Religious Freedom Isn’t Cancelled

Cancel culture have you down? Whether it’s a cancelled event due to COVID-19 or a “cancelled” public figure, 2020 has certainly been the year of the cancellation. But here’s one thing that hasn’t been cancelled: the fight to protect families and freedom across our nation. In spite of the difficulties of COVID-19, we praise God for some amazing victories for religious freedom and the family.

Today, here are 7 victories people of faith can celebrate during COVID-19:

1. The Trump Administration included non-profit and faith-based entities in COVID relief.

In the thick of the pandemic’s economic fallout, it would have been easy for leaders to forget about – or intentionally ignore – non-profit and faith-based entities in their financial relief response. Thankfully, leaders made sure to include them, with even President Trump himself tweeting out, “The Paycheck Protection Program is up and running! The program is open to nonprofits as well, so banks be sure to sign up our Great Religious and Veteran Organizations that need help!”

2. Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey led a coalition of pastors to get churches on the Governor’s reopening plan.

As states began to reopen after initial closures, many included provisions for houses of worship. But not New Jersey! Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey joined with other local leaders and pastors to persistently ask Governor Murphy to allow churches to reopen. It’s a stunning story – but the good news is that thanks to the work of citizens, the Governor ultimately allowed  churches to open on a limited basis.

3. The Supreme Court handed down three wins for religious freedom in recent decisions.

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue: The Supreme Court affirmed that families in Montana should be free to choose the education that best suits their children—including in faith-based schools, that the old Blaine Amendment used to invalidate the scholarship program is bigoted and discriminatory, and that faith-based schools can’t be disqualified from a school choice program just because they are faith-based. Thanks to our friends at Montana Family Institute for their great work in making this win possible!

Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrissey-Berru:  Our Lady of Guadalupe centered around a Catholic school that simply made an employment decision about one of its teachers – and got sued for it. The case asked whether the First Amendment prevents courts from interfering in situations like the one faced by the Catholic school. Ultimately, the Supreme Court took a stand on the side of freedom for religious institutions.

Little Sisters of the Poor vs. Pennsylvania: The Little Sisters of the Poor are a group of nuns who take a vow of chastity and provide care to the elderly poor. When Obamacare regulations would have forced them to pay for contraception (to which they objected on religious grounds), the nuns were faced with a choice to pay a large fine or violate their consciences. They chose the third option: go to court. After an extended series of lawsuits, the Supreme Court’s recent decision hopefully settled the nun’s case for good. And it’s good news: they don’t have to pay for contraception to which they have a religious, or moral, objection!

4. COVID ChurchAid proved a fantastic resource for pastors and churches navigating COVID’s uncharted waters.

Thanks to our friends at Florida Family Action for creating COVID Church Aid, a website filled with COVID-19 resources for church leaders, including resources on the Paycheck Protection Program. It was invaluable as pastors and churches made decisions about finances, reopening, and pastoring during a pandemic.

5. A federal judge recently ruled in favor of churches in New York

When houses of worship were targeted with capacity restrictions in New York, a federal judge disagreed – and prevented the targeting from being enforced. He noted that while New York Governor Cuomo and NYC Mayor de Blasio have both supported protest gatherings, they continued to restrict religious gatherings. We’re glad the judge saw the irony!

6. Family Policy Alliance of Kansas played a key role in three major wins for religious freedom in the state.

In the words of Advocacy Director Brittany Jones, “During height of the impact of COVID-19, Family Policy Alliance of Kansas never stopped working to protect the God-given freedoms of Kansans. We worked with legislative, grassroots, and policy leaders to push back when Governor Kelly targeted churches for unfair treatment. Her actions were eventually strongly rebuked by a federal judge. We were a key part to standing alongside legislators as they worked through an all-night session to correct Governor Kelly’s overreach into schools, businesses and churches and rein in her power as we continue to deal with COVID-19. Further, we worked with legislators and grassroots leaders to defeat multiple Medicaid expansion attempts that did not include important pro-life protections.”

7. In Wyoming, the Governor changed his public health order to allow churches to fully open despite COVID.

For freedom-loving people, this is a big win: churches are fully open in Wyoming! Of course, no one’s being forced to go to church or encouraged to not take important precautions. But we are glad that the state’s governor recognizes the importance of religious freedom, and your support of Family Policy Alliance of Wyoming helped make this possible!

We were encouraged by these wins, and hope that you are, too. Most importantly, we hope that you’re encouraged to keep up the fight. Many of these wins were not easy – for instance, getting the New Jersey Governor to put churches in the reopening plan at all. And we know that we have future battles to fight: The ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and their political allies continue to push their radical abortion and transgender agendas with no regard for people of faith. We’ve seen it even in places like North Dakota, where the legislature has defeated three religious freedom-threatening bills in two legislative sessions!

But when that happens again – as we know it will -- we’ll keep fighting so religious freedom never gets cancelled.

Sincerely,

Meridian Baldacci
Policy and Communications Strategist