Dear John,

Should the government be monitoring and tracking Americans who purchase religious books, including the Bible? That is precisely what the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government just uncovered.

For years, there has been an ongoing pattern among leftists of marginalizing and demonizing those who hold to a biblical worldview. This pattern of anti-Christian animus has led to legal ramifications for pro-life Americans.

Since the Dobbs decision, the Biden administration has aggressively prosecuted pro-life advocates under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. In June, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had prosecuted 18 FACE Act cases against 48 people -- most of them peaceful pro-life protesters.

Enforcing the FACE Act has been Biden's method of "creatively and aggressively" protecting abortion.

In theory, the law protects both abortion facilities and pro-life pregnancy centers. But the DOJ has prosecuted few pro-abortion activists despite research that finds pro-life pregnancy centers are 22 times more likely to be violently attacked than abortion facilities.

Juxtapose the recent uptick in the prosecution of pro-life Americans with a pair of arsonists who burned down a fast-food restaurant during riots coinciding with the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Despite pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree arson, they received no jail time and a meager $500 fine.

FRC's director of the Center for Religious Liberty, Arielle Del Turco, rightly noted, "We need to think about what it means for our society when pro-lifers trying to save babies are dealt harsh punishments while leftist rioters face almost no consequences."

As Christians, we shouldn't be surprised by this double standard, but as Americans, we shouldn't accept it.

A few weeks ago, Democratic strategist James Carville, who is from Louisiana, made headlines when he accused Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and me of being "Christian nationalists." Following his initial comments, Carville went on Bill Maher's program and said that our biblical beliefs pose "a bigger threat than al-Qaeda."

Some may dismiss Carville's comments as empty rhetoric, but such hyperbolic language has consequences--as we have witnessed at Family Research Council--and should not be shrugged off. It is an intentional attempt to create division and intimidate Christians. They want to silence you!

This increased hostility towards Christians isn't just happening in the United States -- it's taking place all across the West! As our updated report "Free to Believe? The Intensifying Intolerance Toward Christians in the West" documents, there have been 168 incidents across 16 countries of religious freedom violations perpetrated by Western governments in the last four years.

Religious liberty has long been under attack in many countries around the world like China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and others. But to see increased hostility towards Christians in Western countries -- the same ones we think of as free and open societies -- is shocking!

Scripture warns that we will be hated, rejected, and persecuted for our faith. Jesus said, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you" (John 15:18). This should encourage us to press on.

We must PRAY for America, use our voices for biblical values by exercising our right to VOTE, and STAND for truth, no matter what the world says or does.

Now more than ever, we need believers across America to stand firm in the face of cultural and political opposition. Will you give a critical donation right now to amplify FRC's reach and voice for biblical truth?

STAND FIRM WITH FRC

FRC's reporting over the past few years demonstrates that acts of hostility against churches, pregnancy resource centers, and Jewish synagogues are on the rise. This growing hostility against places of worship should be unacceptable in America--a country founded on religious liberty and the right to worship God freely and without fear.

However, a report by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government revealed multiple FBI offices planned to infiltrate and spy on Catholic parishes.

This coordinated effort by a government agency was leaked to the public through a memo revealing that FBI agents targeted those they defined as "radical traditionalist Catholics" who are likely to be "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists."

One of the sources FBI agents relied upon in categorizing traditional Catholics as terrorists is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which labels Catholics, Evangelical Christians, conservative organizations like FRC, and even parent's rights organizations as "hate groups" alongside detestable extremists like the Ku Klux Klan.

Let that sink in.

The FBI is relying on a politically biased organization to conduct its investigation of conservative Catholics.

The SPLC has been linked in federal court to inspiring the domestic terrorist attack on FRC's headquarters in 2012, and last year, one of their attorneys was arrested for participating in an attack on a construction site of an Atlanta police training facility.

Meanwhile, the same House Subcommittee discovered that a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department called the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has been colluding with banks to investigate Americans who hold unpopular viewpoints. The criteria they defined as being "extremist": purchasing religious texts (like the Bible), ordering materials related in some way to "MAGA Republican" or "Trump," or exercising their Second Amendment right.

And all of this profiling was being conducted without warrants!

We cannot take this pattern of assault on our constitutional rights lightly. The Left's condemnation often begins with rhetoric, but more Americans are now experiencing government encroachment on our civil liberties.

That is why I am working with members of Congress to ensure that the federal government is prohibited from using biased claims from anti-Christian organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center and conducting warrantless intrusions into our privacy.

Now is the time to speak up!

FRC is working every day to encourage and equip believers to get off the sidelines and take a stand for pro-life, pro-family, and pro-freedom principles. Will you join us?

PARTNER WITH FRC NOW

How do we prepare in the face of increased hostility to our Christian faith?

WE PRAY

• Pray that the church will not cower but instead stand boldly in love for the truth. And pray for pastors to equip their congregations. (FRC's Association of Churches and Ministries has the network and resources pastors and ministry leaders need to stand against today's cancel culture).

• Pray for those who hate Christians and seek to do them harm (Matthew 5:43-45), that they would have a change of heart and come to a saving knowledge of the truth of the gospel (1 Timothy 2:1-4) like the apostle Paul did.

WE VOTE

• We cannot allow the Left to intimidate and keep us from exercising our God-given right and responsibility to vote for biblical values. We must awaken believers to become Spiritually Active, Governance Engaged Conservatives (SAGE Cons) who will make their voices heard for biblical values at the ballot box.

WE STAND

• Rooting ourselves in the Scriptures (through resources like FRC's Stand on the Word Bible reading plan), we engage the culture and speak up for truth. Help FRC educate Americans through our news and media outlets (The Washington Stand and Washington Watch).

The future of America is in the hands of Christian men and women who will commit to PRAY, VOTE, and STAND for biblical principles to guide our nation. Thank you for doing your part!

Your contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.