Why is religious freedom so important? Why do we say that it's the most fundamental first freedom that we all enjoy?

What do we say to people in the culture who insist that religious freedom is just code for bigotry?

We'll answer these questions and more with our special guest today, Dr. Robert George,

professor of Princeton University, and welcome. So glad to have you with us Robbie.

Brother Scott is such a pleasure to be here with you. Thank you for inviting me

on to the podcast. So what makes you so passionate? I want to hear sort of personally

from you. What makes you so passionate about the

subject of religious freedom? You've written tons on it. Why has it been such a focus of your

attention? It's because I believe that people, human beings, men and women, are made in the very image and likeness of the divine creator and ruler of all that is.

That means that we have profound worth, we have profound inherent and equal dignity.

And as a result of that belief, I'm

impelled to do what I can to uphold the dignity of human beings.

And there's nothing more fundamental to the dignity of human beings and there's nothing more fundamental to the dignity of human beings than their right to raise the basic questions of meaning and value, the ultimate questions, the existential questions,

the questions of whether there is a more than merely human source of meaning and value,

whether there is a God, what does God require of us?

And then to answer those questions as best one can, honestly,

and to live with authenticity and integrity in view of one's best answers to those questions.

If we do not permit people to do that, if we permit that

fundamental right to be trampled, then the dignity of human beings, these

precious creatures made in the very image and likeness of God is undermined.

Now our dear mutual friend who's since gone to be with the Lord Chuck Coulson insisted that

religious freedom is the first and most fundamental freedom that human beings enjoy and that all of our other freedoms emerge from that.

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