Americans value religious freedom. The Covid-19 crisis has reminded people of faith, especially how much they value this crucial First Amendment right. For me, as a Christian, the last eight months of isolation have emphasized the importance of personal worship, or rather community, in cultivating a spiritual life.
As David Mathis, pastor and editor-in-chief of Desiring God, stated: says“Worshiping Jesus together may be the most important thing we do. It plays an irreplaceable role in igniting and maintaining our spiritual fire. Corporate worship combines the word of God, prayer and fellowship, thus creating God’s greatest continuing grace in the Christian life.”
Pastor Mathis and I are not the only ones who feel this way about religious freedom. According to arrangements second year of the Becket Fund Religious Freedom IndexAmericans generally believe that religious faith is an integral, key part of public life and that faith or religion is an essential factor in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
For example, sixty percent of Americans agree that religion is not simply a weekend pastime but a necessity. basic part of a person’s identity that should be protected. Indeed, most Americans believe that safely reopening places of worship should be treated with the same urgency as safely reopening businesses.
Americans have rightly been frustrated with leaders who have not shown places of worship the same respect as businesses during parts of the pandemic. Perhaps Catholic political commentator Timothy P. Carney put it best when in April he called attention to the unfair treatment of churches and places of worship compared to retail stores.
“Last weekend, due to the widespread suspension of activities related to the coronavirus, you could buy Mad Dog 20/20 in a liquor store. You can pick up your craft and wood stain at Home Depot. Several dozen people could gather under one roof, provided it was a Big Box store,” he added he said. “But you couldn’t go to church for the Easter service.”
When churches across the country were finally allowed to reopen at partial capacity, with stringent social distancing and disinfection measures in place, Americans were delighted to once again worship together in person rather than via YouTube, Zoom or Facebook Live.
Following a overdue April release by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott guidelines for the Lone Star State’s churches to begin reopening, Pastor Randy Phillips was preparing to return to the pulpit. This time, however, the faithful listened to his sermon from the church’s 1,500-seat open-air amphitheater, where attendance was circumscribed to 350 people.
“You mean so much to me” – Phillips he said his assembly. “I will never take it for granted again — the beautiful fellowship we have together as believers,” he said. Congregant Molly Lintz echoed similar sentiments. “It’s nice to be back in the community,” she said. “You just don’t have the same feelings on Zoom.”
Overwhelming majority Americans also believe that religion has an essential, stabilizing influence on society in times of social unrest. When churches and after-school religious programs are forced to close, anxiety intensifies as youthful adults have fewer outlets through which to channel their energy productively.
Americans have made it clear raucous and clear that religion is not a third-rate sphere of life in which they immerse themselves from time to time. No, religion is a central part of American life, and voters will support candidates who defend Americans’ First Amendment right to religious freedom.
Christians especially know that “where two or three are gathered together,” as the Book of Matthew says, God is in their midst. This is a comforting truth to rest in during isolation when you are separated from your church family. However, the importance and gift of personal fellowship and worship for people of faith remains extremely essential.
Americans need and deserve leaders who are as quick to defend the right of believers to publicly worship as they are to defend the right of business owners to operate their businesses and earn wages. Leaders would do well to pay attention to this now and in future elections.
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Recognize Blackwell he was mayor of Cincinnati, treasurer and secretary of state of Ohio, and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. He is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council in Washington, DC
