July 18 1994

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Despite a letter from President Clinton, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Christian Life Commission (CLC) leaders remain wary of proposed Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) guidelines on religious harassment in the workplace.

Several Christian organizations have found fault with the guidelines under consideration with some worrying that wearing a cross or inviting a coworker to church could be grounds for a legal complaint (CT, April 25, 1994, p. 49).

In a June 15 letter to CLC executive director Richard Land, Clinton wrote, "I want to reiterate this administration's unequivocal commitment to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)," which he signed into law last November.

Clinton sent the letter just as messengers to the SBC convention approved a resolution calling for religious harassment to be deleted from the proposed EEOC guidelines. The following day the U.S. Senate voted 94 to 0 to ask the EEOC to remove religion from the proposed harassment guidelines.

James A. Smith, director of CLC government relations, says the letter is disappointing because it failed specifically to address the issue. "The administration is known for not following through on its rhetoric, "Smith says. "We want to see the full removal of religion from EEOC guidelines.

Clinton said he expected that the final language of the EEOC guidelines would be "fully consistent with RFRA.

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