Domestic Challenges to Religious Liberty From Left and Right

In yesterday’s essay, I described the threat of both religious and secular totalitarianism, which threaten religious liberty on a global scale. Today, I focus on threats that are closer to home.

The Challenge from the Left

I will start with the challenge from the left because I think it’s more obvious and better known. In the big picture, there is some good news: important religious liberty cases have come up nine to nothing in the Supreme Court. Admittedly, many of the cases on the most sensitive social issues have been five to four. Other political and legal trends are worrying, such as the failure of the original Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana and similar problems elsewhere, not to mention many actions by the Obama administration.

More worrying still are the sociological trends. It is a cliché by now that the fastest growing religious group in America is the “nones”—not religious sisters in habits, but those who check “none” on surveys of religious affiliation. People who do not value religion are unlikely to value religious freedom. When religious freedom is accused of being nothing more than camouflage for bigotry, we must do more than simply assert that we have the right, under the First Amendment, to be bigots. We must make an affirmative case for the value of religion and therefore of religious freedom. Otherwise, we will soon see legislatures, courts, and agencies redefining the right of religious freedom and narrowing the scope of its protection. If Americans do not appreciate the importance of religion, then religious freedom will fall to claims of discrimination.