Last week I took a quick trip to Utah, a state with a profound and unique understanding of the United States Constitution including its religious freedom doctrine. This was not long after several cabinet secretaries made statements effectively declaring the executive branch to be in the service of Jesus Christ, erasing 250 years of religious liberty progress, and the president threatening to destroy an entire non-Christian civilization.
Because of Utah’s legacy, I expected to see more worry and concern on faces than I did; to hear more discussions about this news than I did; and witness more calls for protecting religious freedom, official apologies, and even a resignation than I did.
I was and remain puzzled.