RELIGIOUS LIBERTY, NEUTRALITY, AND “CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM”

 

 

A few years ago, my wife and I strolled Fifth avenue in Manhattan to view the magically animated nativity storefronts. However, they had all been replaced by Santas, snow, and sleds. Disappointed, we never returned.

 

Hoping for something more reminiscent of Christmas, we purchased tickets to attend a rural lantern tour of a reconstructed 1848 village. Once again, there was no mention of the birth of Jesus. This too had been replaced by presentations of a gingerbread baking contest.

 

Often the rejection of Christ has been enforced by threats, firings, or discipline for teachers or students who might have the audacity to carry their Bible into class or pray. Along with this is the rejection of traditional values and enforced attendance at Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ indoctrinations, where even the youngest students are taught that they can choose their gender.

 

In addition to these offenses, many have brought lawsuits against Christian businesses because Christians have refused to indulge in behaviors they regard as sinful.  Meanwhile, the First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees religious freedom:

 

·       Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…

 

It shouldn’t be surprising that many Christians are dismayed about the direction this nation has taken. How then are these violations of religious liberty justified?

 

1.     The need for neutrality in view of the many competing religions

2.     Hyped fears about the opposition—Christian Nationalism

 

NEUTRALITY? This is an impossibility. Every decision we make reflects our underlying values. These determine hiring and the selection of textbooks and curriculum.

 

It is therefore a deceptive myth that secularism and the secular state offer a neutral solution where all can congregate under one tent. Instead, Secularism has been militantly and intolerantly imposing its own state-sanctioned religion consisting of socialistic Marxism, hyper-sexualization, along with sexual and racial favoritism, thereby disfavoring all tradition religions.

 

 

“CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM?” Carol Swain has written that Biblical values had formerly prevailed:

 

·       This Christian-based morality set the tone for our national culture. Life and law unfolded in harmony with a national Christian consciousness. The founders were careful not to designate any particular denomination as the official state church. They had witnessed the folly of this practice in other countries. Even though they chose no state church, they never wished for the influence of the Christian faith to vanish from the public arena. (“Abduction How Liberalism Steals Our Children’s Hearts And Minds;” Feazel and Swain)

 

According to Swain, even though imposing the Christian faith had never been the intention of the Founding Fathers, the influence of the Christian faith had been far reaching:

 

·       In this traditional culture grounded in the Christian faith, what was taught to a child at church and in the family was reinforced by public institutions and national sentiment. The “New England Primer,” which served as a public-school textbook for nearly the first 125 years of the nation’s history, was based solidly on the Bible and Christian teachings. It never entered anyone’s mind to question its constitutionality.

 

Swain cited several revealing examples of how this Faith has recently been undermined and replaced by another faith:

 

·       The female director of a small private school in Minnesota takes middle-and high-school students on a field trip to a sex novelty shop without parental permission (Minnesota 2015).

 

·       The Boston Public School System distributes forty thousand donated condoms to teens. Parents who support the distribution of condoms complain about the sexually explicit messages on the wrappers: “One lucky lady,” “Hump one,” and “Tasty one” (Massachusetts 2014).

 

·       The taxpayer-funded Adolescent Sexuality Conference teaches teens how to use meth to heighten their sexual experiences. Conference organizers distribute a pamphlet offering tips on oral sex and prostate stimulation (Oregon 2014).

 

The sexualization of children has only gotten worse. It is no surprise that Christian parents now feel that an antagonistic State has stolen their children with the almost irresistible temptations of a militant State-supported sexually-permissive religion.

 

It’s worse than that! These parents can no longer trust a system that allows for no democratic outlet for parental indignation in view of the many believable allegations of stolen elections and the parents being labeled and treated as “domestic terrorists” because of their opposition to the “New Morality.” Is it any wonder that some have rallied together under the misleading banner wrongly termed “Christian Nationalism!”

 

Instead, they seek a return to the guarantees insured by the First Amendment. Commentator and missionary-pastor Martin Rizley has recently clarified what the great majority Christian parents believe:

 

·       As a Baptist who believes strongly in the principle of religious liberty, viewing the church and the state as two separate institutions with very distinct functions, though equally accountable to God, I must confess that I don't particularly like the term "Christian nationalism". That is because the term "Christian nationalism" could well be interpreted…to suggest a number of things with which I strongly disagree.

 

·       For example, I disagree with the idea that Christians should seek to take control of a society by imposing on all the citizens of a nation by force of law an explicitly "Christian" identity, which in practical terms historically has often involved a particular denomination, sect, or organization using the awesome power of civil penalties to impose its own religious creed or confession on all the citizens of a nation and to punish "dissenters".

 

Along with Rizley, we do not want an alien and oppressive religion forced upon us but rather equal protection for all to live according to their faith, as long as it doesn’t cause tangible harm to others.