Religious Freedom Disappearing in the Western World

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been highlighting the threat to religious freedom going on in the United States as our culture continues to decline. In the name of “tolerance” (really, an intolerance to biblical values and absolutes), the day is not far away when things that we never imagined happening will become a reality. Things like Christians being told they will have to marry same-sex couples, or religious groups being forced to hire people who disagree with their statement of faith. We might not be there yet, but we are quickly headed in that direction.

Well, it’s not just happening with America. Other parts of the Western world are also attacking religious freedoms. In my homeland of Australia, if a certain political party (the Australian Labor party) is elected on November 29, the state of Victoria could suffer a huge blow to religious freedom. In 2010 the Australian Christian Lobby worked to “overturn a restriction on Christian schools and organisations being able to employ all staff on the basis that they share the organisation's faith and ethos” However, with the upcoming state election, this victory for religious freedom may be only temporary. The Labor opposition, the current minority party, if elected, wants to reinstate this restriction. This would mean that Christian schools and other Christian organizations would not be able to hire only those who agree with their statement of faith. Potentially, Christians could be forced to hire people whose beliefs are completely opposed to those of the school or organization! This is the same thing that AU (Americans United for Separation of Church and State) is trying to do to our Ark Encounter here in the US. We’re not as far along as Australia, but we are heading down the same path and quickly.

As Christians, we need to be bold in proclaiming the truth of God’s Word from the beginning. Sadly, the church is so weakened from rampant compromise that we really are unable to deal with the problem. That’s why it’s more important than ever for us to stand unashamedly on biblical principles and boldly proclaim them to our families, churches, and our culture. The only way that we are going to see a change is if there’s a change in the hearts and minds of our culture—a change that is brought about only by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And Christians are going to have to prepare for the consequences and backlash of standing on the truth of God’s Word in an increasingly Christian-intolerant culture! Past generations may never have thought Christians would be persecuted in the West—but such is already happening!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken