Remember these two words: religious freedom. These two words constitute one of the most important topics in the evangelical political world right now. And in 2016, the threat to religious freedom will become an integral part of every candidate trying to seriously court the evangelical vote during the presidential election.
Does that mean that the life and marriage issues don’t matter? No, of course not. The fact that our culture is morally deteriorating before our eyes is another subject for another blog. But when it comes to religious freedom, you can be sure that each presidential candidate will show why he (or she) is best qualified to lead on the issue.
The Brody File believes it will be THE main theme during the GOP Primary season in a quest to secure a majority of the evangelical vote.
The upcoming Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision will be a race to the microphones as well as a test for Capitol Hill press secretaries to come up with the most robust press release defending religious freedom among those politicians aspiring to be Republican presidential candidates in 2016. After all, this Hobby Lobby decision goes right to the religious freedom issue.
Sen. Ted Cruz is already championing his religious freedom credentials everywhere he goes. In front of evangelical crowds, he laments how religious freedom is under attack and how he has litigated cases on this issue all the way to the Supreme Court…and won. Just recently, he’s brought attention to the case of Meriam Ibrahim, the woman jailed for her faith in the Sudan.
Other candidates haven’t been shy about waxing poetic on this issue either. Sen. Rand Paul talks to anybody who will listen about the plight of persecuted Christians overseas. One of his biggest applause lines in front of evangelical crowds is when he says, “Our aid money, should never go to countries that persecute women or Christians, not one dime.”
Sen. Marco Rubio has also been talking up religious freedom, tying it instinctively to American values. He also has introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012, which would repeal the Obamacare mandate that forces faith-based groups to offer employees insurance coverage for contraceptives.
Rick Santorum has been taking about religious freedom issues for much of his public life. So has Mike Huckabee. For both of them, talking about this issue reveals their true authenticity.
You see, the political ramifications of pushing the religious freedom agenda are significant for any candidate. First of all, it gives you an emotional issue that instantly connects you to the important evangelical voting block. This issue is near and dear to their hearts.
Secondly, religious freedom touches many important political topics: a candidate can weave in Obamacare (contraception mandate issue), the IRS scandal (a group’s prayers scrutinized by the IRS), liberal judges (choose your Ten Commandments/Pledge of Allegiance lawsuit), same-sex marriage (the religious freedom of Christian business owners to refuse to provide their services/products to same-sex couples), foreign policy (persecuting Christians around the world), and moral values (the deteriorating culture due to religious freedoms under attack by everyone and everything) into one fluid argument at the same time.
It touches so many different specific topics that are important to secure an evangelical vote.
The GOP Primary in 2016 is about to turn in to the Religious Freedom Primary. Get ready.