Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says he hopes the Senate will pass legislation to protect Americans' religious rights at work.
Kerry told a Jewish audience that he co-sponsored the Workplace Religious Freedom Act after hearing about a company that fired two Christians who'd arranged for other workers to take their place on Christmas day.
The bill has languished in a Senate committee since being introduced more than a year ago.
In his speech to the Anti-Defamation League, Kerry said religious practices that don't inconvenience an employer should be accommodated as "part of the freedom of our country." And he said religious rights at work can be protected without violating separation of church and state.