America was founded on the pursuit of religious freedom. That fundamental right is under attack today—and it’s not guaranteed to last for our children and their generation.
On the most recent episode of her Fearless podcast, Cissie Graham Lynch warns listeners that “the right to live out our faith freely is just being slowly chipped away.”
Many Christian-owned businesses and nonprofits have already begun to experience these unconstitutional attacks. How we vote next month could help protect our freedom to serve God faithfully and openly—and share His love with others.
Listen as Cissie shares recent examples of religious persecution and encourages you to be prepared and stand faithfully for the Lord.
The following devotion is an excerpt from Cissie’s Fearless Family: Eight-Day Election Prayer Guide.
Reading: 2 Timothy 3:10–17
The Target on Our Backs
Since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide with its ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, Christian business owners have been specifically targeted by members of the LGBTQ+ community. Activists have gone out of their way to demand that business owners, such as Jack Phillips and Barronelle Stutzman, provide services for same-sex weddings, despite the fact that these ceremonies violate their religious beliefs.
To be clear, these Christian business owners are not discriminating against their customers because of their race, religion, or sex. Each of these business owners would happily provide a birthday cake or graduation bouquet to LGBTQ+ customers. Where they draw the line, however, is when these services are required for ceremonies, like same-sex weddings, that go against their Christian beliefs.
For example, in 2012, Jack Phillips, a baker from Colorado, was approached about making a wedding cake for a gay couple. After refusing, he was sued. But Phillips wasn’t singling the men out. He simply doesn’t make anything that conflicts with his religious convictions. This is also why he won’t make divorce celebration cakes or anti-American cakes. Five grueling years later, Phillips’ case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jack Phillips by protecting his right to religious freedom in 2017, the decision went against the cultural majority. …
In another case, Barronelle Stutzman, a great-grandmother from Washington, faced backlash in an unprecedented lawsuit initiated by the attorney general in Washington when she declined to make floral arrangements for a same-sex wedding. Although they had been longtime customers of her shop, Stutzman drew a line and cited her Christian beliefs when they requested arrangements for their wedding. After a decade-long legal battle that culminated in two devastating losses that were handed down by the Washington Supreme Court, she chose to retire at the age of 77.
These are only a few examples of how the right to freely exercise our religious beliefs is under attack. But in all of these cases, we see faithful Christians who have stood boldly for their beliefs by not endorsing acts that are contrary to Biblical teaching.
The Future of Religious Liberty
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits places of “public accommodation” from discriminating based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex—defined at that time as male or female. However, it does not give the right to compel people to provide services for events and ceremonies that are antithetical to their religious beliefs. But there are many politicians who think Christian beliefs should be restricted—not protected. …
Dismantling religious liberty in the name of antidiscrimination is discriminating against the very religious beliefs the First Amendment was designed to protect. The religious freedoms that we enjoy in the U.S. serve as a beacon of hope for other people in countries experiencing religious persecution around the world. … If you believe it’s important to defend our right to express our beliefs, not just in our churches, but in the public square, then we have to take a stand by electing those who will protect and preserve religious liberty. This is the foundation that has served as a hope for our nation and so many others, and if we lose it, the impact will be felt around the world. …
Why Must We Live Out Our Faith Publicly?
Though it might feel more comfortable to retreat from the public space and keep religion inside the four walls of our homes or churches, this is not what the Bible commands. Instead, Jesus calls us to go and be His witnesses in the Great Commission. …
Prayer
Heavenly Father, our foundation as believers is grounded in Your truth—no matter how far our nation drifts from it. We ask that You transform our nation through a spirit of humility and repentance into Christ’s image.
We pray for those who are being persecuted, that they will remain faithful to Jesus and not grow weary. Please provide them with the funding and best legal representation possible to defend the right to religious freedom. …
We pray that we will be a generation of Christians who are willing to stand for Jesus. … And we ask that You bless us with strong leaders who know Christ as Lord and, like our Founding Fathers, understand the importance of allowing people to freely live out their faith.
