–an Op-Ed* piece by Jordan King

Does anyone else remember the Kim Davis story?  Well, if you don’t, she denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky even though it was her Job, and she was the only one in the county who could do that job.  Well,…  many people thought she was being unjust, but others took a different stance–most notably Ted Cruz who compared Kim Davis to Rosa Parks. After Kim Davis was arrested, Ted Cruz came out and said that Christians are persecuted in this country.  So, are Christians persecuted in this country?

To better understand this topic, we should first see why some Christians think they’re persecuted.  The main reason is something called “religious liberty.”  Religious liberty is protected under the Bill Of Rights, the First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”  Religious freedom is necessary, of course.  The problem lies in the fact that some think that religious liberty can be used to discriminate against people because of their belief.  The problem with this discrimination… it goes against the Constitution, and against plain common sense.  “…The concept of free exercise of religion is not self-defining. The boundaries of free exercise, like those of other rights, must be delineated as against the claims of society and of other individuals” (The Heritage Guide to The Constitution).  What this is saying, is that religious liberty in the Bill of Rights is limited; it can’t go against the common good of society, and it can’t go against the law.  Some believe that they are being persecuted because they can’t discriminate against gay people in their place of business. They argue, a baker who believes marriage is defined as a union between a man and a woman should not be forced to make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding.

Note, 92% of House and Senate members identify as Christian (The Huffington Post).  To put this in perspective, only 72% of the American public identify as Christian (The Huffington Post).  Christians are extremely well represented in government and in the United States demography.  Also knowing that there are far more people who say they are Christian in the House and Senate then in the general population goes to show that it’s more likely you will be voted into Congress if you are a Christian.  Non-religious, unaffiliated, people only make up 3% of the Senate but make up 16.1% of the general population (The Pew Forum). Popular opinion and our legislative body lean toward the Christian.

I conclude, Christians aren’t persecuted in this country.  Christians are treated like everyone else, if not better.  Your religious rights give you the right to practice your religion; they give you the freedom to have particular beliefs and ideologies.  You can’t, though, have your beliefs interfere with the good of society, or the law. 

*The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and participants on this blog site do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of thebirdonfire.org, the Upper School Blog Class, or the Palm Valley School.