Religious Liberty in an Age of Immorality

The state legislatures of Georgia, North Carolina and Mississippi have been busy in recent days responding to concerns that the rights of business owners, organizations and individuals are being subjected to leftist intolerance. The Rainbow Mafia seeks to force everyone to condone their beliefs regarding sex and same-sex marriage — even if those beliefs are in conflict with one’s own religious teachings — through the forcible participation of a transaction or delivery of a service that could be seen as demonstration of support.

Plainly, those who hold Judeo-Christian values don’t want to participate and/or enable what is defined as sin by their God, Yahweh, of the Bible. And, that’s exactly where all things become complicated. Who sits as Judge or judge — Yahweh or a black-robed individual appointed by a politician?

Let’s take a quick review of each state’s legislative offerings and then posit a few questions and thoughts.

Currently, Republican Governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi is considering signing a bill, described in Section 1 of the proposal as the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act.” The proposal speaks to marriage as a monogamous union between a man and a woman; identifies that “sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage” in Section 2; and declares one’s chromosomal biology to drive gender in Section 3, “Male (man) or female (woman) refer to an individual’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth.”

Georgia’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” went through quite an amendment process that diluted down its provisions, only to be vetoed anyway by Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.According to The Heritage Foundation’s Ryan Anderson, it would have “safeguarded clergy from having to officiate same-sex weddings, prevented faith-based organizations from being forced to hire someone who publicly undermines their mission, and prohibited the state government from discriminating against churches and their affiliated ministries because they believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”

In North Carolina, the state legislature passed legislation overruling a Charlotte city ordinancethat would have mandated that businesses provide transgender people “special admission privileges in selecting dressing and restroom facilities.” The simple law “requires people to use multi-stall bathrooms that match their birth certificates at state agencies, schools and universities.” Birth certificates that, by the way, can be changed after sex-reassignment surgery.

Georgia Gov. Deal vetoed the Peach State’s bill after enormous economic threats issued from corporate giants like Disney and Apple, as well as sports leagues like the NFL and NCAA. The narrowly written bill was still labeled by critics — the Rainbow Mafia that includes Hollywood, corporate interests, the Leftmedia, etc. — as legalized discrimination.

In the “Magnolia State,” Gov. Bryant has not committed to signing the legislation just yet. Big-dollar boycott threats are taking their toll.

Over in North Carolina, Republican Governor Pat McCrory signed the “commonsense” protections into law for citizens using public restrooms and doesn’t seem to fret about demands from the Left — even governors and mayors blocking official travel to his state. San Francisco’s Mayor Ed Lee, the mayor of a sanctuary city that ignores our federal immigration laws to harbor and protect illegal immigrants, even when they murder their own law-abiding citizens, has prohibited travel to the Tar Heel State because of public bathroom access.

More important, the Obama administration is considering ways to deny federal funding to North Carolina.

Just a few questions to the corporate bullies who threaten to pull jobs and investments from these states: Apple, when will you move your operations out of China for its “legalized discrimination” against simple human rights? Disney and Apple, when will we read of your departure from the Middle East, refusing commerce from the Saudis and other devout Muslims who throw accused homosexuals off of buildings?

Then, to Republicans — Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana and Gov. Asa Hutchison of Arkansas,included — who seem to have a difficult time with legislation regarding religious liberty: Why is it difficult to establish that liberties of both those with and without faith must be protected? Just as certain manufacturers, marketers and retailers voluntarily accommodate those of devout faiths with dietary restrictions (i.e. “kosher” or “halal”) without boycotts and threats based on a unique consumer demand, why are the overreaching demands of those with same-sex preferences treated as sacred and universally observed?

Finally, a few thoughts for those writing these pieces of legislation. What is the role of government on this issue? Clearly, the balance of rights is critical without the “establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Yet, diminishing one’s hallowed beliefs to pacify a political agenda or to receive financial gain exposes the corrupt nature of the very institution of government meant to defend “the Supreme Law of the Land” — our Constitution.

While the desire for a good and decent culture is unsatisfied, is the government the best vehicle for such a state of order? Sadly, our houses of worship have become less institutions of teaching and training up, rebuke in love and the confession of sin — saying the same thing about our iniquities as Yahweh — and more social groups of self-esteem, entertainment and “community.”

The Left is determined to shift the responsibility of morality and acceptable mores to the government-sanctioned secular gospel and thus “fundamentally transform” our nation. Therefore, the center-right must be guardians of institutions that form the foundation of our unique constitutional republic and oppose the transfer and blurring of the roles of civics, faith and family.

John Adams once said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He was not conferring the role of morality nor religion to our government. Instead, Adam’s truth observed a very limited form of government with enumerated powers would be adequate only for a people governed by a moral compass.

The role of our American government is to protect the genuine expressions of faith of our citizens rather than define and redefine them.