A candidate for president whom I otherwise respect said something this week that should cause all Americans–and especially all Christians–to stop and think seriously about our freedom of religion.  He said that communities should “have the right” to ban Muslim Mosques if they so choose.  And he was warmly applauded by many Christian leaders when he said this.

I have serious issues with that statement, but not because I am sympathetic to Muslim doctrine.  I have serious issues with the statement because I am a strong believer in religious freedom.  I believe that all Americans have the freedom to chose their own religion and to affiliate with whatever religious groups they so choose.  I furthermore believe that religious groups have the right to meet, to organize, and to build.  This right is not dependent upon whether or not I agree with them.  This right is not dependent upon whether or not their community agrees with them.  This right is not dependent upon whether they are a majority or a minority group.  This right is not dependent upon how mainstream or how strange their doctrines and teachings may be.  This is a right, I believe, that is guaranteed by our constitution and by religious conscience, and I thank God that I live in a country where religious freedom is practiced.  I want it to always be that way.

I strongly and openly preach Jesus.  I strongly disagree with Muslim thought and doctrine.  I am thankful that I have the right to do so openly.  At the same time, I give Muslims the right to openly disagree with me.  I will lovingly but firmly argue with them on matters of history, religion, the law, and the nature of God and truth.  But I will stand with them on their right to argue with me and to organize and build if they so choose.

Furthermore, unless God sends a great spiritual awakening to America in which millions turn to faith in Jesus, Christianity may some day be a minority religion in America.  I pray that this might never be so, but do we really want so start a precedent that communities have the right to tell religious organizations that they cannot build?  How would we react if our community said they have the right to ban churches if they so chose?

Religious freedom is one of the primary and inalienable rights given to us in our Constitution and ultimately by God.  I will strongly resist any attack upon  it, whether the attack is made by Christian politicians, by atheists, by Muslims, or by anyone else.  It is the right thing to do.

PS.  I purposely did not mention the candidates name, because I don’t want this blog to be political.  I have not made up my mind which candidate to support in 2012, and I will not announce it when I do so.  But I will comment occasionally on statements made by candidates in an effort to lead us to think deeply about important issues from a Christian perspective.