Religious freedom must be preserved

Christians are to pray for those in authority “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”. Paul says, “this is good and pleases God our Saviour who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1–4). In other words, we are to pray for freedom to live out the Christian life and to proclaim the Gospel – two things that God requires.

Restrictions on religious liberty make Gospel proclamation and godly living that witnesses to the Gospel more difficult. Jesus warns his followers not to lose their distinctive ‘saltiness’, lest they become useless and trampled on by men (Matthew 5:13). He wants us not to be ashamed but rather to put our light on its stand. Christians should therefore firmly oppose any laws or policies that limit our religious freedom.

Christians must submit to the governing authorities except where they require what God forbids or forbid what God requires (Acts 5:29).

The Christian Institute is concerned by any attempt to impose unwarranted restrictions on churches, such as forcing them to employ unbelieving staff or curtailing the freedom to speak against certain sins. Some restrictions may be intentional, others born out of increasing religious illiteracy. They stem partly from the growing chasm between Christian values and the values of those in public life.

Importantly, religious liberty is not only the freedom to believe certain things in our heads, but the freedom to act in the public sphere according to those beliefs. It is, for example, the liberty to:

• gather with like-minded people, particularly on Sundays;

• form associations with those who share our faith;

• disciple people within those associations, including Christians’ children, to live compatibly with biblical ethics;

• tell other people about our faith and encourage them to convert to Christ (a crucial companion to this being the freedom to change religion); and

• speak up for what we believe to be right and against what we believe to be wrong.

It is this liberty to act on our beliefs that is under attack. Religious liberty is clearly infringed when the governing authorities presume to override Christian values in churches or Christian homes.