Freedom of Religion

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns Freedom of Religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This freedom is under attack here in our nation and throughout the world. Christians seem to be under attack more than any other religion at the present time.

            Dave Urbanski of The Associated Press reported recently that the Chinese government is persecuting Christian congregations in Beijing and other provinces. The government is “destroying crosses, burning bibles, shutting churches and ordering followers to sign papers renouncing their faith.” This is a “significant escalation” in persecution that should concern freedom-loving people everywhere. 

            The purpose of this campaign is to demand “loyalty to the officially atheist Communist Party” and to eliminate “any challenge to its power over people’s lives.” Urbanski continues his report with the following information.

Under President Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, religious believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival. Experts and activists say that as he consolidates his power, Xi is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982.

[Bob] Fu also provided video footage of what appeared to be piles of burning bibles and forms stating that the signatories had renounced their Christian faith. He said that marked the first time since Mao’s radical 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution that Christians had been compelled to make such declarations, under pain of expulsion from school and the loss of welfare benefits.

            The Chinese government claims that there is freedom of religion in the country, but citizens report that gatherings have been declared illegal and church properties have been sealed off. These actions are being taken to consolidate power for the Chinese government.

            In a Daily Signal podcast, Olivia Enos of The Heritage Foundation  discusses the increasing hostility of the Chinese government towards religious organizations and people. In addition to the problems outlined above, she says that Chinese people face being put in re-education camps and sharing their homes with officials from the government. Parents put in the camps face the possibility of losing parental rights. These problems are not facing only Christians but affecting Muslims and other religions also. Families are not allowed to give religious teachings to any children under the age of 18.

            Americans should not take their First Amendment rights for granted. It would most likely take some time to completely destroy these rights, but they are being chipped away little by little as times passes. If liberals and socialists have their way, the Constitution itself will be destroyed. If you want to protect and preserve the Constitution, you must take action to do so. The best way that you can do this is to vote for conservatives. Be sure to vote for conservatives in November!