Obama Starts to 'Nudge' the Country Away from Freedom of Religion

Randy Sly writes (via Drudge):

The change in language was barely noticeable to the average citizen but political observers are raising red flags at the use of a new term "freedom of worship" by President Obama and Secretary Clinton as a replacement for the term freedom of religion. This shift happened between the President's speech in Cairo where he showcased America's freedom of religion and his appearance in November at a memorial for the victims of Fort Hood, where he specifically used the term "freedom of worship." From that point on, it has become the term of choice for the president and Clinton.


In her article for "First Things" magazine, Ashley Samelson, International Programs Director for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, stated, "To anyone who closely follows prominent discussion of religious freedom in the diplomatic and political arena, this linguistic shift is troubling: "The reason is simple. Any person of faith knows that religious exercise is about a lot more than freedom of worship. It's about the right to dress according to one's religious dictates, to preach openly, to evangelize, to engage in the public square. Everyone knows that religious Jews keep kosher, religious Quakers don't go to war, and religious Muslim women wear headscarves-yet "freedom of worship" would protect none of these acts of faith."

It's also about schools that are run by various religious groups.

It's possible to argue that this is an attempt to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but it is not so if viewed with the understanding that President Obama and his advisers have an obsession with attempting to "nudge" the country in certain directions. They know they can't blatantly institute the many changes they would like to see in America, so for them it is the nudge, a little change here, a small push there. One day you wake up in an entire different country and wonder how it happened.