A churches’ bill of rights is now available for the people of Indiana. The document was put together by Attorney General Todd Rokita and Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith, both Republicans.
Beckwith said on AFR's "At The Core" program that a changing culture made this necessary.
“There’s been a hostile assault on churches across the country" in recent years, from COVID lockdowns to parental rights and gender identity issues, he told show host Walker Wildmon.
A joint letter from Rokita and Beckwith in the document’s introduction states that religious liberty is guaranteed by the constitutions for both America and Indiana and that America remains a refuge for churches to practice their faiths free from governmental interference and oppression.
"We just wanted to make sure that churches knew that ultimately they're the bedrock foundation of freedom in our nation," Beckwith said. "They should be preaching on these things, they should be encouraging their congregants to engage in politics, and they should be protected under constitutional rule of law to have the freedom to do so.”
Beckwith went on to say that "American history is just peppered with founders and leaders that knew God's Word," and knew that it should be applied.
"Listen, politics is just the application of your faith in the public square, that's all it is, and so for any Christian to say 'well, we shouldn't get political,' you don't have an option of leaving your faith out of any environment," said Beckwith. "God said 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel, and politics includes all the world, so, what we're doing is just saying we're giving sort of some ammo or some fodder to these pastors who are kind of feeling like 'hey, we're called to engage, but I don't know all of the right words to say or all the right laws to point to you or all the right history to speak toward.'"
The Churches' Bill of Rights: A Legal Guidebook For Churches And Church Leaders Of Indiana 2025' is free on the state of Indiana's website, IN.gov
