What is the state of religious freedom in the United States and around the world?

What about those who claim that religious freedom is sometimes code for bigotry and discrimination,

inconsistent with some trans-tore justice?

And what are the main challenges to religious freedom in the West today?

When we answer these questions and more with our guest, Dr. Frank Beckwith.

I'm your host, Scott Ray.

And I'm your co-host, Sean McDowell.

This is Think Biblically from Tavis School of Theology at Biola University.

Frank, thanks so much for being with us, taking time out to join us on this really important subject.

Well, thank you for having me.

So how would you summarize the state of religious freedom in the United States today and compare that to where you might see it in

Europe and maybe even in the Middle East. Yeah, I think the state of religious liberty in the

U.S. is actually quite, quite good. I mean, it depends on how you look at it. So, at least in our

law, which differs obviously from Europe and other Asia, Africa, and so forth, we have in the

Bill of Rights, a First Amendment, which includes a free exercise and establishment clause.

In terms of free exercise, our courts have been quite good. Our legislative bodies, including the federal government, Congress, and state,

depending on the state, generally have been quite good in terms of protecting religious liberty.

The other part of religious liberty, the establishment clause, has to do with questions about the role that the

government plays in, let's say, supporting religion. And there you're probably going to have a

lot more controversy, issues like school vouchers, whether it's permissible for a state government

to create a program that allows parents who send

their children to religious schools to be reimbursed for tuition and so forth. There you're going to

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