Prominent religious leaders across the United States are stepping up to the plate to take a stand against torture. They’ve formed the “National Religious Campaign Against Torture”. Their goal is to get the U.S. Government to get serious and ban torture. They believe that no government agency should be exempt from human rights standards.

In their statement of conscious titled “Torture is a Moral Issue” they ask for Congress to end torture at U.S. detention centers. They would also like to end the rendition of suspects to nations that allow torture. They want the United States to abide by international law rather than be above it. According to the statement, “Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation.”

Signatorees come from a wide spectrum of religious philosophies. They include Elie Wiesel, Reverend Jim Wallis, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Reverend Ted Haggard, Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, and Dr. Abdullahi Amhed An-Na’im. Some of the organizations who endorse NRCAT are the World Sikh Council, American Baptist Churches, and the Presbyterian Church (USA).

If you’d like to learn more, visit the NRCAT website at: www.nrcat.org