It seems one man\u2019s religious freedom is another man\u2019s \u201cridiculous prejudice.\u201d<\/p>\n
One government official fumed that Catholic doctors were refusing to perform abortions \u2014 abortions that were perfectly legal. He wrote in a memo: \u201cAfter all, these scruples are in most cases nothing but ridiculous prejudices … One is tempted to ask: where does state authority come in these cases, or else, is the state, perhaps, not anxious to assert its authority in this particular instance?\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, Nazi Germany was seldom hesitant to assert its authority, even over religion and individual conscience. As described in the June\/July issue of First Things , the government official I just quoted was a Nazi bureaucrat who was none-too-happy that doctors in Italy\u2019s Lake District \u2014 a heavily Catholic region \u2014 wouldn\u2019t perform abortions. The Nazis, you see, had legalized abortions \u201cin countries occupied by the Germany army.\u201d Refusal to participate in government-sanctioned procedures drew his ire.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to today, where there is heavy debate over whether medical professionals can be exempted from performing services that violate their religious beliefs.<\/p>\n
The comparison is fair. And disturbing. But the problem isn\u2019t restricted to medical practice.<\/p>\n
Just last week, the New Hampshire legislature voted down a gay \u201cmarriage\u201d bill because the governor had the audacity to insert language that would protect clergy and religious organizations from being forced to participate in gay \u201cmarriage\u201d ceremonies or from providing marriage-related services.<\/p>\n
As reported in the Concord Monitor, one New Hampshire legislator opposed what he called the \u201ctotally unnecessary and harmful amendment\u201d because it \u201centrenches homophobia in statute.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, one man\u2019s religious freedom, it seems, is another man\u2019s homophobia \u2014 or silly prejudice, as the Nazi official called it.<\/p>\n
Another legislator was quoted as saying, \u201cIt is puzzling to me, why we would allow some to discriminate and others not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe he is wondering, as the Nazi official did, \u201cwhere state authority comes in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I write in the upcoming June issue of Christianity Today \u2014 which I urge you to read \u2014 totalitarianism thrives when the state succeeds in what Hannah Arendt called the \u201catomization of society.\u201d Arendt, a political theorist who fled Nazi Germany, described how totalitarian states seek to create a mass of individuals isolated from the very structures that have held civilized societies together for eons. Once individuals are alienated from families or from their faith communities or civic groups, they stand alone before the power of the state.<\/p>\n
Is the United States teetering on the edge of totalitarianism? No.<\/p>\n
But, should we Christians be concerned when the government seeks to strip health care workers of their right of conscience? Should we sniff out danger when a state fails to protect the religious rights of clergy, or wedding planners, or photographers who choose not to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies? Or when a new administration considers whether or not to force faith-based groups to cease what it considers \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d hiring practices?<\/p>\n
Should we be concerned? Yes, we should.<\/p>\n
________<\/p>\n
Copyright (c) 2009 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. “BreakPoint with Chuck Colson” is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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