October 21, 2024
The Georgia Baptist Mission Board is encouraging all of our churches to hold a Religious Freedom Sunday in their church. This initiative emphasizes the importance of religious freedom.
This special Sunday service aims to educate congregations in Georgia on the significance of religious freedom and to mobilize them to activate this fundamental right. We encourage all of our pastors to lead their church to hold a religious freedom sometime between now and February 2025.
Georgia Baptists have made a special website available for all our churches to be able to have access to meaningful resources that will help create and impactful event leading up to the 2025 legislative session. See the website here: https://religiousfreedomga.org/
Religious freedom is the cornerstone of living out our faith boldly, without fear or compromise. It's not just about individual rights; it’s about safeguarding the moral foundation that holds our nation together. In a time when religious freedom is increasingly under attack, we as the church must stand firm. Observing Religious Freedom Sunday is a declaration that we will defend this God-given right and ensure it remains intact for generations to come.
From the early settlers seeking religious refuge to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, religious freedom has been a pivotal element in America's history. This tradition of protecting religious liberty is integral to our identity and our representative republic.
We need to realize that religious freedom allows us to evangelize and carry out missions without government interference. It is crucial for the free exercise of faith both publicly and privately. The First Amendment's protection ensures that government actions do not infringe upon these rights, maintaining a balance where faith can thrive within the community.
Recent legislative efforts in 2023-2024, such as the reintroduction of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (SB 180) by Senator Ed Setzler, aimed to align state protections with federal standards, providing robust legal safeguards for people of faith. This bill sought to ensure that religious freedom is treated with the utmost importance, requiring government actions to meet strict scrutiny when impacting religious exercise.
We are living in a day when persecution is increasing against people of faith, particularly those who are “Biblically-minded Christians.” The ultimate goal in persecuting Christians is to silence the gospel. And because we are in a Republic, we cannot disengage from our responsibility to be a part of protecting religious freedom that will ultimately further the proclamation of the gospel through evangelism and missions.
If we, as Christians, do not fulfill our duty as citizens to protect our religious freedom, we actually become a part of the persecution! Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been credited for the influence of this statement:
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
This means that we as Christians are not going to be able to blame others for the loss of religious freedom in our time if we are not carrying out our God-given right to participate in government from a Biblical perspective!
Now is the time to standup for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the state of Georgia. There are a number of reasons we should do so:
It is hard to contemplate that anyone who is in favor of the 1st Amendment would be against restoring the original intent. The religious freedom restoration act adds nothing that was not originally intended by the founding fathers.
The problem here is not about us being involved in government, but the government forcing itself upon us.
It requires the government to have a compelling reason to limit our rights. (This is even true with freedom of speech.) It requires the government to use the least restrictive means possible to limit our first amendment rights.
It is interesting that at least 37 states have already enacted a Religious Freedom Restoration Act on a state level. And nowhere where this legislation has been enacted has it caused any discrimination. In fact, its purpose is to protect people of faith from being discriminated against because of their deeply held religious Beliefs.
I have heard it put this way that, “today's complacency will lead to tomorrow's captivity.” Now is the time to stand in support of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act!
One of the major focuses of the Georgia Baptist as we go into the 2025 legislative session is to see Georgia pass a Religious Freedom Restoration Act! This is why it is so important that congregations are educated and informed about contacting their House and Senate members to ask them to support and pass this important legislation. Our Governor has already promised to sign this legislation if it crosses his desk!
It will take nothing less to protect our country than what it took to establish our country. We have future generations who are looking to us to protect for them what God has given to us as a responsibility to keep. If we don't fight to keep our first amendment related to religious freedom, we will lose it!
Thank you, because future generations need you to stand up!
___
Mike Griffin is the Public Affairs Representative of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
