Politics

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America was the place to which many religious people came. Most were escaping persecution because of their choice of worship. To name a few, groups from Europe were Puritans, pilgrims, Huguenots, Quakers, Catholic, and Baptist. European immigrants were raised under the rule of a government that espoused some form of Christianity whether Roman Catholic, Church of England, Eastern Orthodox, or Lutheran.
While these groups were Christian in nature, when it came time to write the Constitution and Bill of Rights, the wording granted each individual the freedom of religion; that is, every person was free from government interference in the way they chose to express their religious beliefs. To have declared Christianity the law of the land would have been hypocritical!
America’s religious beliefs span the beliefs of all the immigrants who have come to America for freedom and opportunity. As a result, Asians brought their Hindu, Buddhist, or Shinto beliefs. Middle Easterners brought Judaism and Islam. Haitians brought Voodoo. Joseph Smith brought Mormonism and Rutherford brought Jehovah’s Witnesses. Madeleine Murray O’Hare brought atheism to the forefront. Anton LaVey championed Satanism! No wonder Christians are dismayed by the broad stroke freedom of religion has painted across America. Freedom of religion is a two-edged sword, to use a Scriptural metaphor.
In 2 Chronicles, Josiah, the king of Judah, swept through the land destroying the idols, altars to idols, and burned the bones of the false prophets on the altars he was destroying. He was praised for his zeal for the Lord and for turning Judah back to the worship of the one true God. Many Christians have called for this type of zeal to return America “to its Christian roots.”
Jefferson was instrumental in forming the nation and writing the Constitution. Yet Thomas Jefferson’s Bible is full of holes because he cut out all the miracles and unexplainable sections of Scripture. George Washington, John Adams, and others were deists who believed in one true God, not the Trinity. Many of the early Presidents before Lincoln held slaves. Are these the roots to which Christians want to return?
Josiah did not live in a Democracy; he was king in a theocracy. Freedom of religion was not a tenet of Judah nor of Israel. Judaism was supposed to be the religion of Israel, and the king was supposed to function as the governing right hand of God. As went the king, so went the religion in Judah and Israel. In the Old Testament, the people frequently chased after the false gods of Baal and Ashtoreth with some people sacrificing their children to the god, Molech. Time and again, God brought them back to worshipping Him when the people were in trouble or being oppressed by a conquering nation. Freedom of religion was not a tenet of Judaism.
Christianity is also not a democracy. Jesus as Lord means He is first.
However, America does espouse freedom of religion. As a result, Americans are called to tolerate, not agree with, other Americans of different religious beliefs. As a two-edged sword, freedom of religion allows Christians to worship in freedom in the way that they choose. The Bill of Rights also allows others to worship the way they choose.
Can Christians accept one side of this Freedom and reject the second? Of course not. Removing the Freedom of Religion tenet would cause Christians to be up in arms, as it should. But it should also cause Christians to cherish that freedom for others. How can Christians fulfill the Great Commission with the government protecting Americans who are unbelievers? The mission field exists at home as well as on foreign lands. Christianity which costs Americans nothing disrespects the sacrifice of Christ.
Christians should share the gospel with their neighbors instead of expecting the government to protect and compel a culture of secular Christianity.

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