NEW YORK (AP) _ Faith leaders who have made religious liberty a rallying cry are stunned by what they see as Indiana's abrupt retreat this week on the issue.
The Indiana governor revised a religious liberty law to add language against discrimination after a national uproar over the law's potential impact on gay rights. Arkansas also changed its religious freedom law in response to the backlash.
Religious freedom at one time consistently united leaders across the political and theological spectrum. But several years ago, religious conservatives adopted religious freedom as a call to arms as they found themselves more on the losing side of culture war debates.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention and others have made this issue a priority and say Indiana's events this week won't change that.
