation may also include a mandate to perform abortions."

Republican representatives Virginia Foxx of North Carolina and Rick Allen of Georgia wrote a joint letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra in November 2022. They said the proposed rule was "another front in Democrats' ongoing culture war." Newsweek has reached out to HHS for comment.

Advocates of gender-based care say the process is vital for allowing transgender people to transition to their affirmed gender. A person's affirmed gender relates to the gender they wish to be known by.

The USCCB said in July 2022 that they were also concerned the HHS would not uphold religion-based exemption claims.

Parts two and five of the USCCB's report summary relate to abortion care, but section five takes issue with another final rule.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed a final rule on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) that abortion is a legitimate reason for employers to make "reasonable accommodations" at work.

This would mean employers provide things like rest breaks or have to change job duties because a person has undergone abortion care.

Under the proposal, abortion care comes under "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions." The broad term also includes: past pregnancy; potential pregnancy; lactation; current pregnancy; use of birth control; still birth; miscarriage; endometriosis and menstruation.

It also includes "having or choosing not to have an abortion."

In a statement, the Christian organization Alliance Defending Freedom criticized the proposed expansion of the PWFA, which was bipartisan legislation.

The group's senior counsel, Julie Marie Black, said in a statement that "Congress sought to help pregnant workers, not force employers to facilitate abortions.

"The Biden administration is hijacking a bipartisan law that doesn't even mention abortion to forcibly require every employer in America to provide 'reasonable accommodations' for their workers' elective abortions."

The USCCB agreed and its 2024 report said it amounted to making "private entities be complicit in second- and third-trimester abortions."

Newsweek has reached out to the EEOC for comment.

Gendered sports and harassment

Containing in the USCCB report is the assertion that people in "schools, the workplace [and] healthcare" were being forced to "conform to the orthodoxy of gender ideology."

It referenced "various federal agency actions," but specifically mentioned Title IX regulations. Title IX says: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation, in be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) calls Title XI, brought in under President Richard Nixon, a "lynchpin [sic] of 40 years of efforts to promote and establish gender equity in schools."

The proposed rule by the Biden administration would prevent federally funded schools from implementing bans on transgender athletes, something transgender advocates have long campaigned for.

There is a catch, however, and young athletes would generally be allowed to compete as their affirmed gender, but this would become harder as they get older. There are also specific provisions for different sports depending on the levels of physicality proposed in the framework.

The proposed rule has been stalled, frustrating its supporters amid opposition from transgender campaigners who think it does not go far enough and Republicans who think it too lenient.

In June 2022, the USCCB said the proposed rule "may foreshadow a threat to women's athletics, sex-separate spaces, and the right of students, parents, and teachers to speak the truth about the nature of the human person."

It expressed concern over potential sanctions under sexual harassment put forward by the EEOC, which said "intentional and repeated use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with the individual's gender identity," also known as "misgendering," came under sex-based harassment.

Border security

The Republican-backed "Secure the Border Act" is a point of concern for religious leaders, the USCCB said.

Proposed in May 2023, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and Majority Whip Tom Emmer openly backed the proposed legislation.

Its aim was to, among other things, forces the Biden administration to restart the building of a wall at the border, a staple of Trump politics at a time when the White House is facing continued flack over the politicized border crisis.

The bill text says that a non-governmental organization could be prevented funding if it "facilitates or encourages unlawful activity, including unlawful entry."

In its report, the USCCB said there are "problematic provisions" in the bill that could prevent it from observing Catholic and Christian doctrine regarding "welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry [and] sheltering the homeless."

Newsweek has reached out to Stefanik, Emmer and Scalise for comment.

The Biden administration said it would not support the Secure the Border Act in a statement last May, saying the act would "cut off nearly all access to humanitarian protections in ways that are inconsistent with our Nation's values and international obligations."