Religious Freedom 101: Why Teach Your Church Members About Their Religious Freedom Rights?

By Attorney Timothy W. Denney

 

There are many good reasons your Church members and the cause of Christ would be benefitted by learning about our religious freedom legal rights. Here are four good reasons:

 

1. To Give Breathing Room for the Gospel

The Apostle Paul was acutely aware how critical it was for him to understand his religious freedom legal rights. In Acts 22, it describes how the Apostle Paul was beaten by a Jerusalem mob for preaching the Gospel. Because of the public ruckus, the local government authorities arrested him and ordered him to be interrogated, which was to be preceded by flogging. Roman flogging was often done with a Roman flagellum made up of leather straps tied to sharp objects designed to rip flesh off as the beating was administered. Just before the beating was to start, Paul turned to his torturer and asked if it was lawful to flog a Roman citizen who had not been formally charged or convicted – that is he had not been given the due process of a trial and conviction. Paul understood it was unlawful to flog a Roman citizen without these necessary procedural protections. In so doing Paul avoided a brutal beating that would have disabled him from his Gospel ministry. It is appropriate for Christians to invoke the law to protect their religious freedom and thereby get breathing room for the Gospel. While you (in the U.S. at least) might not be in danger today of a being flogged for your faith, you may well be in danger of being unlawfully penalized for their faith if they do not understand your religious freedom legal rights. For example, your employer may unlawfully demand that you have to bow to woke ideology by being required to use co-employees’ preferred personal pronouns or be required to submit to LGBTQ training programs designed to force you to agree to beliefs which are inconsistent with your Christian convictions. If you do not understand your religious freedom rights, you may also be brushed off by your local public school when they tell you they will not hand out fliers advertising your church programs even though they hand out fliers for many other local community groups. (The case law is clear that if they hand them out for other private secular community groups, they must hand them out for your church).

 

2. To be Good Stewards of Our Religious Heritage in the U.S.:

Prior to the creation of the United States, the historical norm for Christians over the centuries has generally been ongoing long-term religious persecution. In contrast, for the most part, Christians in the U.S. have experienced hundreds of years of well-established religious freedom. Edmund Burke once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” We are in danger of losing our religious freedom rights if we do not know them and use them. If you do not inform yourself of your religious freedom rights, those rights can be left unused and die of neglect. Let me give one example, Christian churches are famous for lamenting the lack of Christian influence in public schools. However, many Christians are unaware that in a number of states, including Michigan, if the parent consents, they can insist that their public school children be released from the public school during the school day to hear religious instruction at an off-campus location – often a local church. The legal validity of such released time classes has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court for over 70 years, yet this right remains largely unused by Christian churches. My own church conducts such classes and last year they had some classes attended by over 100 public school students. Some released time programs in Michigan empty out over 80% of the local elementary school students to attend those classes. Similarly, over 20 years ago the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of after-school student Bible clubs on public school grounds where public school students can be taught the Bible, including the Gospel.

 

3. To Convict Us of Not Taking Full Advantage of the Religious Freedom We Have:

God expects Christians to be good stewards of the good gifts He has given them. Luke 12:48; Matthew 25:14-30. To whom much is given, much is required. Christians in the U.S. have been given a great heritage of historically broad religious freedom. God holds us accountable to take advantage of these Gospel freedoms.

 

4. To Encourage Christians to Live Out Their Faith with Confidence

Our default position as Christians is to obey the law with a few exceptions, such as when the government orders us to do what God says we cannot, or when the government orders us not to do things (like preach the Gospel) God says we must. Romans 13. Understandably then, Christians first impulse is not to take actions they think are illegal. For example, a parent who was considering sending their child to an after-school Bible club meeting at a local school wanted to know if they could go to jail for this – even though the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutional of such meetings over 20 years ago. Teaching Christians their religious freedom legal rights can help give believers confidence to live out their faith. Christians who know what they are doing is lawful are more likely to proceed with confidence and enthusiasm.

 

How Do You Teach Your Church Members About Their Religious Freedom Legal Rights?

           

So, if Christians knowing about their religious freedom rights is important, how can they learn them? Recently, I taught a 5 week Sunday school class entitled “Religious Freedom 101: Knowing and Using Your Religious Freedom Legal Rights”. Lesson 1 is about 25 minutes long and the remaining 4 lessons are 45 minutes each. Videotapes of each of the 5 lessons are available through the links below.

Lesson 1: Why Christians Should Learn About Their Religious Freedom Legal Rights Lesson 1.mp4

Lesson 2: The Historical, Philosophical, and Legal Roots of Our Religious Freedom Legal Rights Lesson 2.mp4

Lesson 3: Religious Freedom in the Public School Lesson 3.mp4

Lesson 4: Religious Freedom in Private Schools and Homeschool Lesson 4 (1).mp4

Lesson 5: Religious Freedom in the Workplace, in Foster Parenting, and in the Public Square Lesson 5.mp4

 

Our law firm website (https://twdpclaw.com) also contains my other written resources to inform Christians about their religious freedom legal rights, including my book Religious Freedom 101: A Christian Civil Rights Handbook, which is available on my website at no cost. Depending on distance and time, attorneys from my office are also sometimes available at no charge to appear in person to teach audiences about their religious freedom rights.

May God bless you all as you use your religious freedom to serve our Savior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attorney Timothy W. Denney has been assisting individuals and Christian organizations with religious freedom matters for over 35 years. He has been a practicing attorney for over 35 years. He has been a member of First Baptist Church of Lapeer for over 30 years and currently serves there as a lay elder.