Religious freedom serves as the backbone of a healthy society, because it ensures the upholding of morals. Meaning, morals come from somewhere, and that somewhere isn’t just mankind. What’s right and what’s wrong is decided by the Lord, and when a culture is allowed freedom of religion, Christianity is able to openly spread and influence the culture with a Biblical worldview. The idea that we have personal rights and freedoms comes from God who has given us rights because we are made in His image. God blesses countries who acknowledge the Creator and allow citizens to worship Him. Thus, countries that live in line with Biblical morality are healthier and last longer.
When freedom of religion doesn’t exist, you end up with horrible tyrannical governments and systems such as communism or socialism. Abolishing religious freedom is often done to stifle Christianity, because Christians (and the truth of the gospel) are a hindrance to evil tyrants, power-hungry officials, and a populace desiring to live in its flesh.
Our nation is now experiencing what happens when a country slides from Biblical morals. People claim that somebody else’s freedom of religion shouldn’t interfere with their feelings. In other words, if someone’s beliefs lead them to pray in public, but that makes someone else feel offended, then prayer should be banned unless it’s done in the privacy of one’s home. A country that grows further from Biblical morality grows further from religious freedom, because the reason for religious freedom isn’t there anymore.
Confirmation of this is found in several court cases that have popped up recently, such as the case of Jack Philips, who has been taken to court multiple times for staying true to his beliefs and steadfastly refusing to use his talents to make cakes that would condone what he knew to be sinful behavior; a football coach fired for praying in public; and more recently, The Department of Fair Employment and Housing V. Cathy’s Creations.
A lesbian ‘couple’ walked into Cathy Miller’s bakery (called Tastries) and asked Cathy to create a cake for their same-sex ‘wedding.’ She declined and referred them to a different baker, after which legal action was taken against her by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
The action against Cathy was filed under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Paul Jonna, a partner and Thomas Moore Society Special Counsel at LiMandri & Jonna LLP, said, “There’s a certain irony there, that a law intended to protect individuals from religious discrimination was used to discriminate against Cathy for her religious beliefs.”
Oddly enough, the sincerity of Cathy’s beliefs were actually brought into question. Anthony Mann, the opposing attorney, asked if Cathy tried to follow everything the Bible says. When she responded that she does her best, he asked if that included the Old Testament eating practices. Cathy is a bold Christian, as seen in her bakery’s decor and the music playing over the speakers in her shop.
Praise be to God that on October 21, 2022, the court decided in favor of religious freedom and Cathy’s right to uphold and practice her beliefs.
We should applaud Cathy’s bravery and her willingness to stand for Biblical truth instead of compromising — and then emulate her. We’re told in Matthew 5:14-16 that we are the light of the world, and because of this, we should let our light shine. In an ever-darkening world, this is incredibly important. Boldness is required of believers if we want to keep our religious freedom. The boldness to hold steadfast, even in the face of legal action – boldness that encourages us to stop just sitting around and talking about the loss of religious freedom, but instead to do something about it.
