Editorial: The problem with religious freedom

Religious freedom is a regular feature of our news. If a story has to do with freedom of religion or religious liberty, we very likely will publish it.

Religious freedom is at the core of what it means to be Baptist. We’ve championed religious freedom as long as we’ve been around—more than 400 years. Baptists, if they remember their history, know what it’s like not to have religious freedom. So, we champion it.

As important as religious freedom is to us, we too often neglect its downside. We can avoid that problem by remembering our past.

Religious freedom past

Down a somewhat hidden alley in Tewkesbury, U.K., one can find the Old Baptist Chapel. Baptists worshipped in secret there from about 1623 to 1689. To protect their identities, their names were listed in code in the minutes.

Likewise, their baptistery was hidden in the floor. After growing up in the United States and serving in a Baptist church in Virginia, it was an interesting experience entering this hidden chapel and stepping into its hidden and nearly 400-year-old baptistery.

Meanwhile, the large and stately Tewkesbury Abbey of the official state church stands directly across the street, inspiring awe in a different way.

Speaking of Virginia, Baptist historian Bruce Gourley has outlined instances of religious persecution against Baptists there during the American colonial period. Baptists in Virginia were beaten, whipped, manhandled and jailed for their religious practices. Some were imprisoned “until at least 1778.”

As a result of persecution in England and the American colonies, people like Roger Williams and John Leland worked to advance religious freedom in their respective spheres of influence in the colonies. Williams founded Rhode Island on the principle of religious liberty. Leland was instrumental in James Madison’s inclusion of religious liberty in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Today, a number of Baptist organizations are working actively to maintain and advance religious freedom. These include 21Wilberforce, Baptist World Alliance, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

We do well to know about these organizations and the work they are doing on our behalf. Even if we don’t agree with all of their positions on specific issues, each one is working to ensure we have the freedom to worship in accordance with our beliefs and conscience—and not just us, but all people.

Religious freedom present

This freedom we enjoy in the United States is not a given; it requires constant vigilance. It also is the envy of many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Consider some of our most recent news stories.

While speaking to a gathering of 21Wilberforce on Oct. 16, Bob Fu, a former Chinese dissident, said he believes Chinese President Xi Jinping intends to increase control over all aspects of life in China, one of which is religious belief and practice.

Iran, a known persecutor of Christians, has drawn attention recently for its response to protests of the Iranian state’s position on women’s clothing. In this instance, the religious persecution involves differing strains of Islam.

Northern and Central Nigeria continue to be hotbeds of religious persecution. “Dozens of Christians were murdered” in numerous attacks in September. In addition to these attacks, churches have been destroyed and children kidnapped during the last several years.

A Ukrainian Baptist pastor and his wife were kidnapped Sept. 21, allegedly by Russian military. Their whereabouts still are unknown. Russian forces have closed churches in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, taken down crosses, confiscated religious materials and otherwise made free worship impossible except for Russian Orthodox churches.

These violations of religious freedom, among many others throughout the world, are why Baptist organizations work constantly—along with government agencies like the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom—to ensure freedom of religion.

I celebrate this work and hope for its success. But there is a downside to religious freedom, and it’s one we must guard against.

Religious freedom peril

To see the problem of religious freedom, we can go back to something Bob Fu said to the 21Wilberforce gathering on Oct. 16.

“He recalled the religious revival that followed persecution during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, and he predicted a ‘much bigger revival’ could result from the suffering of Chinese Christians today,” Ken Camp reported.

Those places without religious freedom that are hotbeds of religious persecution today happen to be many of the same places where people are turning to Christ in large numbers. The body of Christ, even when underground, is growing and vibrant in those places.

Meanwhile, the church is languishing in those places where religious freedom is enshrined in law, where worship is open and free.

Could it be we have enjoyed religious freedom so long and to such an extent in the United States and the rest of the Western world that we have grown complacent about faith? Have we lost our zeal for living lives that draw people to Christ because we can practice any ol’ religion, any ol’ time, any ol’ where?

I’m certainly not advocating for the end of religious freedom. I’m also not advocating for Christianity being made the official religion of any nation or state. History has shown Christianity is corrupted every time it is the state religion.

I am suggesting, however, that we return to a fresh relationship with and understanding of religious freedom, one that believes with great freedom comes great responsibility. If we don’t, we are subject to become as apathetic about religious freedom as we’ve become about religion. And then, we’ll get to learn the value of both all over again—but the hard way the next time.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed are those solely of the author.