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Religious Freedom Sunday Is This Sunday, January 10th


Religious Freedom Sunday Is This Sunday, January 10th
The right of every American citizen to practice his/her religion and express his/her religious beliefs in the public square is fully protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech...
Yet, since the 1960s, promoting the acceptance of sexual liberty – which has no similar constitutional protections – over religious liberty has gained momentum in the public square. Under the guise of “equality” and “tolerance” activist courts and progressive legislatures regularly align with special interest groups, which advocate their “politically correct” values over the Judeo-Christian values which established our great nation.
The marriage battle in California is one such example.
In the year 2000, the people of California passed Proposition 22. The language of the proposition is clear and simple: “Only marriage between a man and an woman is valid or recognized in California.” The measure passed by a margin of 61% to 39%. A large majority of those who voted in favor of the proposition did so because of their religious views and their desire to protect the biblical definition of marriage for future generations.
The California Legislature then responded in defiance by passing bills legalizing same-sex marriage – not once, but twice – first in 2006 then again in 2007. The governor – out of respect for the vote of the people – vetoed both same-sex marriage bills.
Then, in 2008, by a 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court overruled the will of the people and overturned Proposition 22, calling the historic definition of marriage between one man and one woman “unconstitutional.”
The people were then forced to respond, and did so by passing Proposition 8. In November of 2008, over 7 million Californians voted to place the definition of one-man, one-woman marriage into the state’s constitution.
Unfortunately the battle is not over. The trend continues in California and across the nation.
In response to this trend, the Manhattan Declaration was released in November of 2009. This monumental document was created to send a clear message to decision makers nationwide. Thus far, more than 319,000 people have signed the document in the first few weeks. We hope you have also, but if not, go to ManhattanDeclaration.org It defines a Christian worldview on three specific issues: Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty. today, read the document, ponder it, and, if you agree, sign your name to it.
A Great Opportunity This Sunday
This Sunday, January 10th, marks Religious Freedom Sunday. On that day especially, we encourage you to share the content and importance of the Manhattan Declaration throughout your networks, asking others to sign on in support. It would send a strong statement to lawmakers nationwide to have 1 million signatures by the end of January.
Resources are also available for Religious Freedom Sunday from Gateways to Better Education and the Alliance Defense Fund. These two organizations have teamed up to provide churches across the country with resources to promote religious freedom in our nation’s schools.
We also encourage you to lift up the Proposition 8 Legal Defense team in your prayers this Sunday. The federal trial challenging Prop. 8 begins on Monday, January 11th in San Francisco. We’ll have an exclusive update from the courthouse in our next Dateline Sacramento publication. Thank you.
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