From an Associated Baptist Press op-ed written by Pensacola First Baptist Senior Minister Barry Howard:
While many of us have appropriate plans in place this weekend to celebrate our nation’s independence with picnics, barbeques, ice cream and fireworks, one of the most fitting ways to celebrate is to exercise our freedom to worship.
Our Baptists ancestors were among the many who contended for religious liberty for all faiths.
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In light of our religious liberty, let us pray fervently for those who live in regions subject to harsh religious persecution. As we freely choose where and when to worship, let us remember our brothers and sisters who will gather anxiously but faithfully in underground churches, taking risks unfamiliar to most of us, in order to worship God and gather with their fellow believers.
Indeed, religious persecution is a reality in far too much of the world today. This Independence Day is a good occasion to pray for those who live under that weight. And it's also a good time to be mindful of our own capacity to diminish, stereotype, discriminate against, and hold in judgment those who have made different religious choices, or follow different religious beliefs than ourselves.
Thankfully, America remains a place of great religious diversity, with a national commitment to religious freedom for all. So this weekend I will also be remembering to honor the freedoms of religious minorities, and those who choose no faith, right here at home. They are no less American, are no less deserving of freedom, and are entitled to a government that remains neutral on matters of faith.
So, happy 4th of July to all Americans! Let's celebrate religious liberty for all!
