Are real-life religious freedom battles mimicking art? That's the claim from at least two well-known figures who starred in the faith-based film "God's Not Dead 2."
According to the Hollywood Reporter, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and legendary singer and songwriter Pat Boone recently penned a letter to California Gov. Jerry Brown, expressing profound concern over legislation that is making its way through the state's Legislature.
The two also purportedly compared the bill to the fictitious "God's Not Dead 2" storyline.
Huckabee and Boone were reportedly joined by "God's Not Dead 2" executive producer Troy Duhon in penning the impassioned petition to Brown, claiming that the proposed bill, which has passed the Senate and is now in the state's Assembly, amounts to an assault on religious liberty.
At the center of their angst is Senate Bill 1146, legislation aimed at religiously affiliated schools, requiring that faith-based colleges that accept state funding — some of which are known to apply for exemptions from government mandates surrounding sexuality and gender identity — disclose those exemptions.
The text reads, in part, "An institution that claims an exemption from either the Equity in Higher Education Act or Title IX to make specified disclosures to the institution’s current and prospective students, faculty members and employees, and to the Student Aid Commission, concerning the institution’s claim for the exemption."
Title IX is federal law that bans discrimination in any educational programs that receive government funding.
The bill also says that religious colleges and universities that receive federal aid or admit students who receive any state assistance are subject to prohibitions against discrimination and that "a private right of action" is permitted.
The fear, according to Life Site News, is that students who end up being punished with expulsion or who are denied housing due to sexual behavior — or even those who do not wish to attend compulsory chapel or take required religious courses — will sue faith-based institutions.
There has been no shortage of controversy over the bill, with the letter from Huckabee, Boone and Duhon serving as the latest example of public push-back. The three men wrote in their letter that they "want maximum freedom for individuals" and differentiating between public and private education.
"Parents of students who attend public schools are right to have an expectation that their children will not be subjected to unwanted and excessive proselytizing," they wrote before highlighting the difference when it comes to faith-based schools. "Christian colleges have a right and indeed a sacred duty to not be forced to give up their beliefs."
The text continued, "Balancing all of these rights is your job and we urge you to err on the side of freedom and allow Christian colleges to operate according to their beliefs."
Only schools that prepare pupils for religious ministry would have a true exemption, according to Religion News Service.
Not everyone sees the bill as a problematic assault on religious liberty, though, with Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group, saying that students have a right to know schools' stances on LGBT issues.
"This bill would let any school seeking to skirt federal anti-discrimination protections know that its policies would be public, and that anyone discriminated against would have legal recourse," Zbur told Religion News Service.
But Edward Dolejsi, executive director of California Catholic Conference, countered that notion in an interview with Catholic News Agency, saying that he believes that the bill amounts to "harassment."
"It’s a way of harassing and making it more difficult for those of us who are people of faith who want to live and express our ways in society," he said. "We’re being painted into a corner and constricted."
It's unclear whether Brown would sign the bill into law, but religious freedom advocates will surely be watching developments closely.
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