Religious Persecution… In the USA???

Yes. Right here. Right now.

Two days ago, I introduced my new Monday-Wednesday-Friday blog format: Championing Religious Liberty.  (See November 20, 2017). Here’s my first Wednesday post under the NEW category of “Kingdom PERSECUTION.”

Some say we are at a Tipping Point in America… that our Religious Liberty — the free expression and exercise of our faith in any and all areas of life — is at stake…. that Religious Persecution — “hostility or ill treatment because of religious beliefs” — is significantly on the rise.

Each Wednesday, I will share cutting-edge facts about who is opposing Religious Liberty and why, and how they are going about it. As a lifelong businesswoman, my focus will primarily be the marketplace.

Why? Because I (and others, including Billy Graham) believe it is the next great mission field for Christ. It’s the place where we ALL interact daily — as business owners, employees, suppliers and/or customers.

These posts are meant to be a source of LEARNING and LEVERAGE.  So we can all become…

1) more aware of what’s actually happening today (not usually reported in traditional news sources); and

2) empowered to take effective and fruitful action as Ambassadors for Christ, within our respective spheres of influence… in the midst of a culture of increasing compromise.

In the future, I will post about specific business owners and employees whose workplace expression of faith has provoked “hostility or ill treatment” — from bullying or harassment to firings, regulatory and/or legal action. Today, here’s an overview of religious persecution in America.

The International Christian Concern (ICC) — a respected global monitor of persecution — assists international Christians victimized by it. (http://www.persecution.org/) ICC’s annual “Hall of Shame” report citing offending nations included the United States for the first time in 2017, noting America’s alarming rise in hostility toward Christians.

“… the courts, in defiance of the Founders, are pushing religion out of the public square, and into the small space of private expression… deciding that you only have full religious freedom and expression in the church and your home. In the public domain, your religious views and thoughts must be restrained and controlled… While there is no comparison between the life of a Christian in the U.S. with persecution overseas, ICC sees these worrying trends as an alarming indication of a decline in religious liberty in the United States.” http://www.persecution.org/persecutionnl/2017-01/ICC%202016%20Hall%20of%20Shame%20Report.pdf

In the 2017 edition of its annual report, Undeniable: The Survey of Hostility to Religion in America — 420 pages long! — First Liberty Institute cites more than 1,400 religious liberty incidents… up more than 15 percent over 2016, and 133% in the past 5 years. https://firstliberty.org/rights/undeniable-the-survey-of-hostility-to-religion-in-america/

Sociologist Dr. George Yancey published in October 2016: “… with the increase of [progressive] economic power, individuals who dislike conservative Christians are able to harm them in ways they were not able to accomplish in 1988.” https://www.christianpost.com/news/anti-christian-hostility-hasnt-risen-but-has-changed-secular-progressives-hold-more-wealth-power-201806/

In September 2016, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights sent a 306-page report to President Obama — Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling Nondiscrimination Principles with Civil Liberties — declaring that “the phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ are nothing but ‘code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy, or any form of intolerance.'”  http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/Peaceful-Coexistence-09-07-16.PDF

Really? Is this what YOU mean when you advocate for religious liberty and religious freedom? Please post your comments!

Diana Furr (a.k.a. Abba’s Girl)

This blog may have raised questions for you. If you’d like to connect, engage, or get further help from me, you can…  EMAIL me at [email protected]; CALL me at 863-446-1660; or request a complimentary initial CONSULT with me at  http://tinyurl.com/DianaFurr.

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