Ryan Helfenbein: Attorney General William Barr Defends Religious Liberty

Attorney General William Barr has made it clear by his words and actions that civil liberties are “not suspended in times of crisis.” And for the sake of religious people everywhere, I pray that it continues.

Today the biggest threat to the nation is totalitarianism under the guise of safety and protection.

It was just 3 years ago that President Trump signed an Executive Order allowing religious groups greater freedom in political speech at the National Day of Prayer, saying, “We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied, or silenced anymore.”

Just last week, AG Barr released a memo titled, “Balancing Public Safety with the Preservation of Civil Rights.” He highlighted the DOJ’s priority in defending people of faith against the potential dangers of government overreach and discriminatory policies. 

We have already witnessed this take place in numerous places. In Virginia, Governor Ralph Northam threatened to jail or fine Pastor Kevin Wilson of Lighthouse Fellowship Church for holding a worship service on Palm Sunday with 16 people in an auditorium built for 293. Pastor Wilson had violated a state-imposed restriction not applicable to many businesses .

In a statement on Sunday, the Justice Department sided with Lighthouse Church, saying, “The Commonwealth of Virginia has offered no good reason for refusing to trust congregants who promise to use care in worship in the same way it trusts accountants, lawyers, and other workers to do the same.”

Elsewhere, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Maryville Baptist Church for violating Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s stay-at-home order. Their crime was holding service in a church parking lot while congregants remained in their cars. Mayor Erick Simmons of Greenville, Mississippi also made headlines in a similar case in April by ordering that $500 tickets be issued at drive-in church services.

Knox County, Tennessee, officials last week forbid communion and baptism as they were not deemed “core worship.” The assumption was that local bureaucrats could determine the rule and standard for free religious practice. 

Thankfully, Governor Bill Lee issued an executive order to override the county ban.

In Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas issued an ordinance requiring churches to record and report on people who attended services out of concerns for public health and safety.

And in perhaps one of the most provocative and irreverent statements to date, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared at a press conference concerning the flattening of the coronavirus curve, “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that.”

What is the common trend in each of these scenarios? In almost every case, statist politicians cannot understand why their self-imposed orders could be seen as antagonistic to people of faith. 

For them, faith is not existential nor necessary. Religious practice is a mere novelty, an ancillary experience that could easily be shared or felt in other ways – no less trivial than a holiday greeting card.

For people of faith, defending religious liberty and free religious exercise in the ultimate sense it is a matter of life and death. Just ask the early apostles.

The American founders understood that when framing the Constitution, because freedom came at the highest price possible and it is worth defending. 

There is still even greater work to do to ensure that religious liberty flourishes in this country. Our nation’s health, economy, and religious freedom are never mutually exclusive. 

We all owe AG Barr and President Donald Trump our gratitude for making this a major public policy issue. They have kept religious liberty safe — for now.