The 5-4 decision in favor of Hobby Lobby, issued by the U.S. Supreme Court this morning, has heartened evangelicals and many other religious believers seeking to exercise their beliefs in the public square. Religious liberty, ensured by the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, has for centuries encouraged not only the freedom to preach the gospel but also to act on the implications of this world-changing news.
But as Trevin Wax points out in his insightful commentary today, religious liberty has become less important to many Americans who now view with skepticism the ways their neighbors seek to integrate their faith and work. In a crucial new interview with Mark Mellinger, SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president Russell Moore explains how public opinion has shifted as religious freedom now conflicts with the aims of the sexual revolution. Just a few years ago, Moore explains, it’s not likely Christians would have felt compelled to defend such basic liberties before the Supreme Court.
So even as we celebrate this victory, we realize that if only one Supreme Court justice had changed his or her vote, we would have faced, according to Moore, an awful clampdown on religious liberty. Amid this morning’s celebration we’re sobered to realize how controversial it has become to carry out basic Christian convictions such as declining to pay for abortion-inducing drugs. Listen to Mellinger and Moore discuss these points and others in this 13-minute interview. As always you can get other TGC audio on iTunes or subscribe through your other mobile devices.