"KING LEERED IN LEFT'S LEGACY" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, January 16, 2017; http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA17A29&f=WU17A10
Long before his memorial looked toward Jefferson, Dr. King lived his life in line with the democratic ideals of the third president. They were two great leaders, living in two very different times -- but their dreams were both firmly rooted in the freedom of faith. So it's somewhat fitting that this year we celebrate Religious Freedom Day on the same date we remember one of the most influential ministers in American history.
"No nation," Jefferson said, "has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be." President Obama certainly tried to change that. Today, while the country celebrates 231 years of religious liberty, one of its greatest threats is finishing out his final week in the Oval Office, offering a hollow tribute to America's most fundamental right. When Barack Obama recognizes Religious Freedom Day, as he did over the weekend, he is doing so as the leader of the most oppressive administration in American history. While he praises religious freedom as "a universal and inalienable right," dozens of Christians are in court, fighting the administration for the right to exercise it in their businesses, doctors' offices, pharmacies, schools, and even football games. While he sends our troops to engage the enemies of freedom, thousands of service members are too worried about the backlash to exercise it themselves. While he insists that his administration "has worked with coalitions around the globe to end discrimination against religious minorities," millions of persecuted Christians are still begging the U.S. to intervene on their behalf.
In eight years, President Obama's words have never matched the administration's actions. Instead, political correctness has become the ruling virtue of this White House's religion, trampling anyone who doesn't come in line with its policies on abortion, contraception, and marriage. Religious liberty is more than the ability to read the words of Scripture. It's the ability to live out the principles and precepts found on its pages. That's what this president has dismantled policy by policy.
Of course, American Christians have experienced nothing compared to the gruesome punishment our brothers and sisters undergo daily around the globe for simply practicing their faith in Christ. But the precursor to persecution is always repression, the forcing-down of faith into quiet corners where its visibility and impact are limited. For the third consecutive year, we've witnessed a historic level of persecution of Christians around the globe -- largely because America has gone silent on this fundamental and essential human right.
Fortunately, it's never too late to do something about it. What we need is an administration that will return to the fundamental understanding of the freedom of religion -- not in words, but actions. We need a State Department determined to make our First Freedom a first priority. We need a return to advocating the values that made America an exceptional nation.
Let's hope that four days from now, the new administration puts us on the road to exactly that.
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"WHAT PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP CAN DO ABOUT RELIGOUS FREEDOM"- By Tony Perkins, January 16, 2017; http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/01/16/tony-perkins-what-president-elect-trump-can-do-about-religious-freedom.html
.....What specifically can President-elect Trump do to demonstrate his commitment to the issue of religious liberty which motivated so many voters to turn out and vote?
To start, religious liberty in the military needs to be addressed. Over the past several years we have witnessed chaplains being disciplined for their faith, and religious speech being censored. President-elect Trump can direct that religious liberty in the military be clarified and strengthened, and that appropriate training is conducted to ensure the law is followed.
In addition, our foreign policy, contrary to the law, has not prioritized religious freedom like it should. President-elect Trump must direct that religious freedom be properly integrated into all foreign policy of the United States at every level. As even the United Nations has recognized, religious freedom is not just an American right, it is a human right. Defending that human right has been an American value until recent years.
President-elect Trump should also follow through with his pledge to issue an executive order, reinstating government-wide protections for religious liberty. But executive orders halting attacks on religious freedom are just the start, there are many more anti-religious freedom policies of the Obama administration that must be reversed. That’s why government nondiscrimination legislation is needed to protect supporters of marriage between one man and one woman. People of faith should not be punished by the government for living in accordance with their beliefs.
As we start a new year, Religious Freedom Day marks an era of new opportunity for our First Freedom. Let us look with hope to these advancements and beyond to increased protections for all Americans to live out their faith in the public square.
[bold, italics, and colored emphasis mine]
Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.
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