The Family Research Council and the Liberty Institute have just released an 140 page report claiming that there’s been a rising pattern of hostility toward Christians in America over the past decade. (Ironically, this report is being issued only a few weeks after the tragic shooting of an FRC security guard.)
Among the examples listed:
Matthew Reynolds, valedictorian for HLV Junior-Senior High School in Victor, Iowa, was told he had to give a ‘secular’ speech after he wished to attribute his success to his faith in Jesus Christ during his graduation speech.
Dr. Frank Turek, a Cisco employee, was fired for expressing his views on traditional marriage in his book, even though he never voiced his religious opinions at work.
Catherina Lorena Cenzon-DeCarlo, a nurse at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital, was forced to participate in a late-term abortion against her religious convictions, and was threatened with job termination and loss of license.
Samantha Schulz, 8, was barred from singing “Kum Ba Yah” at a Boys and Girls Club in Port Charlotte, Fla., because the song included the words “Oh, Lord.”
A cross was removed from a veterans’ memorial in San Diego, after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that the memorial was unconstitutional.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that President Obama and others conflate religious liberty with the freedom to worship. In fact, the first amendment guarantees more than the freedom of worship. It guarantees the free exercise of religion. (Rick Warren nails it.)