Freedom of religion means not only freedom to worship, it also means freedom to pray whenever, wherever and however you will. It means freedom to speak of your creator openly and without fear that you will be degraded in the classroom or disqualified from public service. It means freedom to operate your business according to God’s standards without the threat of fines or of being fired (as the Supreme Court recently ruled and the Congress of the United States overwhelmingly passed in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act). This is the first of the freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights. Our founders knew that it is foundational for the very existence of a free society.
When God first breathed His life into mankind, He created us to have a share in His own free existence. God, who is compelled by nothing and no-one, is utterly free. In this freedom He chose to love us by sharing His own freedom with all of humankind. This makes us human–different from the animals. For this reason the Constitution of the United States stipulates: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
It was not always so. Those who wrote these words were the grateful inheritors of an idea that was introduced into the world through Christianity. Before Christ, religion was the realm of the government. Citizens were forced to worship according to the cult of the city or country in which they lived. To be Egyptian meant to worship Horace, Isis and the rest. To be Greek meant to worship the gods and godesses of the Pantheon. To be Phoenecian meant to worship Molech with child sacrifice.
The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth changed all that. He broke the tyranny of Satan by His very presence in the world. As Christ’s Word spread throughout the ancient world, it turned the relationship between government and religion topsy-turvey. For the first time in the world’s existence, religion was not defined by those in power. Rather, all power and authority was defined and would be judged by the one true God – Jesus Christ. This means that every human being, no matter how powerful or how marginalized, stands equally under the same Lord and God. For people and nations who understand this, tyranny is restrained and laws intend to measure up to a standard of justice which is not merely human, but divine.
On the other hand, where this idea is lost, power reverts to a law unto itself and laws are passed to expand that power to make the power-holders into gods. That’s why it is so troubling for me to see Christianity marginalized in the name of “freedom from religion.” I am not troubled just for myself or my religious group. I am troubled because I can see far enough ahead to know that such a mindset diminishes freedom for all people. The loss of Christian foundations will inevitably lead back to the enslavement of all people. Consider what happened to freedom in the former Soviet Union or in present day North Korea where all faith is suppressed. Freedom FROM religion never freed anybody.
We are witnessing a great struggle in America today to come to terms with the relationship between freedom, power, and faith. Whether you are a Christian or not, your attitude and your understanding of these things matters. We have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights that calls for our nation to be governed by these lessons. But daily we are being reminded that unless we remain constantly watchful over our elected representatives, executors and judges, these lessons and these freedoms can and will be lost.
Christians who wish to uphold these great, human freedoms need not be shrill or frantic. You can be a strong witness to freedom merely by steadfastly exercising them in your own life. If you want to keep the freedom to worship, then don’t just talk about it! Worship freely and worship often! If you want to keep the freedom to speak God’s Word to your neighbor, then speak it today! Don’t be pressured into silence either by social stigmas or legal fears. If you want people to see the benefit of a nation “under God,” then place all your own actions and words and will under God yourself. In this way, learn for yourself the truth of Jesus’ words, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). This is the freedom that changed the entire world.
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