It’s hard to keep up with the many ways that America’s political culture has degraded in recent years. One of the most troubling trends is houses of worship becoming the sites of uninvited political protests.
The latest assault on religious liberty came last Sunday in St. Paul. More than two dozen activists stormed into Cities Church, looking for a pastor who also works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He wasn’t there, but the demonstrators disregarded pleas to leave and eventually forced the service to end prematurely.
An internet provocateur accompanied the protesters and expressed sympathy for their cause as he pointed to a man comforting a child on his live stream. “I imagine it’s uncomfortable and traumatic for the people here,” he said. “That’s what protesting is about.”
Traumatizing children as they practice their faith? That’s what it’s about?
Houses of worship are sacred sanctuaries where people go to hear the word of God and be in community with fellow believers. Hijacking a religious service to make a political point is not just counterproductive but tears at the civic fabric.
The protesters are right to be infuriated by ICE’s tactics and lack of accountability, but intimidating law-abiding citizens won’t advance the cause of reform. That only repels people and shatters the sense of safety required to rein in overly aggressive law enforcement.
These Christians were experiencing what too many Jewish Americans have had to endure as synagogues are increasingly targeted by antisemitic protests. No doubt many Christian churches will follow the Jewish example by erecting barriers and hiring security guards so that they can simply live out their faith in peace.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a lawyer and ordained minister who faces federal criminal charges for organizing Sunday’s demonstration, says it was nonviolent, lawful and morally necessary. She argues that it’s hypocritical to criticize her when “the Trump administration has removed guard rails around ICE being able to come into churches.”
It was wrong for the Trump administration to issue guidance last year that federal immigration agencies can now make arrests inside churches, which had been off limits. Yet no such raids have been reported. If any happen, they will deserve to be condemned.
Most Americans now report that they’ve seen video of an ICE officer killing Renée Good. Most people are horrified by viral videos of ICE officers seemingly mistreating the public, including U.S. citizens. Public support for the mass deportation campaign is plummeting without restoring to intimidation tactics against believers.
On Friday, roughly 100 clergy were arrested without incident during a peaceful protest against deportation flights at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. That kind of activism is much more in keeping with the teachings of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who never interrupted another pastor’s service uninvited.
The First Amendment gives Americans the rights to protest and freely exercise their faith. One does not supersede the other.
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