{"id":176857,"date":"2021-02-26T12:50:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T17:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=176857"},"modified":"2021-02-26T13:14:33","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T18:14:33","slug":"the-equality-act-is-the-greatest-threat-to-religious-freedom-in-our-lifetime-we-must-stand-against-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-equality-act-is-the-greatest-threat-to-religious-freedom-in-our-lifetime-we-must-stand-against-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Equality Act\u2019 Is The Greatest Threat To Religious Freedom In Our Lifetime. We Must Stand Against It."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-equality-act-is-the-greatest-threat-to-religious-freedom-in-our-lifetime-we-must-stand-against-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=176857&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1183474800.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Religious liberty in America, slowly eroding for years, now faces its greatest threat in a generation.<\/span> <span>The so-called \u2018Equality Act\u2019 threatens the 1<\/span><span>st<\/span> <span>Amendment and freedom of religion on a scale we haven\u2019t seen in decades. It forces churches, synagogues, mosques \u2014 and other religious organizations like Christian colleges and universities \u2014 to recognize \u201cgender identity\u201d and \u201csexual orientation\u201d as legally protected classifications despite how those lifestyles might conflict with deeply held religious beliefs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The passage of the Equality Act (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/house-bill\/5\/text\">H.R.5<\/a>) by the House of Representatives on February 25<\/span><span>th<\/span> <span>inches the bill closer to becoming law pending Senate approval and the near-certain signature of President Biden. It is the most dangerous piece of legislation in our lifetime concerning religious freedom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The language of the bill passed by the House specifically prohibits the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 from providing a claim, defense, or basis for challenging the protections granted for \u201cgender identity\u201d or \u201csexual orientation.\u201d This would deny religious organizations any moral grounds for objecting to the enforcement of these protections and would make those organizations criminally liable if they did.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What would that look like?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Imagine a church youth camp where teenage boys would normally be housed in separate sleeping quarters from teenage girls. Not under H.R.5. Any boy who \u201cidentifies as female\u201d would be legally entitled to bunk with the girls. Or any girl who \u201cidentifies as male\u201d would be legally entitled to bunk with the boys. According to the \u2018Equality Act,\u2019 any church that prohibits such action would be violating the individual\u2019s civil rights and could face legal action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Imagine a Sunday School class where 8 year old \u201cPaul\u201d says he is really \u201cPaula,\u201d and wants to wear a dress to class or use the girls\u2019 bathroom. If that made other children feel confused or their parents uncomfortable, too bad. Any attempt by the church to deny the child\u2019s freedom to attend the class dressed as \u201che\u201d or \u201cshe\u201d chooses (pick your pronoun), to use the restroom of \u201chis\u201d or \u201cher\u201d choice, or any attempt to counsel the child to accept their God-given gender would be a violation of the child\u2019s civil rights and the church could be legally liable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Seem unlikely? Hardly. Even candidate Joe Biden told attendees at a Town Hall meeting when he was campaigning that an eight-year-old child should have the freedom to determine his or her gender. Really? Most eight-year-olds can\u2019t even determine the time of day, but somehow they are wiser than God in determining their own gender. Have we lost our minds?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Imagine that a homosexual man is not hired by a church on the grounds that his lifestyle is incompatible with the church\u2019s Statement of Faith and Biblical beliefs. Under the Equality Act, that would be discrimination and the church could be sued and\/or lose its tax-exempt status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The scenarios are endless. And so are the ramifications for churches, synagogues, mosques and religious institutions across America if the Equality Act becomes law. Religious liberty will be thrown onto the ash heap of American history. The 1<\/span><span>st<\/span> <span>Amendment will be gutted. Religious freedom will become a legal battle to maintain rather than a legal right to be enjoyed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Enshrined in the first paragraph of our Declaration of Independence is the recognition that our laws and liberties are founded upon \u201c<\/span><em><span>the laws of nature and nature\u2019s God<\/span><\/em><span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the second paragraph is the acknowledgment that our unalienable rights come not from government but from God, our \u201c<\/span><em><span>Creator<\/span><\/em><span>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the last paragraph is the statement that our nation was born with a \u201c<\/span><em><span>firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence<\/span><\/em><span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But over time we have forgotten God. And worse than forgetting God is the usurping of His authority by drafting laws that dishonor Him because they conflict with His moral code. God alone determines what is right and wrong, what is true and false, and what is good and evil. And when mankind decides that he knows better than God, we invite our own national disgrace and eventual destruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a free country, people have the freedom to<\/span> <em><span>deny<\/span><\/em> <span>God\u2019s righteous standard. But that should not infringe upon the rights of those who wish to<\/span> <em><span>comply<\/span><\/em> <span>with His righteous standard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>We should love and respect all people regardless of their gender dysphoria or sexual orientation. We should want for them the same life-changing transformation that Jesus offers for all people who accept Him by faith. But we must also courageously defend religious freedom in America for all people and not cave to the \u201cwoke\u201d culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After all, \u201c<\/span><em><span>Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord<\/span><\/em><span>\u201d (Psalm 33:12).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>member<\/em><\/span><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Religious liberty in America, slowly eroding for years, now faces its greatest threat in a generation. The so-called \u2018Equality Act\u2019 threatens the 1st Amendment and freedom of religion on a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2274297,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1183474800.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"The \u2018Equality Act\u2019 Is The Greatest Threat To Religious Freedom In Our Lifetime. We Must Stand Against It.","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-176857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1183474800.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"The \u2018Equality Act\u2019 Is The Greatest Threat To Religious Freedom In Our Lifetime. We Must Stand Against It.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2274297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}