Canaries are famous songbirds. In the heydays of coal mining, canaries were often carried deep underground by miners in small cages to warn them of deadly carbon monoxide deposits. The bright yellow birds would merrily sing and chirp while the minors worked, and their song let the minors know that all was well. However, the moment the birdsong ceased, miners knew to evacuate the pit and rescue the canary by giving it a fresh supply of oxygen.
In any free society, religious liberty functions much like a canary in a coal mine. In America specifically, religious liberty has flourished under the unparalleled protections of our Constitution and our citizens’ commitment to limited government. When we observe attempts to squelch the free exercise of religious conscience, we must recognize that a potentially deadly attack on our constitutional order is at hand. In such moments, if immediate action isn’t taken, devastating loss will imminently follow.
Unfortunately, across Western culture today, many cannot even identify religious liberty. This first freedom is often mistaken as merely the “freedom to worship” at the church, synagogue, or mosque of your choice—or to choose not to worship at all. However, such a narrow construct fails to preserve true religious liberty that ensures individuals are not forced to deny their core beliefs or violate their “sacred conscience” in the name of coerced conformity to the culture or government. Religious liberty protects the ability of individuals to live out their faith in their daily lives and enables them to be their authentic selves at work, at school, and in the public square. However, this fundamental civil liberty has suffered substantial attacks recently, both in America and around the world.
During their first weeks in office, President Trump and President Vance have been outspoken on their intent to preserve religious liberty and freedom of expression. On February 7th, President Trump issued an executive order establishing a White House Faith Office for the purposes of “combatting anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and additional forms of anti-religious bias”, promoting a wide range of social services in partnership with faith-based entities, and consulting with faith leaders on policy matters. Representing the administration’s priorities, Vice President Vance delivered a series of speeches highlighting the importance of restoring religious liberty and identifying threats abroad and at home to this first liberty. During the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, DC, the Vice President articulated that “religious liberty is the recognition that all of us are equal under the rights and law of God” and advocated for “fostering a culture in which faith can thrive.” He addressed domestic government censorship and spoke of the need to stand with the persecuted church around the world, including Iraqi Christians.
About a week later, Vice President Vance gave a second speech addressing governmental attacks on religious liberty and freedom of expression part of a serious threat to security while at the Munich Security Conference. Here, he directly called out free expression censorship in Brussels, Germany, and the U.S., addressed the criminal conviction of a Christian man in Sweden, and strongly condemned the government prayer bans in Scotland and England.
The Vice President’s words struck a nerve with many who agree with his assessment that religious liberty and free expression are the “bedrock of civil society in America and across the world.” For centuries, the West has had a shared commitment to preserving these first liberties—and that shared commitment has united us in standing against the worst forms of totalitarianism that have simultaneously sought to silence the Church and free society. These shared values have also enabled us to partner in pushing back against terrorist groups like Isis, Boko Haram, and other institutionalized governments committing human rights atrocities. However, when our own nations lack the conviction that faith ought to be lived out in the public square, terrorists and totalitarians are emboldened.
As Western believers, and especially as American believers, we must understand the importance of standing up against insidious cultural assaults on our sacred conscience and expressions of faith. It is no small thing when the weight of government (whether a school, an employer, or local statute) compels someone to affirm myths about gender or sexual orientation. It is no small thing when a government arrests grandmothers for peaceful prayer on a public sidewalk near an abortion clinic. It is no small thing when a public-school teacher or student is discouraged from public prayer. Faith no longer transforms our lives when it cannot be exercised freely in every part of our lives.
When religious liberty becomes confined to pro-forma acts of institutionalized worship (like in the German church of the 1930s), it extinguishes the vibrancy of authentic faith on which free society depends.
Throughout generations, great Americans have reaffirmed this truth. In his Farwell address, George Washington reminded the young republic that, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” John Quincy Adams cautioned believers to stay grounded in Biblical teaching, contending that “it was only when the Christian church departed from God’s Word, that she sought to crush the rights of conscience; and only when she fully returns to it again, will she cease to cherish a desire to do so.” Martin Luther King, Jr. contended, “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state and never its tool.” The church—especially authentic faith in the Word of God—plays a vital role in free society, shaping and guiding the moral presuppositions that undergird sound public policy and maintaining the personal virtue across culture that representative self-government requires. For such a time as this, God-fearing people must stand with courage and conviction as the conscience of our government and culture.
The canary in the coal mine of free society has been silent too long. It’s time for the Church to be resuscitated with the fresh spiritual oxygen of God’s Word and His Holy Spirit, so that we can again sing our song in the public square.
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