One Thing Christians Can Do To Strengthen Religious Freedom In the West
Religious freedom is under increasing pressure across the West.
In the UK, there are now laws that criminalise silently praying in your head near an abortion clinic (and yes, people have been prosecuted under these laws).
In the US, Christian cake baker Jack Phillips was hauled before a Colorado Civil Rights Commission for the crime of failing to bake and decorate a cake for a gay wedding. The case ended up in the US Supreme Court, and although he won his particular case, it was a narrow ruling. It left open the broader constitutional questions about the conflict between anti-discrimination laws and religious freedom.
Here in Australia, ‘Conversion Therapy’ laws have been passed in Victoria that would, among other things, penalise a pastor praying with a church member struggling with unwanted same sex attraction.
Along with this pressure, freedom of speech has also come under attack. On social media, the former Biden Administration pressured social media companies such as Facebook and Twitter to remove posts questioning the US government's stance on COVID-19 and other public interest issues.
These concerns and many other related ones were unpacked in a recent video hosted by former Australian Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson on his podcast and YouTube Channel. Three guests from across the Anglosphere (the US, the UK, and Australia) discussed the pressures on fundamental liberties and how Christians might respond.
Now, yes, Jesus and the New Testament writers warned us that we would face persecution from the world, so this pressure shouldn’t come as a surprise. But we Christians shouldn’t, therefore, write this pressure off as ‘hey, no big deal’. This is because such anti-freedom pressure not only affects Christians: if we can’t debate and discuss public policy issues such as those around gender, marriage and sexuality (for example), then our non-Christian neighbours will suffer. Just look at the gender ideology that is confusing vulnerable teens and children, where kids are encouraged by many in authority, such as public schools and some child-facing media, to see their gender as malleable, and even consider irreversible and damaging sex-change operations.
So, how might Christians respond?
There are several things that Christians can do in response:
The Bible calls us to pray for our governments and those in authority over us, so that we may live peaceful and godly lives (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
We can support organisations that engage with legislators about the importance of religious freedom, such as Freedom for Faith here in Australia.
We can also support organisations like the Alliance Defending Freedom in the USA, or the Human Rights Law Alliance here in Australia, which litigate in our courts on behalf of individuals prosecuted for practising their faith in public.
These are all good things that Christians concerned about religious freedom can and should do. However, there’s another response that Christians should consider taking, which was raised on Anderson’s podcast.
One other thing Christians can do to strengthen religious freedom across the West
When people are punished for merely raising concerns about a particular issue, it creates a ‘chilling effect’ that effectively pressures others to stay silent.
After all, if I see someone hauled through tribunals and the court system because they’ve made a post critical of, say, drag queen storytime at a public library, then how likely am I going to raise my voice about that issue?
And if millions of us respond in this way, before you know it, our democracy will have just taken a backward step. Our freedoms will have been eroded. And these ideologies will continue their march through our society, potentially harming our vulnerable neighbours. All because we’re too afraid to speak up.
So what do we do about this?
Kristen Waggoner from the US based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a group dedicated to defending religious freedom in US courts, gave this simple answer on Anderson’s podcast, using the example of gender ideology:
[When ADF started addressing the issue of gender ideology], there were very few who were willing to speak out on the fact that men can't become women. [But] there were three high school track girls who stood up and said, ‘No, men can't become women, and these boys shouldn't be competing against us and taking four state championships and 15 titles.’ As a result, more people started hearing those stories. Legislators in other [US] states heard the stories and they said, ‘We don't want this to happen here.’
She continues:
Other women began to hear and start to put together, ‘Wait a minute, if gender identity moves forward, it will be women and girls who suffer the most because there are legitimate biological distinctions.’ We litigated these cases for over 10 years on these issues, and that's nothing compared to what we see someone like William Wilberforce, who spent 40 years to prevail. But the principle is true that courage begets courage.’
Courage begets courage.
If you speak up, others will be more likely to do the same. Whether in the workplace, online, or with your kids' school.[1] By raising your voice, others will feel emboldened to say the (ideological) emperor has no clothes.
This is how culture shifts.
Not through silence and acquiescence, hoping the powers that be leave us alone. But by courageously speaking the truth to a world that often doesn’t want to hear it.
It’s how the gospel exploded across the ancient world: by men and women willing to speak the truth, in season and out of season, regardless of the cost. And it’s how we can impact our world, for the good of our vulnerable neighbours, who are at risk when dehumanising anti-God ideologies run unchecked and unchallenged through society.
Yes, it may prove costly (just ask people like Jack Phillips). But doesn’t love for our neighbour call us to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others?
In this time of increasing pressure on our basic freedoms, will we speak up for the good of our neighbour, or will we be cowed into silence?
Further reading around this issue:
4 different types of arguments Christians should use in the public square
The big mistake secular people make about religious discrimination
Queer Theory sneaks into NSW primary schools: A Christian mum’s email sheds light on the issue
How a humble Western Sydney Pastor got Canberra’s attention on Religious Freedom
[1] Pastors, your people are looking to you for guidance on how to respond in our current cultural moment. If you remain silent and back down, then your people will too. But if you're willing to speak the truth of the Bible publicly, from the pulpit, as well as engaging with your local politician, then your people are more likely to do that as well. For an example of what one pastor did, see this post.