The State of the First Amendment

Recently, the First Amendment Center released its State of the First Amendment 2008 national survey.  The results show both a need to protect our constitutional rights as Christians in today’s culture and to educate people about our Nation, its foundation, and the importance of our First Amendment rights for every single American regardless of their beliefs. 

When asked to “name any of the specific rights that are guaranteed by the First Amendment,” only 15% of respondents named “freedom of religion.”  Encouragingly, however, 56% of respondents named “freedom of speech.”  The survey also asked the following question: “Even though the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, government has placed some restrictions on it.  Overall, do you think Americans have too much religious freedom, too little religious freedom, or is the amount of religious freedom about right?”  In answer to the question, 62% stated that Americans religious freedom was “about right.” 

When asked whether “people should be allowed to say things in public that might be offensive to religious groups,” 32% of respondents stated they “strongly agree” and 23% of respondents stated they “mildly agree.”  Each person surveyed was also asked whether “[t]he nation’s founders intended the United States to be a Christian nation, and 46% of respondents stated they “strongly agree” while 17% stated they “mildly agree.”  Finally, when asked whether “[t]he U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation,” 36% of respondents stated they “strongly agree” and 19% stated they “mildly agree.”

Advocates is fighting for the constitutional rights that define who we are as a Nation.  The right to free exercise of religion, guaranteed by the First Amendment, was mentioned by only 15% of respondents.  The importance of vigilantly protecting and defending our religious liberty in the Courts is evident from both the results of this survey and a culture that is increasingly devoid of the Christian influence that formed our Nation’s foundation and guided its founding principles.  This is the same Christian foundation that a significant percentage of Americans no longer agree existed. 

As our religious freedom is increasingly under attack, 62% of those surveyed believe our “religious freedom” is “about right.”  The California Supreme Court recently stated that doctors do not have the right to exercise their religious beliefs in the work place.  The name of God and Christianity is slowly being stripped from the public square by a myriad of court decisions.   Advocates is fighting to defend a Christian School’s right to teach from a Christian perspective in the classroom. 

The state of the First Amendment is fragile because too many activist judges fail to apply its principles as it was written by the Founding Fathers.  Advocates exists to assure that the existing fragility of the First Amendment does not result in a complete disregard for our religious freedoms for future generations.