August 2021

The Future of Religious Freedom in the United States 1: The Current State

First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

With the First Amendment, the framers of the Constitution guaranteed the religious liberty of all Americans. Religious liberty protects the freedom to speak and to act based on one’s faith, both in private and in public.

The Fundamental Importance of Religious Liberty for a Free Society

Being free to believe and to live according to those beliefs is essential to a free society. It is no accident that the very first right enunciated in the Bill of Rights is that of freedom of religion. Nor should we ignore it precedes the fundamental freedoms of speech, the press, peaceable assembly, and the right to petition. Religious liberty is the right that secures and anchors all other rights.

Freedom of religion means that the government should not meddle with a person’s relationship with God or his or her ability to live out their faith. Government cannot coerce religious faith, and because of this, we may freely pursue the faith of our choice.

The First Amendment protection of religious liberty benefits all Americans. This right protects Christians and non-Christians, atheists and agnostics, liberals, and conservatives. Religious liberty is a virtue for the common good of our society, allowing differences to flourish.

For Christians, religious liberty enables the church to fulfill its mission. It means we have the freedom to commit our lives to a power greater than the state.

Rising Anti-Christian Sentiment

We are witnessing more and more anti-Christian sentiment in the United States and as this grows, we will experience more frequent and severe attacks on religious freedom. This is, in fact, an assault on our way of life as followers of Jesus Christ.

As our culture strays from Judeo-Christian morality, anti-Christian sentiment grows. Each time a moral pillar topples, the fire of anti-Christian rhetoric and action burns hotter. For example:

• We are women-haters / oppressors when we take a stand against abortion on demand.
• Christians are bigoted when they take a stand for traditional heterosexual marriage.
• We are anti-progress when we disagree with the legalization of marijuana or other drugs.
• Christians are intolerant and unloving when we state the biblical truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.
• We are intellectually naïve and even stupid when we disagree with Darwinian evolution.

The Role of Government in Protecting Our Religious Freedom 

It is the responsibility of the government, under the auspices of the current administration in Washington, to protect and secure all the rights granted in the Bill of Rights. Under the Obama administration, just the opposite occurred, and it has now carried over into Biden’s presidency. (See the following examples.) Also, keep in mind that both Obama and Biden profess to be Christians.

Our Own Government is Undermining Religious Liberty

In 2015, The Alliance Defending Freedom compiled a report titled Direct Attacks on Religious Freedom, Sanctity of Life, and Marriage and Family by the Obama Administration, in which they documented 54 attacks on mostly the Christian faith and values.

Is It Freedom of Religion or Freedom of Worship?

Under the Obama administration, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined President Obama and others in changing the language they used when addressing. They subtlety began referring to freedom of worship rather than freedom of religion. So, what’s the difference? Much!

Freedom of Religion guarantees us the liberty to speak and to act based on our faith in both private and public. It’s about the right to dress according to one’s religious dictates, to preach openly, to evangelize, to engage in the public square. For example, many Jews keep kosher, Quakers don’t go to war, and many Muslim women wear headscarves-yet “freedom of worship” would protect none of these expressions of faith.

Freedom of Worship guarantees we can practice our faith so long as we keep it within the walls of our place of worship or home. A shift from freedom of religion to freedom of worship removes religious dialog from the public square and limits it to the physical confines of a church, temple, synagogue, or mosque. It offers no liberty to express our faith outside of those in public discourse.

We have no reason to believe that the Biden administration will not continue to make this distinction.

Conscience Protection, Not Under Joe

In June 2020, President Donald Trump issued a pro-life rule to block the effects of a dangerous Obamacare provision that could compel doctors to do abortions. On May 10, 2021, Joe Biden reversed this rule.

But there’s more:

“The Department of Justice has declined to pursue a case against the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC), a suit that the government initially filed last year after a former nurse alleged that she had been forced to participate in an abortion procedure despite her objections.

“In December 2020, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under the Trump administration filed a lawsuit in federal court against UVMMC, arguing that the center had violated the Church amendments, federal statutes enacted in the 1970s to protect the religious-freedom and conscience rights of health-care workers. Under these protections, medical entities are prohibited from discriminating against health-care workers who have religious or moral objections to performing abortions or sterilization procedures.

“But in August 2021, Biden’s Justice Department announced that it had dropped the case, effectively permitting the medical center to get away with what the nurse alleges was a blatant violation of her conscience rights and of federal law.” (View Source)

The Equality Act

The House of Representatives passed the Equality Act in February, which brings it one step closer to becoming the law of the land.

If passed, the Equality Act would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to many existing federal non-discrimination laws. This could negatively affect many areas of life, including employment, athletics, housing, public and private schools, businesses, and more. These changes violate the religious beliefs of millions of Americans, harm women and girls, and contradict the common good.

Joe Biden will sign this act into law. For more on how this piece of legislation attacks religious liberty, please see Churches Face Mounting Religious Liberty Threats.

Our Religious Freedom is Being Undermined, Will We Ultimately Lose It?

In Canada, pastors are being arrested for preaching against same sex marriage. This can also happen in the United States.

I dislike my conclusion to this post, but I must be faithful to the evidence. Our nation, our culture, is moving rapidly away from Judeo-Christian morality. Increasingly, Christians are seen as enemies of those who live by other values.

But it is not yet time to despair. We need to prepare for this onslaught. I will address this in future posts.

²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:20)

We are not waging war against flesh and blood. It is a spiritual battle.

Next: The Future of Religious Freedom in the U.S.: Five Stages of Persecution, Where are We Now?