Religious freedom has become a going concern more and more in the time since the presidential election. In the last few years, the discourse about freedom of religion has taken a turn. The changes that have occurred in such a short time are alarming, and a cause for worry for marginalized communities. Religious freedom has been endangered by the rhetoric used since the 2016 presidential election, and the fear created by that rhetoric is very real for many Americans.  

Political leaders are increasingly acting as though non-Christians have no place in America. For example, in an interview with Jake Tapper of CNN,  Ted Crockett, a surrogate for Republican candidate Roy Moore alleged that America needs to “Get back to moral law,” having stated many times that he believed that American laws are (and should be) based on the Christian Bible. Crockett also said that his candidate, who was endorsed by the president of the United States and the Republican party, did not believe that people of the Muslim faith should be allowed to serve their country as elected officials. According to the Pew Research study, “Majority of states have all-Christian congressional delegations,” ninety-one percent of Federal lawmakers self-identify as Christians. The national population is seventy-one percent Christian, which make you wonder, are these notions keeping our nation from being accurately represented? The president has also indirectly and directly bowed to nationalist and anti-Semitic rhetoric. He famously said that, in a conflict between protesters and actual Nazis that there were good people “on both sides.” He also failed to make any mention of the Jewish people in the speech he made on Holocaust Remembrance Day. These facts seem to speak for themselves: the party in power flagrantly disregards the people who did not elect them, the people most vulnerable because of the statements that the party has normalized. 

There are farther-reaching problems for the world than the ones on the home front, including the administration’s de facto Muslim ban, and the refugee crisis. It is a fact that a disproportionate amount of the people being displaced from their homes in Syria are Muslim. It is also a fact that any sensible person would see that they are not terrorists, they are victims of terror. The people fleeing their country do not want to leave, they do not want to come to America and hurt Americans, they just want to be safe with their families. The so-called “Travel Ban” has no real power to protect Americans. The only power this executive order had was to create fear, xenophobia, and hatred. Religious freedom does not just encompass freedom to practice religion, it also includes the promise of safety to those practitioners. And they are not safe. White supremacists are marching in the streets with tiki-torches chanting “Jews will not replace us.” According to another Pew study, “Anti-Muslim assaults reach 9/11-era levels, FBI data show.” That seems to speak for itself. Bigots have been given a platform and politicians are afraid to condemn them. Religious freedom is not just about going to synagogue unobstructed or covering your head, it is about being safe and knowing you will not be attacked for being part of a minority group. America has made a promise to all of its citizens and residents, of safety and equality under the law. But, if politicians normalize Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, why should anyone protect their neighbors? Why would anyone call the police to report a hate crime, when they know that their government does not think that they have the right to feel safe? Religious freedom also means sleeping soundly at night, knowing your children are safe. 

This essay was one of three winning entries in the Fredericksburg Coalition of Reason 2018 Religious Freedom Essay Contest.