The rise of intolerance in the name of tolerance
10/05/2024 The West (International Christian Concern) – Thomas Jefferson, the author of a great portion of the American Declaration of Independence, said, “I have considered it [religion] as a matter between every man and his maker, in which no other, and far less the public, had a right to intermeddle.” Some have argued that the American Founding Fathers found religious freedom so important that it was the first right given in the Constitution.
Despite having these historic legal freedoms, the West is seeing significant emerging trends that are blatantly anti-Christian. Groups who push “tolerance” are often intolerant of Christians. The opening ceremonies of the Olympics had reprehensible anti-Christian displays.i While some have sought to downplay it, the truth is that such blatant bigotry highlights the growing threat to Christians in the West. While we have historically practiced our faith in peace, these threats should be a wake-up call to the new agenda on the horizon: The silencing of Christians in the West.
The historical influence of Christianity on American government and laws is being systematically removed through the re-writing of American history. Curriculums such as Critical Race Theory in America teach school children that the Founding Fathers were racist, and that white Christians created “white privilege” off the backs of minorities. Since 2020 in America, hundreds of historic statues and monuments have been destroyed or removed to rewrite history. In Chicago this year, the new mayor sought to remove a statue of George Washington, the first president of the United States, from city hall.ii
Though many lawmakers believe that the Ten Commandments are a vital part of the moral foundation of the laws and legal system of America, many states are removing long-standing monuments. In 2015, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the Ten Commandments monument be removed from the state capitol grounds.iii In Arkansas, in 2017, a man ran into a Ten Commandments monument, destroying it with his vehicle less than 24 hours after it was installed. A five-year legal battle to remove the monument permanently is still being heard.iv
Recently, many new laws, such as same-sex marriage, gender identity, and abortion rights, have increased hostility toward Christians. Proponents of these new laws look to silence Christian viewpoints by making them illegal. In Canada, Christians can be put in jail for publicly reading from the Bible, as their viewpoints are considered “hate speech.”v In other countries, such laws passed under the guise of “hate speech” have proven to pave the way for further discrimination and persecution of Christians.
Mainstream media coverage often marginalizes Christian viewpoints, calling them hate speech and bigotry. In Ontario, in 2020, a wedding photographer was harassed, slandered, and blacklisted on social media for refusing to photograph a same-sex wedding.vi When Elon Musk took over Twitter, he exposed that the American government had been colluding with Twitter officials to suppress conservative voices by removing their pages and censoring their posts.vii
Many Christians have lost jobs for expressing their traditional beliefs in public spaces, workplaces, and online forums. Jessica Tapia, a California teacher, was fired after she refused to lie to the parents of junior high students about the fact that they were identifying as other genders.viii Joseph Kennedy, an assistant coach at a high school in Washington, lost his job in 2015 after he defied his superiors’ orders to stop praying on the 50-yard line after games.ix
The West used to be a beacon of hope for those suffering from religious persecution. Newer rights, such as LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination laws and laws paying for abortion services with taxpayer funds, will continue to bring legal and social challenges to those who hold traditional Christian beliefs. These challenges, if left unchecked, will lead to further discrimination against Christians, making the West an increasingly hostile place for religious freedom.
Citations
i American Center for Law and Justice. (2024). Threats at the Olympics Clarify Challenges Facing the West | American Center for Law and Justice. American Center for Law and Justice. https://aclj.org/foreign-policy/threats-at-the-olympics-clarify-challenges-facing-the-west
ii Spielman, F. (2024a, July 17). Mayor Johnson nixes plan to remove George Washington statue outside his City Hall office. Chicago Sun-Times; Chicago Sun-Times. https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2024/07/16/george-washington-statute-removal-city-hall-mayor-brandon-johnson-monuments
iii Watkins, E. (2015, July 2). Oklahoma Supreme Court orders removal of Ten Commandments | CNN Politics. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/02/politics/oklahoma-supreme-court-orders-removal/index.html
iv Ellis, D. (2023, July 3). Lawsuit over 10 Commandments monument at Capitol subject of hearing this week. Arkansasonline.com; NWAonline. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jul/03/lawsuit-over-10-commandments-monument-at-capitol/#:~:text=The%20first%20Ten%20Commandments%20monument%20was%20installed%20at
v Neal, H. (2024, March 25). Canadian Bill Could Send Christians to Jail – International Christian Concern. International Christian Concern. https://www.persecution.org/2024/03/25/canadian-bill-could-send-christians-to-jail/
vi LeBel, J. (2020, July 21). Ontario wedding videographer facing allegations of denying service to same-sex couples. 980 CFPL; Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/7200614/brantford-ontario-wedding-videographer-denying-same-sex-couples/
vii Duffy, C. (2023, May 29). Elon Musk says Twitter has “no actual choice” about government censorship requests | CNN Business. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/29/tech/elon-musk-twitter-government-takedown/index.html
viii Grossman, H. (2023, February 14). Christian teacher loses job after refusing to deceive parents on kids’ gender transitions: “From the devil.” Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/christian-teacher-loses-job-refusing-deceive-parents-kids-gender-transitions-devil
ix Quinn, M. (2022, April 25). After Losing His Job for Praying on the field, ex-high School Football Coach Brings Case to Supreme Court. Www.cbsnews.com. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-joe-kennedy-high-school-football-coach-prayer-case/
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