For better and worse our politics seem to be inextricably bound with religious ideologies. In conservative leaning states this statement seems to be even stauncher.
Our country prides itself in many freedoms including the free expression of religion and freedom from an established state religion. Sometimes it appears the latter is true insofar as one doesn’t offend the majority religion of a region.
More and more it appears society in this neck of the woods wholeheartedly mixes religious beliefs into political practices, but not always for the proper reasons. Religion should influence politicians and government officials to the extent that they make moral decisions and follow ethical practices. However, religion and politics should not always go hand and hand.
Politicians ought to live morally upright lives and make decisions based on a solid ethical foundation, but they should not enforce personal religious practices onto those who do not adhere to the same religious principles.
Not every religious concern is a political issue and not every political issue is a religious concern. We have a secular society to protect religion and to protect one religious group from dominating another.
Contrary to some conservative concern, there is not some secret conspiracy actively trying to quash Christianity, and no domestic governmental bodies are currently threatening the free exercise of it.
Recent cases in Indiana and Arkansas have exposed a rather shameful attempt to have state sanctioned discriminatory practices enforced under a banner of free exercise of religion.
As we saw in Indiana, the bill on face value was touted as protecting freedom of religion, but ended up supporting open discrimination against groups of people with values that differ from the popular set. After countrywide outcry against the legislation, Indiana changed the language of the bill.
Christian business owners should act morally, deal ethically and live by principles they believe. But banning business services to people with differing opinions or lifestyles does not communicate an effective Christian message to those groups of people. Sometimes it seems that people are more concerned with creating controversies on minor discrepancies than finding ways to live in peace and solve the bigger issues.
As Christians we need to choose our battles carefully and not be caught up with minute details of how others choose to live their lives. We need to make peace with those around us and influence them by our speech, actions, and examples. If Christians want to win hearts and minds and influence social change, angrily shouting at those we don’t agree with won’t do it.
Christians should not try to manipulate the law under false pretenses in order to pick crude fights with those whose lifestyles we don’t agree with. By picking a fight under the name of religious freedom on a trivial matter, it potentially weakens future arguments on issues that would truly affect the free expression of Christianity.
As Christians we should be open, loving and setting examples to those around us by living and demonstrating Christ-like lives. We need to be shinning lights on the hill, but that doesn’t mean we have to extinguish the lights of those around us.
We need to set the best possible examples in our work and family lives to demonstrate to those of different minds that we stand for something greater than ourselves and the petty controversies engulfing this world.
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