Have you noticed that religious liberty is increasingly under attack in the United States? This seems to be especially true for conservative Christians who want to freely exercise their right to live in accordance with the dictates of their faith.
There are good reasons why the first freedom outlined in the Bill of Rights is the “free exercise” of religion. This God-given right is foundational. All of our other civil liberties spring from this precious gift. If our government fails to protect our First Freedom, all other freedoms are at risk as well. Protecting and defending the First Amendment is critically important because to fight for religious freedom is to guarantee the future of all other rights.
President John Adams once said, “A constitution of government once changed from freedom can never be restored.” It is our duty not only to safeguard religious liberty today but also to equip the next generation to defend it tomorrow.
We would be foolish to let this vital freedom fall to the tyranny of godless socialists who see government as a god. We pray this will never happen. Yet there are good reasons to believe that religious freedom will continue to be attacked by those hostile to the things God. And if they have their way, this God-given civil right will erode or even be dismantled over the next several years.
Astonishingly, Illinois is currently recognized as the second-best state in the nation with a religious liberty score of 81 percent from the First Liberty Institute. The fact that we passed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1998 is significant as it protects the right of people and business owners from infringements upon their freedom of religion.
However, the future of this protection stands uncertain in light of laws that added the term “sexual orientation” to the list of protected characteristics like race, color, religion, sex, and marital status. Since 2005, RFRA has been in conflict with the Illinois Civil Rights Act, which defines “sexual orientation” as including “gender-related identity.” So, now Illinois law treats two conditions defined by volitional behavior as equivalent to behaviorally neutral characteristics like race or biological sex.
Illinois is one of five states to safeguard the conscience rights of health-care providers, individuals, or institutions that refuse to provide health-care services that violate their conscience, and Illinois prohibits any imposition of liability for such refusal.
Illinois also provides exemptions from childhood immunization requirements; exemptions for employers from having to provide contraceptives in insurance policies; and exemptions for marriage and wedding participation for religious entities and clergy.
Finally, we have tremendous school choice liberty in Illinois. As a result, many Christians are wisely exiting government schools and instead choosing home education, micro schools, private Christian schools, and co-ops.
American was founded on the understanding that conscience and religious conviction come before the demands of the state. Elected officials and government bureaucrats should never be allowed to encroach on religious free exercise.
Defending religious freedom will require constant vigilance and a loud persistent voice on the parts of liberty-loving citizens.
Woke censors are looking for ways to expand government and diminish “we the people.” They are emboldened by this last election, and they will not be persuaded to stand down. Their goal remains the same: to push the “free exercise” of religion out of the public square.
