Posted on 06/29/2010 1:45:00 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Words matter. Words often hold great meaning. That is especially true when it comes to the words of our founding documents like the Bill of Rights in our Constitution. Those words are especially cherished. Yet in the past year it appears the Obama administration has been changing one key word in that sacred scroll.
Last month the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report revealed grave concern about both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejecting the term “freedom of religion” for the term “freedom of worship” in public pronouncements. Why the change when the First Amendment talks specifically about our freedom of religion and not simply worship?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof… – US Constitution
Last November Obama used the term “freedom of worship” at the memorial service for the victims of the Ft. Hood shooting. A few days later he did it again in speeches in both Japan and China. In December Hillary Clinton also used that terminology three times in a speech at Georgetown University and never once used the phrase “freedom of religion”. In January of this year Clinton used the “freedom of worship” term four times while addressing senators.
This change in phraseology could well be viewed by human rights defenders and officials in other countries as having concrete policy implications.” – U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report
The response by many religious freedom advocates is fear of what this all means. Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom and member of the Religious Freedom commission believes freedom of worship is limited to private beliefs and prayer but not public activity.
It excludes the right to raise your children in your faith; the right to have religious literature; the right to meet with co-religionists; the right to raise funds; the right to appoint or elect your religious leaders, and to carry out charitable activities, to evangelize, [and] to have religious education or seminary training. – Nina Shea
Some Christian based publications are also worried.
That’s not an inconsequential change: Freedom of worship means the ability to have church services, which is crucial, but leaves out protection for Christian schools, publications, and Christian compassionate ministries…’Freedom of religion’ means that ministries designed to help prisoners change their lives, or to help the poor enter the workforce, can teach what the Bible teaches. Under ‘freedom of worship,’ these ministries could become illegal, as they are in many parts of the world. This is a development to watch warily. – World Magazine
Some in the State Department argue the words “religion” and “worship” can be used interchangeably and there is nothing to worry about. Others aren’t so sure and see this change in terminology as a major shift by the Obama administration.
Those of us in the business of sniffing out rats know that this is a rhetorical shift to watch. – Tom Farr, Professor of Religion and World Affairs at Georgetown University and the former head of the State Department’s International Religious Freedom Office
This President clearly sees religion as a key part of foreign affairs when the Muslim world is involved especially. He is ultra-careful to not want to offend followers of Islam. We already know that the administration has rejected the term “radical Islam” or any similar language and refuses to admit religion plays a major roll in terrorism.
This new terminology of “freedom of worship” might be given as a sign to Muslim nations and places with Christian persecution like China that they are not going to crack down on religious persecution for minority religions in those countries. That could explain why Obama first used the term after a radical Muslim killed Americans at Ft. Hood. And it could also explain why he used the term in speeches in China and Japan.
I’m very fearful that by building bridges, we’re actually stepping away from this fundamental principle of religious freedom. … It is so critical for Western, especially American, leaders to articulate strong defense for religious freedom and explain what that means and how it undergirds our entire civilization. – Nina Shea
Shea has it right. I’m not sure who all the Obama administration is trying to build bridges with by a shift in terminology, but it it a dangerous shift. When Obama’s folk shift terminology that always means there has been a shift in policy. They (with the exception of Vice President Biden) choose their words very carefully. The administration needs to publicly proclaim what this new policy means for Americans and for religious freedom around the world.
This will not end well if he/they continue down this path.
In order to implement their end-game policy, they will have to inter or kill millions of people,
because otherwise, those people will rise up in dissent and rebellion.
Worship is only a subset of all that constitutes religion, so this change in language could signal an attempt by the left to narrow religious liberty, which of course they despise since they despise religion (the exception at the moment being Islam, which they can’t help but like in an enemy-of-an-enemy-is-a friend kind of way).
because there will only be one religion
It’s amazing how badly this has been stretched out, the establishment clause and the freedom of religion.
What the founders sought to end, was the idea of a national church, wherein EVERY CITIZEN was a member and the tithing happened through a withholding that was then sent to that church. This is the way it happens in Germany (I think until recently), and its the way it happened in England.
The states could do what they wanted to. Period. As for the United States as a nation, the founders DID NOT WANT a national church.
This had ZERO to do with the idea of an expression by people within government that they were ARDENT believers in God, Christ, Christianity. In fact, one of the more shocking things is to travel to DC, go to the Lincoln Memorial, and actual see the Gettysburg address carved into the wall in giant letters. As it stands today, it is a direct violation of what ACLU activists would call ‘Church and State’.
wanted lost kenyan running around dc pretending to be president be on the look out, very smooth talking and a great great liar in chief
Because he’s setting the table for a one world religion.By allowing worship but not religion, we all become of the same “ religion” - folks who are free to worship anything they want as long as they don;t tell anyone else or encourage others to do the same.
Only it will just be the Christians that are persecuted for it.
Just like biblical prophecy states.
Duh.
If you aren’t getting this yet, you aren’t paying attention.
This stuff is happening at an ever accelerating rate. It will not stop.
Bible up, get in relationship with Jesus and be at peace.
If you aren’t, you are of the world and things will end badly. I know. I’ve read the end of the book.
Prayers up for folks to know the Lord at a historical,biblical rate.
Truly a sick individual he is.
Perhaps because he is an ignorant slut?
ping for later
You can worship something without it being a religion. For example Obuma worships Govt, and unions. The left hates religion because when people worship God they don’t worship the State.
He’s changing it because there are a few he’d like to eliminate. We’ll be able to worship,just not the religion we choose.
This is a major change of meaning.
He’s making the change so he can say he actually accomplished something....
During the the lead up to Lend-Lease also going to Stalin, the Russia's "accepted" the princples of the Atlantic Charter - with some "changes."
Freedom of the press became freedom of information - the government controlling all "information" sources.
So it began ...
Freedom of Religion is one on one.
The Bill of Rights are INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS.....not group rights.
“freedom of worship” implies something overseas dictators view as controllable, manageable - the right to gather, pray, sing. “Freedom of religion” encompasses much more - the freedom to publicly display, advocate for, protest, and most notably: proselytize. This is the most controversial subject as the United States is still seen by some overseas as trying to foist Christianity and Judeo-Christian culture. Many advocates believe the right to evangelize freely is a basic part of their faith. Michele Boorstein, february 2010 internet
It was my attempt at sarcasm.
Religion is organized, as in Catholic, Baptist, Southern Baptist, Mormon, Judaism, Islam, Confucism, Taoism, et al.
Worship is what you do towards your favorite deity.
Religion is organized, structured, has literature stating beliefs, has leaders to turn to for one thing or another, has places of assembly. By doing away with religion, the Almighty ‘0’ can take your scriptures, tithes, offerings, scriptures, church buildings and holdings, leaders, scriptures, even your god!!! and tell you to whom you will worship.
This is not new. Consider homosexuality. By redefining a person's sexual identity from the biological to whatever you want it to be, homosexuality becomes okay and acceptable since we can be taught that a person's sexuality can be redefined to whatever we want.
They are trying to do the same thing with marriage by changing the definition of marriage to simply being an expression of love and commitment.
This could be one of the ways the communists got their people to accept the state control of religion. After all, once worship equals religion, then they can make the argument that they have not taken away our rights once they have done so.
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