Discussing his recent exoneration after originally facing discharge from the Navy, Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder highlighted that the fight for religious liberty is a national issue:

[Modder] suggested as more and more Christians face similar battles over their beliefs, they have to fight because the cause is crucial.

“I think it’s paramount,” he said. “I think the best thing for the Church is persecution. And I know that sounds counterintuitive, but we need to stand for religious liberty.”

“It’s not really about bakers. It’s not really about florists. It’s about

validating something that is national,” he explained.

His Liberty Institute attorney Mike Berry called the persecution of Modder — which came about as a result of intentional targeting by subordinates and a commander hostile to Modder’s religious beliefs — “unAmerican”:

Berry said he’s distressed by the un-American nature of this Christian persecution.

“It could be people of any other faiths, too, but unfortunately right now the majority of attacks are coming against Christians in this country,” Berry said. “That’s not what our country is about.”

Unfortunately, attacks on religious expression — in particular, on Christians — are so common and politically correct that many people don’t even seem to notice.  The fact the Navy even defended how it treated Modder was met with a collective yawn.

Berry is right, though. Religious freedom is a human liberty — and an inherently American value. While it is good that Modder was ultimately exonerated, the utter lack of outrage that a chaplain was punished for his religious views to begin with is shocking.

If a US military chaplain can be persecuted for his faith today, and few even bat an eye, who will they come after tomorrow?

More at The Daily Signal.

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