No document was more instrumental in America’s founding than the Declaration of Independence. But if there was a close second, Thomas Jefferson wrote it too: the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom. If you asked Jefferson, he would say it was one of his proudest achievements.

That might surprise Americans today, who wrongly believe that our third President wanted to divorce the government of all religious expression. On the contrary, what Jefferson wrote in Fredericksburg some 230 years ago was such a groundbreaking defense of freedom that the men who drafted our Constitution relied on it for the framework of the First Amendment.

“No nation,” the third President said years later, “has ever existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be.” Thomas Jefferson understood then, as we do now, that religious freedom is fundamental to every other freedom on earth. Maybe that’s why, despite all of his other accomplishments, Jefferson considered the statute one of his greatest triumphs.

Much about America has changed since those early days, but religious liberty is still as hotly debated today as it was when the pilgrims fled English rule. The same government interference the first Americans experienced is rising again, undermining the very faith that has for centuries sustained and strengthened. The government, once the guardian of liberty, is now the aggressor against liberty. It tramples our consciences with health care mandates, silences our chaplains with radical marriage policy, and expels our pastors from public ceremonies. In six years, we have become a people afraid to pray, teach, practice medicine, or even manage a business without fear of reprisal from Big Brother.

Jefferson’s “wall of separation,” which we fiercely support, has been breached – not by Christians or churches, but by the State. Political correctness has become this country’s god, trampling the one freedom on which all others rest: religious liberty. As a result, we see more and more religious intolerance disguised as pluralism.

Case in point: Duke University. While Christianity continues to be expelled from college campuses, the void is being filled by a false sense of diversity. And ironically, that “diversity” is giving rise to the same preferential treatment to non-Christians that liberals have accused us of enjoying. This month, the university announced that it would start sounding the call to Muslim prayer from Duke’s bell tower on the Friday of every week as an exercise in “unity.”

That exercise failed miserably, as Americans everywhere spoke out against the favored status Islam was receiving in the aftermath of some of the greatest terror attacks of the last few years. While Boko Haram’s victims litter the streets of Nigeria and France is picking up the pieces of a dozen shattered families, the elevation of Islam certainly seemed unwise. But as foolish as the timing was, the real debate isn’t about Duke’s right to sound a Muslim prayer call from its tower. The debate is about whether Islam as a religion contributes to the ordered liberty in our society. Just as Duke has the freedom to “accommodate” the school’s Muslims, we have a right to express our concerns about embracing a religion that has radicalized men and women to war against the West and other faiths.

As we’ve said before, society has a compelling interest in supporting any religious practice that’s compatible with our constitutional republic. Should we try to prohibit Americans’ free exercise of Islam? Absolutely not. But that doesn’t mean that we have to engage in it or agree with it, as Duke’s patrons clearly didn’t. True pluralism is not elbowing out America’s tradition of Christianity to make room for minority faiths. It’s affording everyone the same right to live and work in accordance to their beliefs – a right sorely missing for all too many Christians today.

America Chimes in on Bell Tower Flap

Thanks to a groundswell of opposition, the only call coming from Duke’s bell tower today is for true tolerance. The University will not be repurposing its chapel as a mosque, ending a controversial and misguided chapter in the campus’s push for “diversity.”

While the Ivory Towers may be high, they aren’t unreachable, as thousands of Americans proved with their pushback. “The idea was conceived with the best of intentions and the greatest of intentions to create unity,” said a university official. “It turned out to have the opposite effect, and it was actually creating divisiveness that was neither intended nor valuable.”

A lot of the praise for Duke’s about-face should rest solely with Rev. Franklin Graham. As the busy head of a successful ministry, Billy Graham’s son doesn’t need to engage in these cultural battles, but he does – adding an important voice to a movement tempted by silence. No matter what the issue, he understands and exemplifies our call as followers of Christ to be both salt and light – which is to both point the way to the cross and preserve the path to it.

“First of all, this chapel was given by donors,” he said, “Methodists, from across this state and other areas so that there would be a Christian chapel on the campus so that the students would have a place to worship the God of the Bible. What I have a problem with is using the chapel that was built to be a house of worship – to worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God – that they’re using this now so that they can put loud speakers and use it as a minaret.”

Franklin called on donors to withhold their dollars from Duke, a move that may have ultimately turned the tide in common sense’s favor. Like us, Rev. Graham sees the double standard from these so-called purveyors of pluralism. “Other religions are getting front row and Christians are being pushed… to the back of the room. And we’re the majority!” And fortunately, that majority weighed in – and won! Duke is a ringing example of what happens when we take the time and energy to take a stand.

A Race to Reconciliation

When President Obama made history as the first African-American President in U.S. history, people assumed that racial relations would be stronger than ever. Much to everyone’s disappointment, the tensions – inflamed by a series of unfortunate events – have rarely been higher. [Thursday], in Dallas, FRC’s Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, Ken Blackwell, and I joined in what I consider to be a significant event called The Reconciled Church, aimed at bringing leaders of the white and black community together under the shared love of Jesus Christ.

At least 150 leaders from across the country converged on Texas at the invitation of Bishops Harry Jackson and T.D. Jakes, convinced that in our divided society, the church can model unity. In a nation looking for answers after the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, we agree that the church must lead in this crucial moment.

After a very candid and honest discussion, there was an acknowledgement that the racial obstacles in our country are significant – but that despite our different backgrounds, we can help heal the divide. Of course, one of the greatest ironies is that the very thing that can offer solutions to these problems and help strengthen society is the religious liberty so obviously under attack. No one understands that more than the African-American community, whose own Kelvin Cochran was fired simply for believing and promoting the Bible’s teachings on sexuality.

For those of us in the room, there was a clear understanding that true unity will not be found in words, but in actions. Several practical initiatives were discussed that churches – regardless of size or location – could join. One is the National Church Adopt a School Initiative that’s being spearheaded by Dr. Tony Evans. This effort offers churches a way to bridge the divide in their communities by coming alongside the local schools in helping children succeed in school, which ultimately helps the families of that community. Click here to find out more about the Adopt a School Initiative.

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This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.