Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris is a member of historic San Francisco Baptist church; former staffer says her Christian faith influences 'worldview, ethics'
Democrat presidential hopeful Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, is a member of Third Baptist Church, San Francisco’s oldest African-American church.
Founded in 1852 as the First Colored Baptist Church, Third Baptist is affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA. The church is located in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco. Rev. Amos C. Brown, pastor since 1976, is known for his “activism, intellectual discipline, and masterful oratory,” according to the church’s website.
Harris, who was raised in Hinduism and Christianity by her parents, has a Jewish husband.
Jamal Simmons, Harris’ former communications director and strategist, told the Associated Press, “The vice president has a strong Christian faith that she’s talked about a lot. … She was raised in a Christian church, and attended Christian churches throughout her life, and I think that still influences her, her worldview and her ethical commitments.”
After serving as California’s Attorney General, Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and later was called its most liberal member. As Senator, she co-sponsored bills aligned with several liberal causes including expanding gun control measures and passing “Medicare for All.” Harris has also voted against many of former President Donald Trump’s nominees for federal judgeships and positions in his administration.
Harris also co-sponsored a congressional bill to weaken the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) so that it would not be used to permit discrimination in the name of religion. The so-called Do No Harm Act was first introduced in 2017 and again in 2019. RFRA was originally passed in 1993 to prevent the government from “substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion.” Backers believed that RFRA “should not be interpreted to authorize an exemption from generally applicable law.”