An interesting article by Erich Bridges at the Baptist Press describes the changing social worldview, or at least that espoused by secularists who want “religious people” to keep their faith at home:

“Keep your views about God and His commandments to yourself,” society increasingly tells believers — particularly conservative evangelicals, traditional Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews. “Socially accepted truths and morals have progressed beyond your antiquated theologies. If you can’t embrace the new normal, just keep your mouth shut. If you don’t, we’ll shame you, shut you down, call you a bigot. We might even take you to court and charge you with ‘hate speech.'”

Such responses to religious speech undercut the spirit of the First Amendment. You have every right under the law and the Constitution to express almost any religious belief in public. If those views happen to be unpopular or minority positions, you still have the right to express them. That’s why the First Amendment exists.

That first paragraph could have been written by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s Rick Baker, who constantly decries the public expression of religion as if its mere existence is enough to torture him. The second paragraph is the answer he and the MRFF founder Michael Weinstein can’t seem to understand:  They’re trying to undermine the US Constitution.

While the focus is on the active attacks by secularists, Bridges makes another interesting point:

By far the greatest threat to religious expression, however, is the self-censorship practiced by believers. We fear offending someone more than we care about telling him or her the truth. We don’t want to be thought intolerant…

So he provides modern day examples of people who really do have a price to pay if they offend someone with their faith.  Their stories might embarrass you.