Imagine a world where religious freedom is respected as a non-debatable, fundamental human right.
In the U.S., there is a diminished mention of religious faith and references to God in public discourse. Organized religion is on the decline and some U.S. scholars contend that a religious message “is just another message in a world full of messages – not something given unique or special protection.’’
Faith in God and the idea of ultimate divine accountability to Him is replaced by moral relativism, which leads to a loss of respect for religion and even anger against religion and the guilt that is seem to flow from it.
Mine is a nation that has moved strongly towards secularism. We live in an increasingly Godless and amoral society. Cultural changes also threaten religious freedom. The ascendency of moral relativism weakens religious freedom because it encourages the proliferation of “rights’’ that claim ascendency over the constitutionally guaranteed free exercise of religion.
Today, an increasing and influential group denies or doubts the existence of God and insists that all rules of behavior are man-made, to be accepted or rejected as one chooses because there is no such thing as right and wrong.
With secularism comes a disconnect from belief in God and the consequent reality of an absolute right and wrong. This rejects the assumptions of some secularists that religion is mostly a matter of history that has minimal significance in modern times.
Believers and non-believers must be helped to understand that it is faith in God – however defined – that translates religious teaching into the moral behavior that benefits that nation. All humans are endowed with a God-given conscience to choose right and wrong.
The protection of conscience is a vital ingredient for stability because it helps people from a wide spectrum of beliefs feel assured that their deepest concerns and values are respected and protected. The teaching and free religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of the U.S. that we cannot lose the influence of religion in our public life without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms.
These are very serious issues and they require serious minds engaged in thoughtful, courteous discourse.
Imagine a world where religious freedom is respected as a non-debatable, fundamental human right.
Don Sagendorf
Amboy
