Freedom of Religion is a Sacred Right

One of the most sacred rights that we have as Americans is our freedom of religion. Our nation was founded on the Judaeo-Christian principle that every man, woman and child has the God given right to choose their religion. We also believe that this choice cannot be forced upon someone, but has to be one they make freely.

Whether Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Wicca or any other, we respect the right of people to practice their religion. All we ask is that they not hurt others. It is in this spirit of freedom that we announce the Kevin Fobbs Freedom of Religion award for 2019.

1st Nominee: Catholic Parochial Schools

Our First nominee is the Roman Catholic Church, specifically the parochial schools within the Church system. The Church has been under a systematic attack as Agnes Morrissey-Berru, who had been teaching at the school, was let go because of declining enrollment. Because she was advanced in age, she sued for age discrimination. The Church responded that the dismissal was because of declining enrollment. The Church also noted at as it was a religious institution, they were also entitled to dismiss her because she was not Catholic and could not lead prayer services at school, which was part of the curriculum.

This battle is more than the termination of just one person. Honestly, we wish Agnes Morrissey-Berru the best, but this battle is about the Government being able to tell Churches who they can and cannot hire within their systems. This case is a precursor to cases that are coming up through the courts in the LGB community which are attempting to tell churches who they “must” marry and who is fit to be a pastor.

Recently, we have seen cases in California attacking the sanctity of confession. They attempted to pressure priests and pastors to divest whatever information the state may want. Standing up to oppressive state mandates in California is a big step to preserve religious liberty, and for that we thank the Catholic church for their persistence.

2nd Nominee: Amish Community

Our second nominee for the Freedom of Religion award is the Amish community for standing up to government intrusion in their lives. As most of you know, the Amish are a peaceful, small religion in the Northeast who wish to lead simple lives. In this, one of their tenants is not to embrace new technology. One of the issues we have seen in the last few years is the Lenawee County Health Department in Michigan suing the Amish community because they are using traditional waste management policies rather than a modern sewer system.

Once again we see a community that is resisting government encroachment into something they have no constitutional power to intervene. The Amish lifestyle hurts no one, though they do need reflectors on their buggies. The fact that the Amish people do not use prescription drugs, birth control or most chemicals means their waste tends not to need to be processed. It can go back into the earth. The ACLU is defending the case, though its odd that they are taking up a legitimate religious freedom case.

3rd Nominee: BringYourBible.org

Our final nominee for the Kevin Fobbs Award is BringYourBible.org. The Bring your Bible crowd has been working to set up a national day where children can bring their Bibles to school without apology. After years of harassment, suspension and ridicule by secular teachers, this movement is allowing students to celebrate their faith without fear of reprisal. Freedoms, we must remember, belong to everyone. When they are taken from those who have no recourse in the vote, they are taken from the most vulnerable of us. BringYourBible is empowering students and empowering America with their efforts.

And the Winner is…

And the winner of the Kevin Fobbs Religious Freedom Award is… BringYourBible. While all three nominees are deserving of the award, BringYourBible is defending a large swath of our religious community whereas the other two are specific to their own religion. Movements to educate people about religion in the world are important. We all know the correlation between prayer being taken out of school and the rise in crime and violence. The movement to bring religion back to school, not by force but by choice, is something that should be commended, and for that we thank BringYourBible, and all of our nominees.