{"id":613134,"date":"2024-03-17T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/yes-our-rights-come-from-god-a-needed-lesson-on-americas-faith-infused-founding\/"},"modified":"2024-03-17T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-17T13:00:00","slug":"yes-our-rights-come-from-god-a-needed-lesson-on-americas-faith-infused-founding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/yes-our-rights-come-from-god-a-needed-lesson-on-americas-faith-infused-founding\/","title":{"rendered":"#Yes, our rights come from God: A needed lesson on America\u2019s faith-infused founding"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>            <iframe title=\"Audio Article\" id=\"instaread_iframe\" name=\"instaread_playlist\" scrolling=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" style=\"display:block\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A disturbing narrative is metastasizing within our national consciousness: that Americans who embrace religious faith are potentially dangerous extremists, and that faith-inspired engagement in the public square poses a threat to our democracy. <\/p>\n<p>These false and egregious notions are not new, but they are clearly spreading. They also warrant an informed response.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In a now-infamous MSNBC <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earance, Politico reporter Heidi Przybyla (who ironically <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/heidireports?lang=en\">styles herself as someone<\/a> \u201cinvestigating democracy\u201d) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/god-given-rights-are-christian-nationalist-heidi-przybyla-says.html\">declared<\/a> that anyone who believes in the concept of God-given rights to be a \u201cChristian nationalist,\u201d a deliberately provocative term. Her <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/02\/29\/the-right-way-to-cover-the-intersection-of-religion-and-politics-00144261\">subsequent justification<\/a> of her comments only reiterated her original smear. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, a new documentary film by Rob Reiner (\u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearreligion.org\/articles\/2024\/03\/08\/the_smear_of_christian_nationalism_1017040.html\">God and Country<\/a>\u201c) seeks to expose so-called \u201cChristian nationalism\u201d and, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/investigations\/2024\/03\/07\/trump-christian-nationalism-extremist-threat\/72869355007\/\">according to USA Today<\/a>, \u201casks whether a new wave of believers will wash away democracy in America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In reality, the opposite is true: Inspiration from the divine does not undermine democracy \u2014 it undergirds our nation\u2019s entire republican project.<\/p>\n<p>Przybyla\u2019s misguided statements, Reiner\u2019s anxious movie and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/investigations\/2024\/03\/07\/trump-christian-nationalism-extremist-threat\/72869355007\/\">similar hyperventilating<\/a> by many commentators all highlight a much deeper and more pervasive ignorance of America\u2019s founding and history \u2014 including the central idea that our rights are \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/founding-docs\/declaration-transcript\">endowed by [our] Creator<\/a>,\u201d not bestowed upon us by any government.<\/p>\n<p>This belief is not the byproduct of some new right-wing trend. Rather, it was a cornerstone belief of our nation\u2019s founding, championed by the Founding Fathers and embedded within our founding documents. It has proven essential to our centuries-long practice of self-governance, individual liberty, and a flourishing civil society. <\/p>\n<p>Nearly 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that in America, religious faith was \u201cindispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions.\u201d Today, misunderstandings of the prominent role that faith and religious freedom played in America\u2019s founding and history are sadly commonplace.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>A new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation alarmingly <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uschamberfoundation.org\/civics\/new-study-finds-alarming-lack-of-civic-literacy-among-americans\">revealed<\/a> \u201cthe nation\u2019s civic knowledge is badly lagging.\u201d More than 70 percent of Americans \u201clack basic understanding of government\u201d and couldn\u2019t pass a basic civic literacy test. Meanwhile, the National Assessment of Educational Progress <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/closeup.org\/history-and-civics-scores-drop-in-the-nations-report-card\/\">found<\/a> that civics and U.S. history scores among public school students have been dropping for many years.<\/p>\n<p>As we enter another presidential election season and approach the 250th anniversary of the American founding in just two years, we must urgently rededicate ourselves to understanding and defending the principles central to the American experiment.<\/p>\n<p>Americans should know and appreciate, for example, the significant differences between the French and American revolutions. Although historians often describe them as comparable revolts against their oppressive governments, they were diametrically opposed philosophical exercises. The French Revolution <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/voices\/the-american-revolution-is-nothing-like-the-french-revolution.html\">did not<\/a> base its understanding of rights in natural law, instead declaring \u201cliberty, equality, and fraternity\u201d as independent from God. A distinctive and unique feature of the American Revolution, in contrast, was the argument that basic human rights are derived not from any earthly body, government, or ruler, but from a Creator God.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>It is for this reason that the Declaration of Independence, drawing on the influence of John Locke, states that \u201call men are created equal\u2026endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.\u201d James Madison, in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/biotech.law.lsu.edu\/books\/federlist\/federa43.htm\">The Federalist No. 43<\/a>, and Samuel Adams in \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/teachingamericanhistory.org\/document\/the-rights-of-the-colonists\/\">The Rights of the Colonists<\/a>,\u201d also both unambiguously stated a belief in rights that preexist governmental structures and are merely safeguarded, not granted, by governments.<\/p>\n<p>In his 1796 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/artandhistory\/history\/resources\/pdf\/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf\">Farewell Address<\/a>, George Washington proclaimed, \u201cOf all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.\u201d In \u201cDemocracy in America,\u201d Tocqueville agreed when he wrote, \u201cThe safeguard of morality is religion, and morality is the best security of law as well as the surest pledge of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to today, when the decline of these essential pillars is apparent. As civic literacy plummets and religiosity recedes, animosity toward religious individuals and institutions is increasing. In 2023 alone, a staggering <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/downloads.frc.org\/EF\/EF24B78.pdf\">436 violent acts<\/a> of aggression against churches <a>were<\/a> reported \u2014 more than twice as many as in 2022.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"121\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?w=600\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4329764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?resize=600,121 600w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?resize=300,61 300w, https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/11\/op2.png?resize=50,10 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 600px\"><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>These trends are symptoms of a society losing the reverence and community ties cultivated and fostered by its Judeo-Christian heritage. Those eager to sweep away that heritage completely must know that deconstructing and jettisoning the original philosophical building blocks of the United States would have consequences unfavorable to freedom.<\/p>\n<p>We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to remind our fellow citizens of the Judeo-Christian principles that made our country exceptional at its founding, which anchor our rights to a permanent source that predates all governments, and which continue to ensure our democracy\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n<p><em>Timothy Head is executive director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2024 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/civil-rights\/4525344-yes-our-rights-come-from-god-a-needed-lesson-on-americas-faith-infused-founding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A disturbing narrative is metastasizing within our national consciousness: that Americans who embrace religious faith are potentially dangerous extremists, and that faith-inspired engagement in the public square poses a threat to our democracy. These false and egregious notions are not new, but they are clearly spreading. They also warrant an informed response. In a now-infamous&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":613135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/declaration_of_independence_07012014_1.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134343,70363,134418,134661,124783,134354,70289,4965],"class_list":["post-613134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-campaign","tag-civil-rights","tag-congress-blog","tag-energy-environment","tag-international","tag-nexstar-media-wire-news","tag-senate","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}