Debating the difference between freedom of worship and freedom of religion may seem like a waste of time. The terms have been used almost interchangeably throughout the years. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined the famous four freedoms all peoples of the world should enjoy, freedom of worship was among them. (The other three were freedom of speech, freedom from want and freedom from fear).
When President Ronald Reagan met with Pope John Paul II in 1987, they talked about freedom of worship.
It is unlikely, however, that what either Roosevelt or Reagan meant by freedom of worship is anything like Russian President Vladimir Putin’s definition in laws recently imposed in Russia.
On July 20 new laws made it illegal to worship or evangelize anywhere but in a church building or other recognized religious site. One can be arrested and fined for conducting worship in one’s home or sharing one’s faith with someone in a home or public setting.
The same applies to online communication. It is now illegal even to invite a friend to a worship service via email in Russia.
‘Yarovaya Package’
The new regulations are part of anti-terrorism laws called the “Yarovaya Package.” Some question whether that is the true motivation. A few observers are saying the laws are an overt effort to curb minority religions in favor of the Russian Orthodox Church. But whatever the reason, the new laws are an “attack on freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and the right to privacy,” declared Human Rights Watch.
Legal scholars opposing the new restrictions say the new laws directly contradict the right to “manifest … religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching” both in public and private as outlined in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe of which Russia is a participant.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said it “strongly condemns” the measures which “make it easier for Russian authorities to repress religious communities, stifle peaceful dissent and detain and imprison people.”
Russia, according to Putin, provides freedom of worship in buildings of officially recognized churches. Russia does not allow religious freedom.
Religious freedom is a more expansive term than freedom of worship. One writer observed religious freedom begins with the individual right to believe. It includes the right to act in accordance with one’s beliefs, to evangelize, to change religions, to have schools and other charitable organizations sponsored by the religion and to participate in the public square.
Russia is not alone in denying religious freedom to its people. USCIRF recently released its 2016 report on religious freedom. Nine countries — Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — were highlighted for egregious violations of religious liberty during the past year.
Ten other countries — including Russia, Cuba, Turkey, India and Indonesia — also were cited for major violations of religious liberty and that was before the new Russian laws.
Some of the countries tolerate religious minorities as long as adherents keep to themselves. But if anyone dares to evangelize or speak out on a public issue or convert to another religion or call attention to themselves or their religion, the government reacts with full force.
USCIRF reported in August that 74 percent of the world’s population lives in countries that violate religious freedom. The large populations of China, India and Indonesia contribute to that percentage. The number of countries listed as violating religious freedom was almost 1 in 4.
The United States is not listed among the nations limiting religious freedom but concern is building over whether this nation is drifting away from its historical commitment to freedom of religion and toward a narrower freedom to worship.
For example in California the state Legislature came close to denying private religious colleges and universities the right to act on their religious beliefs. California Senate Bill 1146 sought to eliminate exemptions for religious schools that accepted students receiving financial aid from the state. Had the bill been adopted it would have “eliminated faith-based decisions when it comes to admissions, housing and perhaps even employment,” said John Jackson, president of William Jessup University in Sacramento, California.
Schools acting on their religious beliefs on issues such as same-sex “marriage” or transgender behavior would have felt the full wrath of a disagreeing state government. That is not religious liberty. Thankfully the offending section was dropped from the bill before final passage.
Individual religious liberty also is being challenged. Air Force Major Steve Lewis had an open Bible on his desk at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Bible was open to the closing chapters of Philippians. A group known as Military Religious Freedom Foundation objected. In a letter to Lewis’ commanding officer the open Bible was called an “egregious constitutional and DoD (Department of Defense) regulatory violation of such a brazen display of sectarian Christian triumphalism and exceptionalism.”
The letter called the open Bible an “outrageous display of callous and bold Christian primacy.”
This is not an attack from a Madalyn Murray O’Hair type character. The writer of the letter, Michael Weinstein, once served as assistant general counsel to the White House office of administration during the Reagan Administration.
Weinstein wrote that because Lewis’ desk belonged to the government, religious books and symbols should not be allowed.
While Lewis voluntarily removed the Bible from his desk during the review, he has been cleared to place the Bible back on his desk if he chooses to do so.
‘Frightened’ by Bible
According to news reports, Weinstein claimed to be representing more than 30 Air Force personnel who were frightened by the sight of the open Bible. The impression seems to be that private religion is acceptable but any public evidence of religious belief, such as a Bible on one’s desk, is not.
How is that religious liberty?
Granted, rules for military personnel are different from regular societal regulations but it is a stretch to equate an open Bible on one’s desk to “Christian triumphalism and exceptionalism.”
Ultimately religious liberty is not granted by governments. It is a God-given right to every individual created in God’s own image. Any government — Russia, China or our own — must tread softly when it attempts to take away what God has granted.
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