The Family Research Council will bestow "Cost of Discipleship Award" to Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who was imprisoned for six days for refusing to abide by the federal court order to issue gay marriage licences, against her deeply-held faith.
Davis will be honored at FRC's 10th annual Values Voter Summit later this month at Washington D.C.
FRC President Tony Perkins had paid a visit to her in jail before she was released, and invited her to attend the event.
"After meeting with her last week, I can tell you that Kim Davis wasn't looking for this fight, but she is not running from it either," Perkins said in a statement.
"What militant secularists are almost certainly afraid of is what is coming to pass: courage is breeding courage. When other people might have cowered in fear, Kim took a stand. And today, millions of Americans stand with her and for the religious freedom upon which our nation was founded."
Davis has said that she will not interfere if her office issues the same-sex marriage licences, but added that they will not have her name or signature on them.
Davis has pleaded with the Kentucky state government to create an accommodation that will allow her to opt-out of issuing licences, even as gay marriage licenses will continue to be sanctioned.
North Carolina has already passed such an accommodation law that offer clerks to opt out of issuing licences.
"Far from the media's portrayal, Kim isn't trying to impose her views on anyone, she is simply asking that her orthodox religious views be accommodated. The courage of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis isn't just changing the conversation - it's changing the political landscape. In places like Missouri, where state officials watched with horror as Davis was hauled off to jail for her Christian beliefs, leaders are moving quickly to protect their people from the same fate. The Supreme Court created this mess -- now it's incumbent on states to protect the victims mired in it," the statement read.
Davis is the second Christian to receive the award, after Meriam Ibrahim from Sudan, who was imprisoned for her faith in her native country, where she gave birth to her second child in jail with her legs chained.
Perkins continued, "While the Court redefined marriage, it did not redefine the First Amendment. Thank goodness for people of courage like Kim Davis, who refuses to let religious liberty be trampled by legal tyranny. We applaud her. In the face of intense pressure, she's shown more courage than 99 percent of the elected officials in Kentucky."
Another county clerk in Kentucky, Casey Davis (no relation), has also announced that he will not issue same-sex marriage licenses. He is expected to speak at the summit as well. When asked by a local radio station, as to why he took this stand, he said, "I have a strong conviction, belief. I am a Christian before I am anything else. I think that this is a war on Christianity. Allowing same-sex marriage is simply the surface, but it is a war on Christianity.. [I am told] I need to leave my personal beliefs at the door and take my oath, and do my job, or do the honorable thing and resign... I use my conviction in everything that I do... This is where God has placed me, and I am fine with taking that row..."
Thousands of social conservatives from around the country attend the annual summit, which will be held at Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., from September 25-27. The event is cosponsored by AFA Action, American Values, Liberty Institute, Ohio Christian University School of Business and Government, and Family Research Council.
