Freedom from state-established religion and the prohibition on laws restricting the free exercise of religion are among the most cherished of American values. However, the Unites States is becoming more anti-Christian than ever before. This is not just coming from the media, which clearly attempts to portray Christians in a negative way (just watch a few television shows), or from other folks. The anti-Christian sentiment is clearly accelerating from the government. We have seen the MIAC report that places Conservative Christians with terrorist threats. Below are more examples of the trampling upon our rights to faith and free speech-
HOUSTON (AP) _ Three Houston veterans groups have joined a pastor’s lawsuit accusing the Department of Veterans Affairs of religious discrimination, saying they’ve been banned at soldiers’ funerals from using religious words such as “God” and are having their prayers censored.
In May, the Rev. Scott Rainey sued to keep the VA from censoring his Memorial Day invocation at Houston National Cemetery. At that time, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order forbidding VA officials from censoring Rainey’s prayer.
The veterans groups say VA officials told them that prayer and religious speech could no longer be part of their burial rituals at the Houston cemetery unless families submit a specific prayer or message in writing to the cemetery’s director, Arleen Ocasio.
When Mark Mackey, a member of the local Calvary Chapel, showed up to the DMV office in Hemet, CA on February 2, he had a goal: read the Bible and introduce those waiting in line to the “gospel of Jesus Christ.” And for about 15 minutes he was successful. That is until a California Highway Patrolman took the Bible from his hands, arrested him, and told him he was guilty of preaching to a “captive audience.”
WASHINGTON -- Capitol Hill police arrested 11 people -- many of them members of the clergy -- protesting the Republican House budget-cutting plan, a police spokeswoman said.
The group, organized by Common Cause's president, the Rev. Bob Edgar, occupied the center of the historic Rotunda for more than a half hour Thursday, praying and singing until police closed the massive chamber and arrested the group, one by one.
Hampton High School's class president just wanted to acknowledge God in a graduation prayer. But the school’s principal, Dale Campbell, wouldn’t have it.
Not only would Campbell not have it—he threatened to have praying students put behind bars. Now, Liberty Counsel is coming alongside the class president to fight for her First Amendment rights at the Elizabethton, Tenn. school.
According to Liberty, Campbell said any students who pray or even attempt to pray would be stopped, escorted from the building by police and arrested. The principal has since backed away from his statement, but continues to send mixed messages in the community and among students.
EAST COUNTY — a student who claims he was suspended for talking about Christianity to classmates and banned from bringing his Bible to campus has filed a federal lawsuit against an East County school district.
A suspension document from the school states: “Student was told to stop preaching at school. Student continued after being warned several times.” It goes on to say: “Student will not bring Bible to school.”
A federal court has ruled against a Christian activist over demonstrations at homosexual pride events in Philadelphia.
Michael Marcavage of the organization Repent America is a street preacher who had argued that in several events, his group's constitutional right to free speech was violated by Philadelphia authorities. In one instance, police forced his group to an area to keep them from preaching directly to homosexuals during a "gay rights" parade.
PHILADELPHIA - Repent America (RA) is denouncing the Winchester, Virginia Police Department for again assigning an undercover police officer to secretly record the free speech activities of peaceful Christian evangelists last weekend at the city's annual Apple Blossom Festival, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the city.
Law enforcement scrutiny, detainment by police, and a court date to answer trumped-up charges: these are the consequences of preaching Christianity to Muslims not only throughout much of the Islamic world, but sometimes even in America as well.
The most infamous example occurred last June, when four missionaries from Acts 17 Apologetics were arrested and charged with breach of peace while they calmly discussed their faith with Muslims at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn, Michigan.
Judge ordered a home school mom in New Hampshire to stop home schooling her daughter because the little girl “reflected too strongly” her mother’s Christian faith.
Florida High School removes teacher for criticizing gay ‘marriage’ on Facebook
Freedom from Religion Foundation lawsuit to ban Texas Gov. Rick Perry from holding "The Response," his prayer rally in Houston arguing in the lawsuit that Perry's involvement in the day of prayer and fasting would violate the First Amendment's establishment clause.
In October, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in what might become the most significant religious liberty case in decades, Hosanna-Tabor Church v. EEOC, which will, disconcertingly, consider whether a religious school has the right to fire a teacher who contradicts official church teachings.
Should the court rule against Hosanna-Tabor, it could indicate that American courts will intrude more and more upon the internal affairs of religious organizations, dictating that the right to free exercise must bow before judges' and bureaucrats' current conceptions of legal equity. Placing religious groups under special legal disadvantages, and forbidding them from operating according to their own beliefs, is certainly not what the Founders had in mind when they banned an "establishment of religion" in the First Amendment.
In Early August the Department of Justice filed an opposition brief that dramatically raises the stakes in Hosanna-Tabor. Rather than simply arguing that the ministerial exception should not extend to the teacher under the facts of this case, DOJ’s brief disputes the general existence of the ministerial exception.
DOJ’s position—which is even more hostile to the ministerial exemption than the amicus brief filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the ACLU—thus threatens to expose churches and other religious institutions to a broad array of employment-discrimination claims that the ministerial-exception has long shielded them from. This ruling would effectively give the government control of the people employed by Christian, and any other religion, organization by stating who can or cannot be fired.
DENVER — A Denver judge blocked Colorado’s first school-voucher program late last week, calling the program to give parents checks for tuition at religious schools a “substantial disservice to the public interest.”
This post could simply go on and on with the number of assaults on religious freedom found in a short time of research. The 1st Amendment reads ”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” As we are seeing, the Constitution and Bill of Rights are under assault as well as Christianity.
As Christians we have no doubt been persecuted, made fun of and insulted by citizens, government, media and entertainment sources alike. As Jesus told us “Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in Heaven is great. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12
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