Kerby Anderson

Professor George Yancey has some advice for progressives who have been attacking Christians and those who voted for Donald Trump. Now you need to understand that Professor Yancey does not like Donald Trump. Months ago, he came out as a NeverTrumper.

He tells progressives that if they don’t want a Trump win in 2020, they need to stop attacking religious freedom. He explains how Christians “feared a loss of religious freedom” in a Clinton administration. He tried to talk them out of their fear, but he could not tell them “that their fear was unwarranted.” He concludes that progressives overplayed their hand.

He says: “It is not enough that abortions are legal in the United States. They also fight to force Christian organizations to advise women about abortion. It is not enough that same-sex marriages are legal. Christian bakers must be forced to bake cakes for them. A lay pastor must be fired for daring to preach against those marriages from his pulpit. So yes Christians are right to fear for their religious freedom.”

I might mention that these examples the professor uses are not hypothetical. Each one of his statements has a link to a news story. All of these examples I have talked about in previous commentaries.

He has some further recommendations for the protesters and politicians. “Stop fighting against religious freedom. Stop seeking to punish those who do not participate in abortion or same-sex marriage. Stop trying to get those who speak against it fired. Stop saying that religious freedom is just a license to discriminate. It is not, and such statements lead to real religious bigotry.”

Professor Yancey makes a compelling case that the evangelical vote for Trump over Clinton was due in large part to the many news stories about attacks on religious freedom. That’s why he says it is time for progressives to stop attacking Christians and their religious freedom. It is good advice, but there isn’t much evidence that protesters and politicians will follow it.