ICC Note: For several years, ICC has monitored conditions for religious freedom in the United States. While American Christians today live with far more freedom than their brothers and sisters in the majority of the rest of the world, alarming developments, including a marked increase in hostility towards traditional Christian values, has many concerned that religious liberty is being eroded. Legal attacks have also increased. Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) father, Pastor Rafael Cruz, placed the majority of the responsibility on pastors in the U.S, who he said often fear losing their tax-exempt status too much to speak out on civic or political issues. 
2/26/2014 United States (Christian Post) – Public policy experts at this year’s National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville asserted that the government religious liberty and freedom issues facing Christians today are fundamentally and intrinsically tied to the future of culture in America.
Janet Parshall, host of the daily radio talk show “In the Market,” moderated a panel on Tuesday that included Todd Starnes of Fox News, Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, Pastor Rafael Cruz, father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and NRB Sr. VP and Chief Legal Counsel Craig Parshall.
Janet Parshall said finding the subject matter for this year’s event was not difficult. “It took us about three nano-seconds to decide what we were going to discuss here today,” joked Parshall. “It’s the most important issue Christians are facing today.”
The forum’s primary theme centered around how government is undercutting the basic rights Americans have enjoyed since its founding, touching on the overreach of agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Communications Commission.
Craig Parshall, Janet’s husband and an expert on religious liberty issues, pointed out the connection between social issues and how they tie into the loss of freedom many in our country have encountered in recent years. He made a particular reference to private for-profit companies who are refusing to comply with the HHS mandate handed down by the Obama administration last year that requires large employers to provide birth control for their employees.
“The Hobby Lobby issue is about abortion, but more importantly, it’s about religious liberty,” said Craig Parshall. “This is sophisticated warfare we are involved in.”
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Yet some of the more poignant comments came form a Cuban immigrant who in 1957 arrived in the U.S. with $100 sewn in his underwear and went on to become the father of a Senator from Texas.
“If I can blame anyone for our loss of religious liberty in America, I blame our pastors,” said Cruz, himself a pastor and ministry leader. “They are hiding behind their pulpits and 501(c)(3)’s.”
Cruz’s comments came in reference to pastors and churches who seemingly relent to political pressure from outside groups – and at times their own members – who believe that pastors and churches are prohibited from discussing or promoting civic and government issues from the pulpit simply because they have a non-profit status.
“It’s about time we become biblically correct instead of being politically correct,” added Cruz. “I would rather go to jail than violate what God is telling me to do.”
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