Burning Incense to Caesar in the Land of the "Free"

Christian Ghettoization in the United States

We posted recently a piece on the trials of a Christian man in the UK who has been ruled unfit to engage in social work because of his "offensive" Christian beliefs.  It raises the threat of what we are calling "ghettoization"--that is, creating second or third class citizens who face discrimination because of their beliefs.  

It is not just in the UK that this is occurring.  There are now plenty of instances and examples in the United States.  Rod Dreher exposes what is now happening in the "land of the free".

We may not (yet) be at the point where Christians are forbidden to buy and sell in general without state approval, but we are on the brink of entire areas of commercial and professional life being off-limits to believers whose consciences will not allow them to burn incense to the gods of our age.

The workplace is getting tougher for orthodox believers as American commitment to religious liberty weakens.  Progressives sneer at the claims of anti-Christian discrimination or persecution.  Don't you believe them.  Most of the experts I talked to on this topic spoke only after I promised to withhold their identities.  They're frightened that their words today might cost them their careers tomorrow.

They're not paranoid.  While Christians may not be persecuted for their faith per se, they are already being targeted when they stand for what their faith entails, especially in matters of sexuality.  As the LGBT agenda advances, broad interpretations of antidiscrimination laws are going to push traditional Christians increasingly out of the marketplace, and the corporate world will become hostile toward Christian bigots, considering them a danger to the working environment. . . .

I have talked to a number of Christians, in fields as diverse as law, banking, and education, who face increasing pressure within their corporations and institutions to publicly declare themselves "allies" of LGBT colleagues.  In some instances, employees are given the opportunity to wear special badges advertising their allyship.  Naturally if one doesn't wear the badge, she is likely to face questions from co-workers and even shunning.

These workers fear that this is soon going to serve as a de facto loyalty oath for Christian employees--and if they don't sign it, so to speak, it will mean the end of their jobs and possibly even their careers.  To sign the oath, they believe, would be the modern equivalent of burning a pinch of incense before a statue of Caesar.

It will be impossible in most places to get licenses to work without affirming sexual diversity dogma.  For example, in 2016 the American Bar Association voted to add an "anti-harassment" rule to is Model Code of Conduct, one that if adopted by state bars would make simply discussing issues having to do with homosexuality (among other things) impossible without risking professional sanction--unless one takes the progressive side of the argument.  [Rod Dreher, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation (New York: Sentinel, 2017), p.179f.]

The case discussed previously in the UK comes very close to Dreher's dire description.  If one does not reject Christian belief, and bow to the demands of obedience to the prophets and apostles of secular humanism one will be driven into the ghetto.  Unemployed and unemployable--at least in callings and professions dominated by the state or by professional associations that rely upon the state for their powers to sanction and ghettoize others.

The United States has a  long history of ghettoization of American Indians, keeping them on the reservation and making sure they are dependant upon the state for their survival.  It has a long history of ghettoization of African Americans.  It's what many would like to see happen to unreconstructed Christians.  Burn the incense and bow to the god of this world, or else.