The outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
Brian Gibson, a prominent American pastor, said in an article in the English-language Epoch Times on Monday (April 5) that the Affirmative Action Act pushed by the U.S. left not only raises sexual orientation and gender identity to the same level as race, gender and religion, but also denies protections to religious groups and will destroy religious freedom. He argues that people of faith must fight, or not only will religious freedom in the United States end, but America itself will end.
A translation of Gibson’s article follows.
It is well known that the Equality Act (the Act) will mark the end of basic religious freedom in the United States. But most religious leaders have turned a blind eye to this, and to the growing tyranny of anti-freedom.
Last year, when the government told us all, “in good faith,” that they needed 15 days to stem the spiraling curve of the Communist virus, the church willingly and responsibly complied. But as the lockdown period extended month after month, strange things happened. Casinos, strip clubs and marijuana stores were allowed to reopen, but churches were deemed non-essential to people’s livelihoods and continued to be closed.
Government officials have so far given no reason or scientific data as to why people who keep social distance in church have greater health risks than those who shop at Wal-Mart or in casinos. Religious gatherings are considered a threat to public health. Any efforts to reopen religious sites have been met with harassment and fines from local and state governments.
Just after Easter last year, several faith leaders began to sound the alarm about the dangerous precedent that was being set. We knew what had gone wrong, and since then we have seen one challenge after another to our fundamental freedoms.
This trend is now accelerating, and the new administration is hostile to any religion it cannot control, with the Affirmative Action Act as their panacea. Not only does the Affirmative Action Act raise sexual orientation and gender identity to the same level as race, gender and religion, but it also specifically denies protections to religious groups.
Throughout our nation’s history, places of worship, religious organizations and faith-based nonprofits have been exempt from government regulations such as hiring and public service practices.
With overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress, President Clinton and Congress (including then-Senator Biden) passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993, which reaffirmed these protections: “Before interfering with a person’s freedom of religion, the government should obtain a very demanding certification. The American people and Congress agree with this decision. We firmly believe that we cannot be overly cautious in this endeavor.”
Under this bill, the government cannot force Christian churches to hire atheists, Orthodox Jews cannot be forced to violate the custom of gender roles in their daily religious practices, and Muslim mosques, where men and women are usually separated during prayer, are not subject to public law.
The Affirmative Action Act explicitly rejects the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, thereby removing this protection. It shifts the legal burden of proof from the government to religious organizations for “guilt unless proven innocent. The Affirmative Action Act would require faith-based organizations to prove that their beliefs and practices are not designed to discriminate, rather than requiring the government to prove that its new law does not impede religious freedom. This is a disaster in the making.
Dennis Prager has written that the events of 2020 are the test of our lifetime for religious leaders, and many have failed miserably. The Affirmative Action Act is a test we cannot afford to fail.
In early America, the so-called “black robe” missionaries represented the truth, fought for religious freedom, opposed slavery, and advocated the idea of American independence. They achieved so much that they were seen by the British as having single-handedly planted the seeds of our nation’s birth.
We must take on the same responsibility as they did in our time. If we do so, we will see the new birth of freedom in this country. If we fail, we already know from history what will happen.
Pastor Cristian Ionescu, who fled Romania to escape religious persecution, has spoken publicly about how his country went from freedom to totalitarianism. The Romanian communists knew that the church was the only obstacle standing in their way, so they subverted religious doctrine to bring it into line with their agenda. For those churches that resisted, the government first isolated them and then eliminated even those voices.
If Paul Revere were alive today, he would warn that Big Tech, Big Corporation, and Big Government are working in concert to achieve a new American unity that has only one voice, one set of values, and one religious doctrine. This is not the end of religious freedom in America, but the end of America itself.
There are two paths before us. We can choose one path in the Communist China model, where there is only a government-sanctioned religion and doctrine and where dissent is suppressed, or we can choose the path of freedom.
Joshua exhorted the Israelites to choose the “today” in which they would serve God, and now it is time for every religious leader in America to make that choice. For me and my family, we will serve God.
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