Christianity is under assault in America today – and so are Christians. Every time a Christian person asserts his or her right to express their religion freely, they are told to shut up and be quiet.
Prayer in the public schools? Why, that’s “unconstitutional,” we’re told. But these same schools will mandate the practice of Hinduism in the form of yoga, calling it physical education” And when Christian parents protest, they’re denounced as “religious fanatics.”
The good news? Christians across America are fighting back. Donald Trump appointed hundreds of conservative Christian judges to serve at all levels of the judicial system. He also nominated two staunch religious conservatives to the US Supreme Court – Bret Kavanaugh and Amy Conan Barrett – and both were confirmed
But we need to keep fighting. Anti-Christian forces won’t give up, and with Joe Biden in the White House, they have new friends In high places.
Each month America1787 will highlight a set of cutting-edge issues that affect the religious freedoms of all Americans, especially Christians. We ask our readers first to educate themselves, and second, TO TAKE ACTION.
On a separate web page you will find contact information for congressional representatives in your area (put link here). Please take the time to let your views be known. Representatives pay close attention to what their constituents think. Every letter, email or phone makes a real difference.
TOP ISSUES FOR CHRISTIANS: APRIL 2023
Guaranteeing religious freedom in the workplace
The Workplace Religious Freedom Act was introduced in 1999 and in subsequent sessions of Congress but has not yet passed despite bipartisan support. The bill is intended in part to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trans World Airlines v. Hardison (1977). That earlier decision tried to limit religious freedom rights to employee celebration of religious holidays – and nothing else. The new legislation takes a more expansive view of religious freedom rights. It includes the right to practice one’s religion, to display religious symbolism, and to enjoy company-provided prayer space while at the workplace.
Naturally, liberals and gay rights groups generally oppose the Workplace Religious Freedom Act. Several states have passed their own laws increasing the burden on employers to accommodate workplace religious expression. Christians need to push for passage of the federal law as well as for more state laws that expand the right to religious expression at the workplace.
Banning medical” abortion murder pills
In the wake of last August’s Dobbs decision by the US Supreme Court overturning 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, Democratic Attorneys general across the country are pushing the Biden administration to make it easier for women to obtain mifepristone, the drug that allows pregnant women to terminate their pregnancies “medically.”
Only a handful of states thus far have passed laws banning or restricting access to the so-called “abortion pill.” Christians need to push their state legislatures to pass similar laws. More than half of all abortions are now carried out “non-surgically,” through the use of mifepristone or other pharmaceutical pills.
Without stronger state laws, pro-abortion groups will be able to overturn the victory pro-life forces achieved when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade guaranteeing a woman’s “right” to an abortion.
Supporting state taxpayer funding for religious education
The Supreme Court, in a little-noticed decision last June, ruled that Maine must include religious schools in its government-funded tuition assistance program. Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion struck down the program’s long-standing requirement that funds must be used only for secular education to comply with state law.
Other states that deny public funding to religious schools must now be held accountable to implement similar adjustments in their program implementation. However, state school systems are likely to come under enormous pressure from anti-religious advocates to interpret the new rules on state funding narrowly and to impose new obstacles on the ability of religious schools to obtain their fair share.
Christians in the remaining 49 states must be prepared to begin a pressure campaign to ensure that religious schools are not unfairly excluded from new state school funding.
