Opinion: The freedom of religion

Christmas card nativity. Pixabay
Published: 12-17-2024 6:00 AM |
Rev. Jonathan Hopkins lives in Concord.
There has been a lot of talk about religious freedom. Recently, to prove a point about the need for true religious freedom, the Satanic Temple put a display in front of the State House. I can understand why people are reacting in such a hostile way. I want to be clear that I am not in support of Satan. However, I wanted to add a reflection on how I see religious freedom in my faith tradition.
In my religious tradition, we believe in the grace and love of God for all people. We believe that as a person who believes in that grace and love for us, we are set free. Not free to do whatever we want but set free to love and care for our neighbors. That freedom allows us to love and care for people who may not see the world the way we do.
It allows us to pray with people of different faiths, to advocate for LGBTQ rights, to support a woman’s right to choose, to welcome the migrant, and to even stand up for the right of a satanic group to make a political point.
Perhaps a story will illustrate my point. When I was in college some students decided we should have an interfaith group that would gather and talk about our differences and where we agree. At the first meeting, my Muslim friend was invited to give the opening prayer. She gave a wonderful prayer in Arabic. Some of the other Christian groups on campus left in protest. Later they would tell me that they couldn’t pray with people from other faiths, their religious beliefs prohibited it. We then suggested that we don’t pray with one another instead we could just do some fun things together. The same Christians said that they could not hang out with people of different faiths.
I just never understood that way of thinking. Jesus was born into this world to bring hope, joy, love, and justice into the world, and into our hearts. My Christmas celebration is not affected at all by the show of pluralism. In fact, it is only enhanced by it, because I am called not into a faith of rules that separate me from my neighbors, but a faith that calls me to love my neighbor. That is really what brings me joy this season, the love that God has given me that I get to share with all my neighbors.
May your Christmas be filled with that love and joy. May you be filled with that spirit of freedom to love your neighbor as we approach this wonderful time of year.
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