StrictConstruct

I participated in an interesting debate recently about whether, in the Christian viewpoint, America’s religious freedom is a strength of a weakness. Someone argued that because people are free to choose any religion, and indeed no religion, that it has led to people not being religious and ultimately doing bad things. They probably aren’t the only people who think that freedom has this downside - but the argument is based around a fallacy.

If you find a wallet on the ground filled with money, which contains an ID of the owner of that wallet, if you return it to its owner this is undoubtedly a good act. If you, alternatively, find the wallet and keep it for yourself, only to be caught by the police and forced to give it to its owner, this is not a good act. The difference lies in whether what you are carrying out is really a decision made by you, or merely something required by law.

You cannot force people to be good, even if you force them to carry out actions - a good person does good things when they have a choice to do bad. Likewise, you cannot force someone to be a Christian. They might say they are a Christian, they might act like they are one, but you cannot force them to truly, and genuinely be one at heart. That choice is ultimately a choice made by the individual - noone else can make it. So what good is it if they are merely saying they are Christian, yet are not really?

The fact that this country allows people to decide their religion - if any - means that those who are followers of any given religion did so out of their own free will, and actually believe the things they preach. Having the freedom to not be religious makes the faith of those who are all the more genuine and true as it is based around their personal experiences and not something that is impersonal. That people are able to explore religion freely is without a doubt a strength of this nation which puts it far above other nations where people are unable to explore their faith but instead must simply accept that which the state gives them.

(Photo credit to universltransl8r.)