Christians believe they should share their knowledge of God with others. Along with the Apostle
Paul they can proudly say:
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the
power of God that brings salvation to everyone who
believes.” (Romans 1:16)
America’s history is undeniably steeped in the Christian tradition. Our belief in the freedom of
religion was so important that it was specifically enshrined in the Constitution. But despite this
explicit guarantee—the highest that can be offered by civil government—our society has become
increasingly hostile to the free exercise of religion, especially of Biblical beliefs.
Nearly a half-million students recently participated in “Bring Your Bible to School Day,” and
when New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees partnered with the Christian organization
Focus on the Family to promote that event, he was relentless attacked. [1] In fact, because Focus
supports the Biblical definition of family, magazines like Big Easy transformed Brees’ support
for students’ free-exercise of faith in school as support of homophobia [2] and he was labeled a
bigot.
Judicial nominee Brian Buescher was similarly accused of bigotry simply because of his
affiliation with the Catholic’s Knights of Columbus. [3] A long list can be compiled of individuals
similarly attacked for living out their faith. But the public square in America was never meant to
require participants to hold or express no religious faith.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. Christians who openly acknowledge their faith and beliefs are acting within explicit constitutional guarantees and are also obeying Jesus’ command:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives
light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-15)
It is ironic that some of those who condemned the so-call “Christian bigotry” of Drew
were unwilling to condemn the openly bigoted anti-Semitic declarations of Muslim
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. [4] It appears, then, that religious “bigots” are only those who
disagree with their progressive beliefs, and that their goal is to drive from the public square those who practice Biblical beliefs.
The “free exercise of religion” is an undeniable and fundamental part of our Constitution and
law, but the only way to really protect it is for our culture to place value upon it. The voices of
anti-religious bigotry endanger religious freedom for all.
Foundations of Truth hereby waives all claim of copyright (economic and moral) in this work and immediately places it in the public domain; it may be used, published, edited, and distributed in any manner whatsoever without any attribution or notice to Foundations of Truth.
1 Alaa Abdeldaiem, “Drew Brees on 'Bring Your Bible to School' Ad: 'I Do Not Support Groups That Discriminate',” Sports Illustrated (September 5, 2019), https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/09/05/drew-brees-addresses-bring-your-bible-school-day-video-saints
2 Jenn Bentley, “Drew Brees Records Video for Anti-LGBT Religious Organization,” Big Easy (September 3, 2019), https://www.bigeasymagazine.com/2019/09/03/drew-brees-records-video-for-anti-lgbt-religious-organization/
3 Sam Dorman, “Mazie Hirono Accuses Catholic Group of Taking ‘Extreme Positions’ — Cites Support for Traditional Marriage,” IJR (December 28, 2018), https://ijr.com/mazie-hirono-knights-of-columbus-extreme-positions-traditional-marriage/
4 Susan Davis, “House Votes To Condemn Anti-Semitism After Rep. Omar's Comments,” NPR (March 7, 2019), https://www.npr.org/2019/03/07/701074291/house-votes-to-condemn-anti-semitism-after-rep-omars-comments
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