Perhaps at no other time in America’s history has religious freedom suffered under such a sustained assault as today. And by “religious freedom,” I mean Christianity. This assertion may seem a bit dramatic to many without sufficient historical knowledge of this nation’s Christian heritage, or when compared to the persecutions suffered by Christians in other nations, but a brief perusal of recent occurrences should elicit no small amount of concern for those who, like George Washington considered “religion and morality” to be the “indispensable supports” anchoring the American republic.

Thanks to decades of public “education” which has stripped all evidence of the Judeo-Christian principles that form the deep foundation of our form of government, many Americans have bought into this fallacious notion of “separation of church and state,” a phrase and concept appearing nowhere in either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. It is ignorance of our religious heritage which I believe has led us to a point where religion is under attack in America, and many Christians feel it improper to defend against.

Americans face persecution by anti-Christian organizations seeking to force Christians to keep their faith only within the walls of their own home (and sometimes not even there). Consider the following examples:

Recently, Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired by Mayor Kasim Reed for self-publishing a book entitled “Who Told You You Are Naked?” Though the New York Times claims the book was chock full of “virulent anti-gay views,” the book mentions homosexuality just twice in more than 160 pages. Though there has never been any claim of harassment, discrimination, or mistreatment by any of the homosexuals under his supervision, the PC Police in the Atlanta Mayor’s office determined holding traditional Christian views makes Cochran unfit to serve.

The NYT Editorial Board, in a stunning display of hypocrisy, states “The First Amendment already protects religious freedom. Nobody can tell Mr. Cochran what he can or cannot believe. If he wants to work as a public official, however, he may not foist his religious views on other city employees who have the right to a boss who does not speak of them as second-class citizens.” Get that? Cochran is free to believe what he wants to believe, but he just needs to keep his mouth shut about it if he wants to hold a public office (please note the NYT editorial board admitted there was no evidence Cochran mistreated gays under his command, as they also admit his comments were given as a private citizen).

But viewpoint discrimination apparently flows only one was when it comes to homosexuality and fire departments. The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently ruled it acceptable to force two Catholic firefighters to drive a fire truck in a “gay pride” parade despite religiously-based objections. Rhode Island’s highest court ruled it a “legitimate work assignment,” declaring the desire to avoid the appearance of condoning celebration of behavior they find immoral is less important than forcing their compliance. Both firefighters had asked to be reassigned rather than participate in the parade, but were refused. Once again, matters of conscience were killed on the altar of “tolerance.”

Colorado baker Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cake Shop, has been the focus of persecution for his religious views as well. Having been requested to bake a cake for a homosexual “wedding,” Phillips politely declined. For that decision he now faces lawsuits and the wrath of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which has not only ordered him to bake the cake, but to submit himself and his staff to mandatory diversity/sensitivity training, which is a prettied-up name for government-forced re-education camps meant to rid subjects of those nasty Christian values they cling to so insistently.

Diann Rice, a member of the CCRC, the commission now deciding Phillip’s fate, has called Phillip’s a “Nazi,” claiming freedom of religion has been used to “justify all kinds of discrimination…whether it be slavery… [or] the Holocaust.” Get that? Declining to bake a cake is now on par with walking Jews into the gas chamber and slamming the door shut.

In a story that truly highlights the moral double standard, another baker is being sued for refusing to bake a cake with an ideological message with which they disagree. Marjorie Silva, owner of Azucar Bakery in Denver, initially agreed to bake a cake for Bill Jack, but then refused when told the cake would include a message condemning homosexuality (she agreed to bake the cake, but said Jack would have to decorate it himself). Mr. Jack is suing for having been refused service based on his ideological viewpoint. Homosexual advocates are falling all over themselves to defend this baker’s refusal, claiming the difference is that Phillips refused to bake a cake for a homosexual couple (unconscionable), but Silva only refused to decorate a cake. It is laughable in its transparent hypocrisy.

Ironically, it was none other than Focus on the Family, a Christian advocacy organization designated as a “hate group” in 2010 by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its opposition to LGBT “rights,” which has come to the defense of Silva for her refusal to bake a cake with an anti-homosexuality message. Jeff Johnston, issues analyst for Focus on the Family, stated that “This is a free speech issue, and we support freedom of speech. It’s also a religious or conscience issue – the government should not force people to violate their core beliefs. Just as a Christian baker should not be required to create a cake for a same-sex ceremony, this baker should not be required to create a cake with a message that goes against her conscience.”

All across America, those that want to drive Christianity from the public square are filing lawsuits, making threats, and harassing those who publicly profess their faith. And while it certainly does not compare to the religious persecution suffered by Christians in the Middle East and Africa – where they are being beaten, stoned, beheaded, tortured, sold as sex slaves, and driven from their homes – it is still a saddening and disgraceful development in a nation founded on the very idea that all men are created equal, and have the right to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience (or not worship at all).

Homosexual/LGBT “rights” activists and atheists will not stop until they have removed every last vestige of Christianity from public view and thought. Christians must either stand up and defend their rights, or lose them forever.

And lest there be those that still believe that our Founders intended a complete separation of church and state, where no religious influence should ever impact the public discourse or policy, I leave you with the words of James Wilson, a man who signed the Declaration of Independence, helped draft the Constitution, and was one of the original justices appointed to the United States Supreme Court by President George Washington:

“Human law must rest its authority ultimately upon the authority of that law which is Divine…Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other. The divine law, as discovered by reason and the moral sense, forms an essential part of both.”