Watering Down Freedom: New Immigrants Aren’t Taught the Freedom of Religion

Liberals keep trying to sneak political correctness into America any way they can. We should not be surprised that they have targeted the study materials for the civics portion of the naturalization exam. Study materials have now changed references to our First Amendment “Freedom of Religion” with the weaker and more politically correct expression, “Freedom of Worship.” While the difference may seem small, the implications are huge. Even foreign dictatorships have no problem with offering their citizens Freedom of Worship. This is because Freedom of Worship implies only the freedom to express personal religious beliefs when your are inside your church after you have closed the door, or are within the confines of government-approved places of worship for government-approved meetings and events. This inaccurate and very limited view of religious liberty teaches that faith should be a private affair confined to designated areas. They want people to think that their freedom ends whenever they leave the four walls of their church. This certainly is not how our Founders envisioned the intrinsic constitutional rights of all Americans. Our American right to the Free Expression of Religion allows real freedom in choosing where and how we express our faith. Our First Amendment does not allow excessive government regulation of the Freedom of Religion. Unfortunately, the official study materials for the naturalization exam do not reflect this right as it is given in the Constitution. It is especially important that those preparing for and taking the U.S. naturalization exam have an accurate understanding of the foundational freedoms that they will enjoy as citizens of the United States. Many public schools are also starting to embrace this watered-down version of our most basic right, in order to indoctrinate the next generation with a distorted view of American government. It’s time to stand up to these attacks and make sure that our children know that our U.S. Constitution guarantees the fundamental right of Freedom of Religion. This article originally appeared at Eagle Forum.