Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito asked the U.S. Solicitor General, who was arguing in favor of same-sex marriage on behalf of the Obama Administration, some pointed questions concerning religious liberty. Specifically, they asked how a ruling in favor of the legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states would affect religious institutions.
The Solicitor General was asked, first, if religious institutions that barred homosexual couples from living in married student housing would be subject to legal sanctions for doing so. Second, he was asked if religious institutions would be in danger of losing their tax-exempt status on the grounds of discrimination against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation.
In brief, the Solicitor General did not answer in the negative to either question. He simply said that the question of institutions barring homosexual couples from living in married student housing would likely be up to the states. He replied that the question of an institution losing its tax-exempt status on the grounds of discrimination against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation would be “an issue.”
We are in the midst of massive changes in the legal and moral landscape of Western Civilization and of the United States. When the Solicitor General of the United States, representing the President of the United States, advocates for same-sex marriage before the U.S. Supreme Court and gives vague answers on the question of the religious liberty of institutions whose religious faith compels them to uphold the millennia-old definition of marriage, religious liberty is in grave jeopardy.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the free exercise of religion, along with freedom of speech and of the press. Christians need to be praying and working to protect the first amendment liberties that the U.S. Founders provided for. And we need to be praying for wisdom, guidance, and courage for Christian institutions that will face opposition for their support of biblical morality.
Goethe wrote, “What you have as heritage, take now as task; for thus you will make it your own.” It is time to engage, in a kind, peaceful, Christ-honoring manner, in the important task of praying for and working for religious liberty. It is not a time for silence or withdrawal. I ask my readers to join me intently in these prayers, and in this work, to safeguard religious liberty in these United States.