And intel the Washington Post inside the Washington Post, marking the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln at ford theater. And with the debates in arkansas and indiana this past week, we want to begin on this Easter Sunday with your comments on this issue. Religion, does it unite us or divide us . If you say divide us, here is the number, 202 7488000 for. For those who say it unite says, 202 7488001 for. You can join us on twitter at cspanwj. An Organization Called the center for public christianity has written an essay on this very issue saying that religion at its worst sponsors tribalism. Setting faithful against the infidels. Christian examples are well known the crusades, and the awful covering up of child sexual abuse. No doubt there are hindu jewish, and even buddhist examples, but a fair reading of history wont stop there. Religion, at best, unite and divides in a very different way. Like debates about Climate Change or asylumseekers, some important causes unite and rebel at the same time. And some of which drive people apart. Christianity provides a special case in point. This headline this morning from the arkansas democrat and gazette. Religious conservatives will press on. The piece begins by saying conservative state leaders have made it a rally cry as gay marriage has spread throughout the state. By indianas retreat over an uproar, they vowed not to give up. Evangelical and Roman Catholic leaders say they will continue their push for protection from laws they consider immoral. Lets go back to the 1993 religious freedom law, which was signed by a new president , bill clinton, at the white house. It was designed to prevent government from substantially or newly burgeoning tony perkins is our guess just guest on newsmakers. Here is a portion of that conversation. [video clip] well, it is not that hard to explain. You go back to bill clinton in 1993. The religious freedom restoration act, which, in 1997, the u. S. Supreme court did not apply to the states. Since that time, you had 20 states, actually you will have probably 21 by the weekend, that have adopted these state versions of the religious freedom restoration act. And quite frankly, all it is is to protect the exercise. It is not the ironclad defense. It allows christians or other religious persons it is not just limited to one religion to put a defense against those that the state of the states that would prevent them from living out. That is what religion is the ability to live and believe. In some ways, it is a shield to defend your beliefs. But has there been in your shield analyses and attack in a state of indiana, for instance, that this bill would solve . Is the solution in search of a problem . Or has the exit been a problem . Mr. Parker i think you have seen an increase mr. Perkins i think you have seen an increase because you have seen a conflict between christians and the marketplace. And the government trying to force them to engage in something that violates their faith. One of the prime examples cover was came to the forefront in the skirmish and indiana is that of samesex marriage, where floris, bakers, other wedding vendors have been forced to participate in something that violates their faith. It is not about serving different people of the community. They also people in the community, and they should be. But they should not be forced to be involved and be a part of something that is religious in nature that violates their faith and beliefs. Host tony perkins is our guest on cspans newsmakers program. And a couple of tweets this morning from the pope to his nearly 6 million followers. Including, christ has risen. And he also sent out a tweet saying the cross of twice christ is not a defeat, it is love and mercy. Does religion divide or unite us . Many of you weighing in. You can join our conversation on facebook. Diane says, it depends on the heart of the people involved. Another, the real question is, do religious leaders divide or unite . And marty has this tweet saying, quote, religion is a main provider in the history of humanity. Brad from warned michigan wa rren, michigan. Why do you say religion divides us . Caller well, it has alreadys always been a part of my life. I think they are getting pushed back from the people now that they dont like their agenda and we are going to stand up against it. These governments that back down on these laws, i think they pay a price. I think the vast majority of people in this country dont support gay rights. They turn from victims to bullies. And many of the laws they want to pass are just being turned down because people dont like stuff like that. So that is my opinion. Host brad, thank you for the call. A caller who says religion divides us is michael from jacksonville, florida. Caller good morning. I thank you for allowing me to make this call. Ok. Religions have the same miracles if you study the origins of religions. They are all based on the seasons. And you have an infinite god supposedly, which would render hell, the creation, and all this nonsense and possible. Impossible. And it all for bid doubt an examination. Plus, how in the world will we go against an allpowerful being . This is ludicrous. All you have to do is look at the writings. And i thank you for your time. Or go back, much is said that shows that everything in nature is in eternal flux and reflux. This explains everything. You do not need a prime mover in order to move, which is already in motion. Host Time Magazine the freedom fight. The attack on gay rights. One of the issues in the attack on believers. Both sides from Time Magazine. And this point on our twitter page. Religion . Allows christians to be bigoted and homophobic. You can join in on the conversation by sending us a tweet at cspanwj. Next is philip from georgia. Good morning. Welcome to the program. Caller good morning, sir. How are you today . Host fine, thank you. Caller i had a comment on the article. The problem with this is an improper view of history. The crusades, the inquisition what they teach in the United States is basically just a watered down version of propaganda. The inquisitions were in response to atrocities against the church at the time. The crusades were in response to actions by others. With the proper understanding of christianity, it is very inclusive and not divisive at all. The nonsense that they spew on tv in the United States is just awful. If you follow the writings of pope francis and read rhett he writes what he right in its entirety, you will see the understanding that goes with jesus christ. It is not what people think it is. It is like the last caller. It is not a hodgepodge of nonsense. It is a core belief system. And then the article you quoted about the gay and lesbian thing that is just christianity does not teach that. You do not go to church every sunday and then read about, you know, who to hate. That is complete and utter nonsense. Host i will stop you there philip. Thank you very much for the call. On our twitter page, no one is asking to change anyones religious beliefs. Only to treat everyone like human beings. It is being called the battle of indiana with governor mike pence. A couple of news conferences including changes to the law that he first signed a week ago thursday. Next is ken joining us from casco, new york. You say religion divides us. Why . Caller good morning. First, i applaud cspan for evening even opening the door on this conversation. I think it does more harm than good. I am a 67yearold recovering catholic, as i would like to describe myself. I asked the had a fairly good expense with the church until i was 17 when my faith just burned out like a light bulb for no particular reason. I admired the essence of the church, which is essentially st. Francis, as the prior gentleman said. Examine your conscience before you do anything significant, and do it in a genuine way. But as i live my life, i have seen people who use religion as a way to set themselves apart from others. And consciously or unconsciously think of themselves as more entitled or superior. I think there is a need for answers in life that we dont yet, and some people create mythology or they find one that quite frankly, nine out of 10 times you are sort of stuck with your religion that your parents forced upon you. Very little conscious decisions are involved. But again let me thank cspan for keeping the door open. Host thank you for sharing your views with us. Dueling essays on the religious freedom lost. Are they necessary . One says, yes. Traditional christians on themselves under siege. The contrarian point of view saying, no, utah has shown us a better way to protect liberties. Perkins has this tweet to me, the religious freedom law gives bigots a license to hate. A study is available on the pew website. It also has a chart that points out compared to other industrialized nations, the United States has a high rate of weekly attendance church services. By the way, jordan is number one. The u. S. , according to the survey is pretty much in the middle. And at the bottom of the list is sweden japan russia, and germany. From florida, good morning. You say religion divides us. Why is that . Caller good morning. The reason why i am saying that is because i think it is more or less a group thing. People dont go to church. You look at you have denominations why you have africanamerican, white people. We still have separation on sundays. We dont have collectively people who decide if they want to attend a Different Church on sunday or have a different viewpoint. In accordance to what this indiana law does, it sort of fuels the fact that people can discriminate against gay people, but then again, they get the reinforcement or justification on sunday when they go to church. Lets say, for example, you are traveling through indiana and you go to get some gas. You can get your gasoline at the pumps with a credit card or debit card, but if you go inside the store, and you want to buy a bigger chips or a soda, you are going to be denied service because of the law. That is double standard a double standard there. Fine, ok, did i do the right thing or the wrong thing . You go back to first church and the minister says, hey, that is what you are supposed to do. At the same time it you did not let them purchase something in the store. Host thank you very much for the call. We will go to an annexed from nashville, tennessee. Also if you are who says religion divides us. Caller well, when you look at all the different religions that we all, you know have to our plate that we can look at, they literally use religion, as in kenya, to sit and justify killing other people. And this has been our history. Ever since religion came. I happen to be a product of religion. A pentecostal grandmother who preached. My father started a church in tennessee for the church of christ. I had an uncle who was a missionary in africa. And another uncle who was a a military chaplain. And i am sitting here just, you know appalled at what i see. People killing each other in the name of religion. You know, the bigotry is i mean, i was in shock when my father told me that the mark of cain was to make him black. And that is why a lot of christians dont like black people. I mean, it divides us. There is no ifs, and, or butts about it. Host anna, thank you for the call from nashville, tennessee. David has this point freedom of religion means freedom from religious intolerance. The big story in california, of course, the drought resulting in a 25 reduction in water usage across the board. The headline from to california newspapers, where the water flows like money. The front page story. And from the Oakland Oakland tribune running try near danville. To give you a better example, we want to share with you two photographs. This is inside the times. You can see the huge and very stark difference to indicate what the situation is like. This is the front page story. This is one photograph in california where the Land Development like this one in Cathedral City is next to a bone dry desert. The story california image versus dry reality. The announcement from the governor, a 25 reduction involves everybody out there. Residents, farmers, amusement parks, golf courses. Back to your calls on the issue of religion. Does it divide or unitas deco unite us . Allen from minnesota, use a unitas. Why is that . Caller i started off Roman Catholic and i see all sorts of different religions. Natalie christianity, but we have hinduism, buddhism, weve got muslims. And we all try to unite in a sense that we want humanity to live together with each other. And i see a uniting theme among all the various different religions. Host thanks for the call. A survey do you want a religious freedom law in your state . You can logon. Marquis has this, religion divides, no matter if it is christianity for islam. It is always us against them. From indiana, good morning. Welcome to the program. Caller good morning. I just want to say it is unfortunate dont have a third category of both, meaning in some instances, it unites us. And in some instances, it divides us. Host how so . Caller for example, the sociology of religion teaches that religion has both its functions and its dysfunctions. In other words, it is not perfect. I am going to leave it at that. Host thank you michael from a cart, indiana. Pope francis is celebrating mass in the vatican. A related story about his impact on catholics around the world is Available Online at washingtonto post. Com washingtonpost. Com. Coming at the time when the church is keen to make headlines , but what some are calling the francis affect. His ability to make the church resonate with the young has proven to be encouraging. The headline, pope francis is inspiring millennials to carry the church into the community. From pennsylvania, you say religion divides us. Why is that . Caller well, it really divides us has divided us for hundreds of thousands of years against things. Going back, religion and about the gays and the churches and stuff, it is like it says in the bible, in the bible it quotes in the bible, man shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Religion is than fighting over and over, thousands and thousands of years, against good and evil. It is like i disapprove of the gay marriages and stuff like this here. I mean, if you read your bible it talks about it. Host ok. Abraham, thank you for the call. Another viewer saying, lets ask the native americans about christianity. Lets go to norm from pennsylvania. Good morning to you in western pennsylvania. Caller yes. I know you lived around this area and i used to listen to you when youre younger. You were younger. It is really sad what is going on in this country now. How long do think the country can really stand together them trying to divide it all the time. The 10 commandments are a simple just a simple 10 rules. People just listen to them and that. The subjects should be president obama going to protect the christian people of the world. You see how many people die, and he is not doing a thing about it and thats there. It is sad to say that i really watched cspan a lot in the mornings on the weekends because i work on the weekdays, but im so hard to say there are a lot of sick people calling your channel, constantly coming up republicans, religious people. That is what i said, how long do think the country is going to Stay Together . You have yourself a good day. Thank you. Host timee magazine has a timeline of what it means for those dates, including a breakdown of the recent signatures by the governors of arkansas and indiana. The question this morning, does religion unite or divide us . Allen from montana, good morning to you. Caller good morning. Yet, my position is that religion in this form a hierarchal structure divide society. I am of indigenous background appear in one of the tribes. My family has had generations of experience of dealing with the contemporary version of christianity. To sum it up, the tribes are in the process of surviving and recovering from the american version of religion and christianity. It divides. Host ok. Alex, thank you for the call. Jim has this. Freedom of religion and free speech gives all people the right to discriminate anytime they choose. Of course, the First Amendment reads Congress Shall make no law respecting an establishment the law that is getting a lot of attention not only in indiana and arkansas, but the line law signed 20 years ago by bill clinton. What does that look like . [video clip] bill clinton it reestablishes a standard that better protects all americans of all faiths in the exercise of their religion. In a way that im convinced is far more consistent with the founders of this nation than the Supreme Court decision. More than 50 cases have been decided against individuals making religious claims against government actions since that decision was handed down. This act will help to reverse that trend. By honoring the principle that our laws and institutions should not impede or hinder, but rather should protect and preserve fundamental religious liberties. The exercise of religion has been called the first freedom that which we originally sparked the bill of rights. Our founders cared a lot about religion. And one of the reasons they worked so hard to get the First Amendment in to the bill of rights was that they well understood what could happen to this country. How both religion and government could be perverted. If there were not some space created and some protection provided. Host the comments of president bill clinton in 1993 and the signature of the federal religious freedom law. We are asking the question, does religion divide or unitas as americans . Bill says, this debate is all due to the combination of the Citizens United ruling and hobby lobby equating corporations are people. Terry is on the phone. Good morning. Caller good morning. How are you on this fine day . Host we are fine. How are you . Caller i want to respond to this whole stuff about religion and dividing. I thought the freedom of religion was only extended to the home and buildings explicitly designed for religion. Not in the public. I used to be methodist, and then i changed to lutheran. And then i went atheist for a well because i wasnt satisfied at all with any religion. I called upon the how you the higher power to help me through my 30 years of alcoholism. For almost a decade, i have been clean and straight and happy because i believe in the life of the u