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Freedom of conscience is a principle that is rooted back to the colonial era and ultimately
originates back to God’s Word. Freedom of conscience is intrinsically connected with “religious
freedom” and “freedom of worship.” The United States has always protected and defended the
principles which allow citizens the ability to practice their religious beliefs and practices. Today
this cherished freedom is significantly changing. Recently, government has restricted the rights
of citizens of faith to exercise their conscience, specifically on socials issues relating to gender
identity, abortion, and other aspects of the LGBTQ agenda. America is losing its distinctive
aspects of freedom of conscience. Freedom of conscience must be restored and protected in order
to allow American citizens to fully and freely exercise religious freedom.
In order to fully understand the issue of freedom of conscience, it is imperative to go
back to God’s Word. 1 Timothy 1:5 shares, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure
heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith” (New American Standard Bible, 1995, 1
Tim. 1:5). Without a good conscience, one cannot have sincere faith or pure heart. “It is
therefore not surprising that developing, maintaining, and living according to a good conscience
is referenced more than thirty times in the New Testament” (WallBuilders, 2016).
There is a distinct difference between a secular nation and biblical nation. A biblical
nation holds fast to biblical principles, defends the right to exercise religious conscience, and
seeks to vigorously protect them from undue restrictions. By contrast, a secular nation, with
state-established churches such as in England, often required conformity. This conformity
ultimately led to coercion that restricted the free exercise of religious beliefs. President John
Quincy Adams shares, Jesus Christ, “came to teach and not to compel. His law was a Law of
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Liberty. He left the human mind and human action free” (Adams, 1840, p. 18). The Bible clearly
states the importance of the freedom of conscience.
It is important to understand the implications and importance of the freedom of
conscience by revisiting our nation’s history. Understanding our history, provides us with
wisdom regarding freedom of conscience. The early colonists explicitly understood the
importance of freedom of conscience. Early evidence of freedom of conscience is seen in the
1633 charter of Roger Williams’ colony of Rhode Island. Roger Williams’ charter memorialized
the importance of religious liberty which served as the touchtone of American freedom. The
charter reads that the colony should, “freely and fully have and enjoy his and their own
judgments and consciences, in matters of religious concernments” (Metaxas, 2017, p. 72).
A second example regarding freedom of conscience occurred during the War for
Independence. In 1775, Commander-in-Chief George Washington delivered an address to the
soldiers of the Continental Army. General Washington shared, “While we are contending for our
own liberty, we should be very cautious of violating the rights of conscience in others, ever
considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men and to Him only in this case they are
answerable” (Washington, 1775, p. 492). When states were officially creating state constitutions,
they specifically articulated the important of religious tolerance, religious freedom, and the rights
of conscience. An example is Virginia’s 1776 constitution which explicitly says, “Religion . . .
can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force and violence; and therefore, all men
are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates of conscience” (The
Americans Guide, 1835, p. 180).
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The third example regarding freedom of conscience can been seen in the Federal era. In
1788, six states presented proposals for a Bill of Rights with phraseology such as, “all men have
an equal, natural, and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates
of conscience” (Elliot, 1836, p. 322). The specific word, “conscience” did not end up staying as
the final wording in the First Amendment. Those that drafted the amendment believed that
government should refrain from creating a national religion. They also understood the
importance of guaranteeing citizens the right to freedom of religion. Therefore, the right to
exercise conscience were also set in place and safeguarded. “President Thomas Jefferson when
he penned his famous letter to the Danbury Baptists assured them that the First Amendment was
an “expression of the supreme will of the nation on behalf of the rights of conscience”
(WallBuilders, 2016). Freedom of conscience has been an important principle and value that can
been seen throughout our nation’s history.
Some might argue that freedom of conscience is innately discriminatory regarding issues
of LGBTQ rights, transgenderism, etc. However, in recent years the government has been
pushing forth an agenda that undermines freedom of conscience as it has used increased power
and the rule of law to forcefully push citizens to go against their conscience. Is it not
discriminatory to force people to go directly against their deeply held religious beliefs and
conscience? A recent example is when a baker faced prison for refusing to bake a wedding cake
for a same sex couple. (Klukowski, 2013) Another example occurred in Vermont when a couple
sued an inn for refusing to hold a gay wedding. (Zezima, 2011) These are just a couple examples
of incidents where freedom of conscience has been disregarded.
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Freedom of conscience can be traced back in history. This critical principle was deeply
understood by our Founding Fathers. The issue facing our nation now is that as secularism
becomes more predominant in society, the loss of religious freedom/conscience necessarily
follows. The answer to this problem is ultimately through changing the culture. William
Wilberforce clearly understood this. He said, “Indeed if one wishes to make certain laws, one
must change the culture first, else those laws will never be passed” (Metaxas, 2017, p. 173). The
underlying principle of changing the culture relates to this issue. Only through bringing back
biblical principles and morality, can we restore the freedom of conscience.
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References
Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. 1995, 2020. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation. As found in the Logos Bible study software program.
Biblical christianity: The Origin of the Rights of Conscience. WallBuilders. (2016, December
29). Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://wallbuilders.com/biblical-christianity-
origin-rights-conscience/#FN45.
Adams, J. Q. (1840) In A Discourse on Education. Boston: Perkins & Marvin.
Metaxas, E. (2017). If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty (Reprint
ed.). Penguin Books.
Washington, G. The Writings of George Washington to Benedict Arnold. Washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1931, Vol. 3, p. 492, September 14, 1775
The American’s Guide: Comprising the Declaration of Independence; the Articles of
Confederation; the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitutions of the Several
States Composing the Union (Philadelphia: Hogan & Thompson, 1835), p. 180, 1776
Constitution: Bill of Rights, No. 16.
Elliot, J. The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal
Constitution. (Washington: 1836), Vol. I.
Klukowski, K. (2013, December 13). Baker faces prison for refusing to bake same-sex wedding
cake. Breitbart. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2013/12/12/christian-baker-willing-to-go-to-jail-for-
declining-gay-wedding-cake/.
Zezima, K. (2011, July 19). Couple sues a Vermont Inn for rejecting Gay wedding. The New
York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/us/20vermont.html.
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